There are such literary works which, without any doubt, can be called a mirror, reflecting this or that stage of the era. One of them is The Godfather. The events described in it date back to the middle of the last century. It was then that at the peak of their strengths and capabilities, mafia clans acted in the shadows, but at the same time actually controlled the world.
The theme of criminal organizations at all times excited the minds of readers. After all, it was a kind of forbidden fruit, which, as you know, is very sweet. This, according to many critics, is the value of The Godfather. Its author showed the real world of one of the mafia clans of America, represented by the Corleone family.
Famous novel
The author of The Godfather is American writer Mario Puzo. His famous novel is a classic example of a political action-packed detective story. On the pages of his work, Puzo introduces readers to the customs and mores of the Sicilian and American mafia, with its social roots. The book reveals the secret ties of criminal clans with law enforcement and government officials.
Author Biography
Puzo, who wrote the book “The Godfather,” was born in Manhattan, New York, in the fall of 1920. Mario spent his childhood and youth in the most vivid area of the city, which was called “Hell's Kitchen”. In the 2000s, this area, located between 34th and 50th streets, has already become a fairly safe place. But in the 20-30s of the last century there were gang warfare with shootings, which was considered quite commonplace. The mafia clans that controlled the Hell's Kitchen controlled stores, restaurants, and pubs. It was not easy for the parents of Mario Puzo. These Italian immigrants, who moved to America from a province located near Naples, had to carefully monitor their large family.
After graduation, Puzo was about to become a soldier. However, his vision failed. During the Second World War, a 19-year-old man voluntarily joined the army. However, he never got to the front, as he was assigned to work in the hozblok. After the end of hostilities, the young man was educated at a private university in New York, and then entered the prestigious Columbia University, located in Manhattan.
Mario began his career as a clerk in a government office. Here he worked for 20 years.
Literary biography
Already in the early 1960s, Mario Puzo tried his pen in the field of a freelance journalist. It was then that he became interested in fiction. This marked the beginning of his creative biography as a writer and screenwriter. In Russia, his first works were published in the 1990s. This happened after the triumph of the book “The Godfather” and the trilogy, which included all three eponymous sagas, telling about the mafia. For the first time, Soviet readers got acquainted with the famous work on the pages of the Znamya magazine. In 1972, the full version of The Godfather was published in this publication.
After the release of his cult novel in 1969, Mario Puzo woke up wealthy and famous. In the 1970s, his book became a bestseller. However, according to the novelist, he did not even assume that his work would appeal to readers so much.
Film adaptation
Reviews of the book The Godfather indicated that readers really liked it. This was confirmed by the numerous circulations of the novel, which were instantly sold out by the Americans. 3 years after the release of the book by 32-year-old director Francis Ford Coppola, this work was filmed. The movie drama of the same name turned Mario Piezo into a legend.
The film was released in 1972. Subsequently, the movie drama received three Oscars, as well as five Golden Globes. The budget of the picture was 6 million dollars. Subsequently, the film earned 268.5 million for the film studio and its creators. This allowed the director, screenwriter, cast and author to become wealthy people. After such a triumph, Mario Puzo acquired a huge mansion on Long Island, in which he moved with his large family.
In 1974, the movie “The Godfather 2” was released. The book of Mario Puzo also formed the basis of its plot. Only this time, director Francis Ford Coppola took the third part of the novel. Many critics spoke of this film as the best film that surpassed its predecessor, shot two years earlier. The continuation of the story of The Godfather received eleven Oscars.
In 1992, Francis Ford Coppola created the special project film The Godfather. Trilogy. 1901-1980. ” He became the film adaptation of all three episodes of the same saga.
Book series
Mario Puzo did not complete his stories about the mafia with this famous novel. A series of books came out after The Godfather. All of them were a continuation of the first novel.
We will get acquainted with books about The Godfather in the order in which they are published. All of them are novels by Mario Puzo, as well as Mark Weingartner and Edward Falco, telling the reader about the laws, honor and roots of the Italian mafia, violence and corruption, as well as about the noble gangster Corleone:
- "Godfather". This 1969 novel, according to critics, was written by the author with amazing authenticity. The reader can get acquainted with the world of the mafia without any risk to his life.
- "Sicilian." This novel was written by Mario Puzo in 1984. The work is a continuation of The Godfather and tells its readers about the fate of Corleone's youngest son, Michael. Critics praised this book, which raises the problems of hostility and friendship, hatred and love.
- The Return of the Godfather. In 2004, Mario Puzo wrote this novel together with Mark Weingartner. In it, readers carry over in 1955, when Michael Corleone was able to win the war unleashed by the five gangster families of New York. Now his task is to strengthen his power, legalize business and save his family.
- The Revenge of the Godfather. Together with Marc Weingartner, Mario Puzo wrote this book in 2006. It tells about the events of the 60s of the 20th century, when “Cosa Nostra” destroyed all those who stood in its way. It is difficult to rectify the situation even for the US president himself, after all, in his family there are people who are closely connected with his native Corleone. And they, as you know, are representatives of another American mafia.
- The Corleone Family. This book was written by Mario Puzo together with Ed Falco in 2012. The novel tells about the strengthening and elevation of Corleone. Moreover, the events of this book precede those that were described in The Godfather (1969). This book, without a doubt, interested not only fans of the popular saga, but also a new generation of readers. She suffered them in 1933, when the country suffered from the Great Depression.
How many books about The Godfather were written by Mark Puzo, the same number of them aroused high interest of readers. The author was able to very realistically show the underworld and raise topics of concern to people at any time.
The story of the mafia
Consider the full book The Godfather, which is the trilogy that makes up the novel. This work tells the story of the life of the family of Don Corleone, which is one of the powerful American mafia clans. However, the author of The Godfather touched on a topic in his work that concerns not only the criminal world. Thanks to this, his novel was not like other stories about mafia families created in those days.
Reviews of the book “The Godfather” suggest that there is no gangster gloss that other authors liked to talk about. The author describes the relationships existing within this organization, which can be called warm, almost family. The images of those people who stood at the head of the mafia clans, Puzo quite realistic. The writer portrays his heroes as ordinary people who try to help others and themselves.
The reviews of The Godfather indicate that everything the mafia leaders did was more like a mixture of politics and business. And all this was based on power and strength.
The books of Mario Puzo about The Godfather were far from the first to touch on the Mafia theme. However, the author was able to show the structure of this structure, its hierarchy, continuity, as well as impact patterns. And it turned out he, judging by the reviews of the book "The Godfather", is quite realistic.
Plot
The novel "The Godfather" introduces the reader to a time period spanning the period from the beginning of the twentieth century to its middle. The main story is built around the Corleone family, headed by Don Vito. This is a former emigrant, forced to flee Sicily as a teenager, taking his surname in honor of the settlement where he himself was from.
In order to raise his livelihood, he, together with his friends, decides to rob. This was the beginning of many events that subsequently led to the fact that an emigrant from Sicily became one of the most influential people in New York. In his power were judges and politicians, police officers, as well as most businessmen. Vito built his system on mutual assistance, promoting the people he needed to higher authorities. Judging by the reviews of critics, the image of this hero became one of the strongest in the literary activity of Mario Puzo.
The novel also tells about the three sons of Vito - Santino, Fredo and Michael. The first, the eldest of them, became an accidental witness to the murder. His father cracked down on one of the local authorities who wanted to get his share of the loot. This event greatly affected the boy. He became quick-tempered, arrogant, preferred to use force to solve problems. Such behavior afflicted Vito, who himself was a supporter of diplomatic methods.
Fredo, the middle son, is committed to the family. However, it is too soft. That is why they are trying to remove him from family affairs. The younger, Michael, did choose his own path. Against the will of his father, he signed up as a volunteer and went to the front during the Second World War. After graduation, he returned home as a hero, entered the university and intended, having married, to live quietly on. However, circumstances forced him to engage in family business, and subsequently even become the head of the business, which he always eschewed.
Leading his family, Corleone Jr. began to take action to legalize her activities. At the same time, the new head of the mafia structure built plans for the next few decades. Michael is prudent and able to think through everything a few moves ahead.
Themes raised in the work
The book "The Godfather" is not only about the mafia. The author raised the themes of friendship and devotion, love and betrayal, betrayal, fidelity to the word and determination of the life path, overcoming difficulties and choosing one direction or another under difficult circumstances.
Each reader who picks up this book will be able to find something new for himself, while receiving answers to the most pressing questions for him. It is no coincidence that this novel became so popular and brought glory to its author.
Family Saga
What does the Godfather book tell its reader? It is written, first of all, about the family. And we are talking here not only about the next of kin. The author considers the whole community as a family, where they experience and love each other, where they do not pay attention to little things and where you can always find forgiveness and mutual understanding. Moreover, the family can forgive everything, but not treason. In all this, the reader should not see romance or something touching. In this case, it is only a way of survival.
The head of the family, who as a child escaped the persecution of the Sicilian mafia, has to raise his own children in America. And in this society, everything is sold and bought, from the policeman to the senator. Is there any difference between American life and life in Sicily? No. Here, one might say, even more dangerous.
How to raise your children in a corrupt world? To do this, they need to instill the correct ideas about the family, creating their own code of honor. Vito Corleone embarked on this path.
Crime as an Art
Vito Corleone sought to become an honest citizen. He was sure that, once in America, it would be possible to live in peace and earn money for bread. However, this did not happen. Emigrants who came to this country took with them the way of life from which they fled. Together with trunks and bags, people brought unwritten laws with them, after which they established themselves in urban neighborhoods.
However, few managed to climb to the peaks that were conquered by Vito. And rarely has anyone become such a criminal genius as Corleone.
Each of the crimes described by the author suggests that they are part of the life of this family. However, they do not revel in violence at all. For the Corleone clan, people's weaknesses are only a tool that leads to the fulfillment of their desires. Killings are seen as the movement of pieces that take place on a giant chessboard created by life itself.
Business and nothing personal
Vito Corleone began his work in the Italian slums of New York, where he committed crimes against the law. As a result, he was able to build a gigantic empire, the main trump card of which was “bought” politicians. Vito's strength turned out to be such that other members of the mafia clans were forced to bow to him on every issue. When making certain decisions, Corleone always adhered to his moral rules. For example, forbade drug trafficking. This led to the appearance of his deadly enemies.
Acting according to his moral principles, Vito made a mistake, because being a criminal is only half impossible. No matter how beautiful their thoughts and goals were among the representatives of the mafia, they had to give up sooner or later. The same thing happened with Vito. He surrendered and signed an agreement with other clans. This allowed him to save the life of loved ones and his business. Even with all his power, Corleone was defeated. His dreams of sailing through the sea of mud and staying clean did not give a cruel reality, which turned out to be stronger.
Mafia Immortality
The book of Mario Puzo shows the continuity of generations. In the plot of the novel, the reader sees Don Vito, at the peak of fame, and his sons next to him. One of them is devoted to his father with all his heart. The second is a clear fittler, and the third does not want to do family affairs at all. Don has a daughter. She marries a man whom she loves, but does not want to know about her father’s affairs. However, life does not manage as children of the head of the family want it. The reader sees that the daughter and his youngest son are the guardians of the covenants of Don Vito.