The Godfather / The Last Don

by Mario Puzo

1st Arrow 2005 edition paperback fine book In stock shipped from our UK warehouse

Genres: Fiction, Crime

482 pages, Mass Market Paperback

Published January 1, 2002

About the author

Puzo was born in a poor family of Neapolitan immigrants living in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of New York. Many of his books draw heavily on this heritage. After graduating from the City College of New York, he joined the United States Army Air Forces in World War II. Due to his poor eyesight, the military did not let him undertake combat duties but made him a public relations officer stationed in Germany. In 1950, his first short story, The Last Christmas, was published in American Vanguard. After the war, he wrote his first book, The Dark Arena, which was published in 1955.

At periods in the 1950s and early 1960s, Puzo worked as a writer/editor for publisher Martin Goodman's Magazine Management Company. Puzo, along with other writers like Bruce Jay Friedman, worked for the company line of men's magazines, pulp titles like Male, True Action, and Swank. Under the pseudonym Mario Cleri, Puzo wrote World War II adventure features for True Action.

Puzo's most famous work, The Godfather, was first published in 1969 after he had heard anecdotes about Mafia organizations during his time in pulp journalism. He later said in an interview with Larry King that his principal motivation was to make money. He had already, after all, written two books that had received great reviews, yet had not amounted to much. As a government clerk with five children, he was looking to write something that would appeal to the masses. With a number one bestseller for months on the New York Times Best Seller List, Mario Puzo had found his target audience. The book was later developed into the film The Godfather, directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The movie received 11 Academy Award nominations, winning three, including an Oscar for Puzo for Best Adapted Screenplay. Coppola and Puzo collaborated then to work on sequels to the original film, The Godfather Part II and The Godfather Part III.

Puzo wrote the first draft of the script for the 1974 disaster film Earthquake, which he was unable to continue working on due to his commitment to The Godfather Part II. Puzo also co-wrote Richard Donner's Superman and the original draft for Superman II. He also collaborated on the stories for the 1982 film A Time to Die and the 1984 Francis Ford Coppola film The Cotton Club.

Puzo never saw the publication of his penultimate book, Omertà, but the manuscript was finished before his death, as was the manuscript for The Family. However, in a review originally published in the San Francisco Chronicle, Jules Siegel, who had worked closely with Puzo at Magazine Management Company, speculated that Omertà may have been completed by "some talentless hack." Siegel also acknowledges the temptation to "rationalize avoiding what is probably the correct analysis -- that [Puzo] wrote it and it is terrible."

Puzo died of heart failure on July 2, 1999 at his home in Bay Shore, Long Island, New York. His family now lives in East Islip, New York.

Reviews

[SHOCKY · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't know why THE GODFATHER is termed as a classic by many. After reading this bit i know what a great work MARIO PUZO has done. Those twists and turns that came along where really unexpected. Really a CLASSIC.

[Jessica Thien · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trigger Warnings
* Murder
* Violence
* Organized crime
* Mafia
* Betrayal
* Drug use
* Sexual violence
* Abuse
* Family conflict
*Racism

Reading The Godfather again as an adult and then continuing with The Last Don was such a different experience than when I first read The Godfather as a teenager.

Back then, I didn’t really understand the whole gist of The Godfather. I knew it was violent and about the Mafia, but I didn’t appreciate just how badass the Corleone family actually was. 😂 Reading it now, I had so much more fun with it. There’s something fascinating about the way power, loyalty, family, and betrayal all work together.

Then came The Last Don, and honestly… I almost put it down.

The whole Hollywood/showbusiness storyline initially felt like it had absolutely nothing to do with the Mafia, and I kept wondering where this was going. But slowly, the betrayals started unfolding and everything began connecting.

And somehow, it all comes back to these two star-crossed lovers, who are literally compared to Romeo and Juliet in the book, except they actually have a child. And that child becomes or almost becomes the downfall of their entire clan.

I really enjoyed seeing how Puzo builds these huge family dramas where one decision, one relationship, or one betrayal can affect generations. That was probably what I appreciated most about reading these books together.

Final Thoughts
The Godfather is still my favourite of the two, but The Last Don gave me a different perspective on Puzo’s world. I almost gave up on it, but the slow unraveling of all the betrayals eventually pulled me back in.

Mario Puzo really knows how to make family, power, and crime feel like one giant complicated web where nobody gets away without consequences.

⭐⭐⭐⭐½
4.5 out of 5 stars

[Martein Joaquim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Watch godfather lll

[Alejandro Sanz Mediavilla · Rating 2 out of 5]

Confusing and bad argument for most of the book. The end (last 20% maybe) is worth it. The rest wouldnt reccomend.

[Rich Canazzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

awesome

[Saya · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first one was great, the second a little Jackie Collins or summat...Nice and long though, for my reading pleasure.

[Ehren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not the godfather but real good

[Stephen Helmlinger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh, nothing earth-shattering, of as interesting as the original series.