Questions About The Godfather (The Godfather, #1)

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about The Godfather, please sign up.

Answered Questions (26)

I'm apprehensive about reading this book. This is typically a genre I wouldn't read (not to mention I haven't seen the trilogy) but I know it's a classic best-seller. Why should I read the book? What should I take away from the book? Why do you recommend it to me?

Manohar Read it for the quotes.. Read it to know how composed a man needs to be when faced with unfavorable circumstances.. Read it to understand how defeat c…moreRead it for the quotes.. Read it to know how composed a man needs to be when faced with unfavorable circumstances.. Read it to understand how defeat can be faced among peers and personally.. Read it so that the movies make more sense when you watch them later.. Read it with a pen and paper handy to keep jotting down the wisdom that is imparted by the author through Vito Corleone's quotes.. (less)

flag

What is sequel and prequel to mario puzo's Godfather novels? Currently now I am reading the 'Godfather'. Want to know which book I should pick after I am done reading this? Please guide me.

Lawand In 1983, Puzo's literary sequel to The Godfather was published. Entitled The Sicilian, it chronicles the life of "Giuliano" (Salvatore Giuliano) but t…moreIn 1983, Puzo's literary sequel to The Godfather was published. Entitled The Sicilian, it chronicles the life of "Giuliano" (Salvatore Giuliano) but the Corleone family is featured heavily throughout, Michael Corleone in particular. Chronologically this story sits between Michael's exile to Sicily in 1950 to his return to the USA.

In 2004, Random House published a sequel to Puzo's The Godfather, The Godfather Returns, by Mark Winegardner. A further sequel by Winegardner, The Godfather's Revenge, was released in 2006. The sequel novels continue the story from Puzo's novel.(but it is for a different author)

In 2012, a prequel, based on an unproduced screenplay by Mario Puzo, titled The Family Corleone was written by Ed Falco. It tells the story of how Vito Corleone rises to Don and how Sonny Corleone and Tom Hagen enter the family business.

hope this answer helps :) (less)

flag

Why did Michael decide to marry Kay? I get the impression he never really loved her, they just slept together when he was in college and immediately after. What did he think he could gain from marrying a woman so completely outside his own culture and experience?

Kendra Heitrich I don’t think it was really a matter of what he could gain. A lot of it, I think, had to do with their history. When him and Kay were first together, …moreI don’t think it was really a matter of what he could gain. A lot of it, I think, had to do with their history. When him and Kay were first together, he was dead-set against the family business, on a path to the legitimate career he wanted, and his family was intact. He did love Kay—including the fact that she was outside of the Sicilian nature that he felt confined by. She was the life that he truly wanted.
So, yes he goes to Sicily and falls in love with Apollonia. A very romantic, sexual love—while his love with Kay I think is less of a lustful affection. He falls in love with a Sicilian, and, in a way, with the Sicilian way of life that he wanted so badly to avoid.
When he comes back to America, so much has changed: Michael killed two men face-to-face (“bada-bing! You blow their brains all over your nice Ivy League suit.”-Sonny), his brother died brutally, his trusted bodyguard set a trap for him, and the woman he loved beyond anything died in front of his eyes, taking the child that was in her stomach too—his first child. So, when he returns to America, he’s broken beyond any way he’s ever been broken. Kay, in turn, is familiar. She’s a reminder of life before his pain, before his loss. She’s the embodiment of all that he aspired to be, but failed to become. She’s also the only one who still *saw him* as all he aspired to be. I think Michael did love her, but not in the love-at-first-sight way. He loved her, partially for who she truly was, and partially for who she was *to him.* It was a way of holding on to the past.
I hope that makes sense :) That’s just how I saw/interpreted it. (less)

flag

I'm quite the movie lover and mostly movies are not able to live up to the books. How is the relation between the book and the movie? can anyone help me?

Melissa I am a movie lover and there are few movies that I find better than the book. I honestly love both equally in this case. They are different enough in …moreI am a movie lover and there are few movies that I find better than the book. I honestly love both equally in this case. They are different enough in a way that doesn't make me long for the missing parts from either in either, if that makes sense. (less)

flag

It's strange:Jules Segal told Fontane that Nino would die if he wasn't committed. Did Johnny not care about Nino,or what? How come he allowed Nino to die?

Susan Lawson Johnny couldn't MMAKE Nino want to get better, to live. If Nino was giving up on life and didn't want to change there wasn't anything Johnny or anyone else could do.

flag

Load 5 more questions