There many different ways to try and review this novel but I suppose the easiest way is the way that Paramount approached it when they launched the lawsuit against the Puzo estate...either the book will be terrible and a black mark against the Godfather legacy or it's an installment that will do well as another movie in the series and they want to claim their stake in it early so the money will go to them. My take? It falls at neither end of the spectrum people were anticipating.

As a novel, the book is an entertaining read. It has the basic tenets of any mafia story present. It doesn't bother with characterization assumably because readers will already know the characters. And they ARE characters most Godfather fans will know. There is nothing new here. Touted as a "prequel" it's really not. Yes, it gives you some background on Vito but this is more Sonny's story which is unfortunate because most readers (and moviegoers) have found Sonny to be their least favorite character for decades now. Why he was the focus of this novel is questionable both in content and marketability. Vito's story comes out vaguely in bits and pieces, none of which are really unique or individual but merely the same tale always told in the Mafia genre: escape Sicily to make a new life, find American tough so you learn to be tough yourself and dastardly deeds are sure to follow. There is nothing to really demonstrate or explain why Vito became the character readers love so much later on. Sonny is explained in detail but, like many people, I don't care. It's the age old issue of answering questions no one asked.

A bigger issue that hit me personally was the lack of accurate research. The author chooses to bring in real life mobsters which is always a controversial choice. You have to be so amazingly diligent with your research when doing this and in this the author failed. I'm not talking about nit picky things that some will pick up on that I'm sure I missed because I never lived in New York (a few reviewers have mentioned streets that didn't exist at that time period, for example). These are all legitimate concerns with the novel - an author who chooses to make such mistakes can't be relied upon for the remainder of the story. My issue was a much bigger one that even an average reader will likely note: could there be more mentions of Al Capone? I mean, really, this got so tiresome. Vito is in NY and anyone who has done any nonfiction reading on the mafia knows that he would be answering to the likes of Luciano, Lansky and Costello and not Al Capone. Luciano and his family neither feared nor answered to Capone over in Chicago and most legitimate history books of the time will note how he was just a thorn in their side for his constant publicity. Even more damaging is the time period in question. 1934 is a big year for Vito and his family in the book and there are, again, numerous references to Capone coming out from Chicago and putting them in line. Well, even a quick google search will tell you that would simply be impossible. In 1932 Capone had his famous arrest for tax evasion and by 1934 has already been sent to Alcatraz. He wasn't even a blip on the radar anymore so the idea that he would influence any decisions in the NY mafia families borders on ridiculous.

The writing style was another thing that nagged me. It was clearly written with a screenplay in mind and this becomes more and more evident as the novel wears on. The first few chapters are much stronger in style: we are treated to inner thoughts, well written if sparse settings, and just a generally more flowing storyline. By midway, though, it degenerates into almost all dialogue. Even the descriptions of events are very timeline affected: he hits him, he bleeds, they clean their weapons and run away. Screenplay writing...not a novel. Visual yes but not a visual approach in the sense of a novel where we are taken through the tense emotions and regrets (or pleasure) such an event would cause. Will it transfer to the screen? Undoubtedly since it would require little rewriting to make it a screenplay. Does that make it great reading for a novel? Unfortunately, no.

Once I read a few chapters I sat back and realized that I should read this more as just another mafia novel than a novel about the Corleone family. And, as a standard mainstream mafia novel this book does well. Despite it's flaws, it has all the basic tenets the novels in this genre have. It neither stands out from the crowd nor falls below the norm: it's just another average entry into the thousands of similar titles already out there. For many, this is unacceptable. By attaching the Godfather name and its legacy it is expected to rise above the masses and that the pages inside don't meet that expectation will disappoint to many readers.


So, back to Paramount's original worries: will it mar the good name of the Corleone family? No. It doesn't add or subtract anything to the story. It just is sort of...there. Neither good nor bad and kind of irrelevant. Entertaining as a novel, flawed in execution but not nearly bad enough to cause some great harm to the original Godfather. Is it such a resounding success that it deserves a movie that will make Paramount tons of money? No. With the cost of movie making these days, this novel is just not one that will stand the test of time. It lacks the emotional ties that brought the original to life. The writing style would clearly make it easy to adapt to screen but this is not a new story or even a creative retelling of an old one. Again, it's just...there.

So, overall opinion? Enjoy this book as a mafia novel and not a part of the Godfather story you already know. If you can do that, it should be an entertaining read.