The Godfather has been, in my mind to be one of the most famous and radically culture changing books of the last century. It created the shift from the Wild West, manifest destiny explorer to the concrete jungle hero. Mario Puzo wrote the Godfather in 1969. It is a novel telling the caring, but brutal, honorable and ruthless underworld of the mafia crime syndicates of the early to mid 20th century.
Don Vito Corleone is the infamous, loved, as well as feared.... Godfather. He has pulled himself out of the gutter as a young Sicilian immigrant to New York to someone considered to be the most powerful man in America. Michael Corleone is the youngest son of Don Vito. Michael chose to have no part in the family business and enlisted himself in the Marines during the Second World War. Mike is the most like his father in the family and is very calm and reasonable, as well as least temperamental. The only contact that he chooses to bear with his family is the wedding of his younger sister Connie. Sonny Corleone is the oldest of the Godfathers sons. Sonny is an enormous man with a temper to match his strength and impulsivity. Sonny has fully immersed himself in the life of crime and takes pride in his family and what they do. Lastly, Tom Hagen, the Consigliere, or counselor, directly to the Don, is an adopted Irishman. Tom was orphaned as a small child and Sonny took him in when he was sick. Tom was taken in to the Corleone household and eventually went to college to get his law degree.
The epic adventure starts on the day of Don Vito's daughter's wedding. Many admirers of the Godfather have come to ask him for favors and pay him respect. A young undertaker comes to Don Vito asking for help. He wants to avenge his daughter who was taken advantage of by two young American boys. The undertaker’s wish is granted, for as you interested, but naive readers may not know, the Godfather cannot refuse a favor asked of him on this, the day of his daughter's wedding. This is a happy and prosperous day for the Corleone family. Sadly, things do not bode well for the Corleone's, because the heartless and devil-horned Tattaglia's have something up their greasy sleeve.
The thing that really takes the Corleone's out of their daily routine is the introduction of a wily Turk that goes by the name of Sollozzo. He proposes, for a hefty sum of money, to get in the drug business. Making it short, the Corleone’s refuse. Sollozzo puts a hit out on Don Vito and he is shot. Miraculously, the Don lives and in his recovery, the biggest and most brutal gang war in the last 30 years commences.
Mike is brought into the family business and volunteers to kill Sollozzo as well as the corrupt police chief, McCluskey. Mike does the deed and hides away in Sicily for over a year. During this period, Sonny, who was the current Commander-in-Chief, if you will, of the Corleone’s is assassinated. After much bloodshed the Don eventually recovers and calls to order the chaos that has reigned in his weakened state. He imposes a truce among the several mafia Dons of the United States and it is a success. With this Michael is brought back to the states and from that point on fully includes himself in the family affairs.
Michael has to handle some traitors inside the family and deals with them accordingly. I won't go into details but all I'm gonna say is that they be pushin' up daisies in the New Joisey swamps. The Don retires himself from the business and teaches Mike the tricks of the trade. Michael marries a New England woman named Kay and has many a baby. The Don dies of a heart attack in his garden leaving Michael to begin the next era of the Corleone crime syndicate.
Overall The Godfather is by far one of my favorite books. The Godfather is brimming with enlightenment and chock full of feelings. It gave me a fresh look into the underworld of organized crime in America and left me hungry for more. The Godfather is a daring tale of revenge and love. It is jam packed with action and suspense, sacrifice and far- fetched feats of amazement. The Godfather makes me laugh and cry with tears of melancholy as well as jubilance.
