The Godfather, by Mario Puzo
Scroll down for recipes :)
Now, THIS is a book I chose for 2 reasons: 1. I love Italian food, and 2. I have never seen the movie The Godfather (shocking, I know). I always like to read the book before the movie if I can, so here goes!
Summaries via www.PenguinRandomHouse.com
INTRODUCTION
With its brilliant and brutal portrayal of the Corleone family, The Godfather instantly burned its way into the national consciousness—and became one of the bestselling novels in publishing history. It is a page-turning saga of crime and corruption, passion and loyalty that continues to stand the test of time as the definitive gangster novel. It tells the story of the Corleone family from 1945 to 1955: Don Vito Corleone, who comes to America as a child and whose olive oil importing business is a front for organized crime; and his three sons: violent, passionate Sonny, quiet, dutiful Fredo, and Michael, the youngest and most Americanized. While Sonny and Fredo each have qualities that make them useful to the don, it is clear to most observers that Michael is the heir apparent. A World War II hero who then attended Dartmouth, Michael is bright and aware. He is torn between the desire to isulate himself from the family business and his intense loyalty to his father’s legacy of honor and tradition.
ABOUT MARIO PUZO
The son of Italian immigrants who moved to the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan, Mario Puzo was born on October 15, 1920. After World War II, in which he served as a U.S. Army corporal, he attended City College of New York on the G.I. Bill and worked as a freelance writer. During this period he wrote his first two novels, Dark Arena (1955) and The Fortunate Pilgrim (1964). When his books made little money despite being critically acclaimed, he vowed to write a bestseller. Although he had difficulty finding a publisher for it, The Godfather (1969) proved to be an enormous success. Puzo collaborated with director Francis Ford Coppola on the screenplays for all three Godfather films and won Academy Awards for both The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather, Part II (1974). He also collaborated on scripts for such films as Superman (1978) andThe Cotton Club (1984). He continued to write bestselling novels, including Fools Die (1978), The Sicilian (1984), The Fourth K. (1991) and The Last Don (1996). Mario Puzo died on July 2, 1999. Two of his novels were published posthumously,Omerta in 2000 and The Family in 2001.
