Was it a complete train wreck? No, it actually started to get better in parts (PARTICULARLY WHEN THE AUTHOR REMEMBERED THAT THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE ABOUT THE CORLEONES !!!!!)

The idea of Tom whacking somebody is just ridiculous; it was bad enough that his whole raison d'etre was tossed out of the window when Mike let him back in the circle, so to speak (y'know, the alienation was for both his and Mike sake; that whole thing about needing someone to completely trust?).

The Geraci/Soprano thing: I was starting to wonder about you folks because I couldn't quite catch the connection (they both went to college??? Tony dropped out, this guy got a law degree). And I'm noticing that I'm getting closer to the end thinking "those gangsterbb guys are crazy!" And then the part about the shakes, OHHHH THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT, riiiight.
C'mon, the whole shrink referral, that really seemed like an anachronism for the mid-50s.

The Pig Roast: "Hey, and next year, we'll make s'mores and sing folk songs!!! Golly we wiseguys are a fun bunch!!!!"

INSURANCE: Francesca mowing down Bee-boy was classic, I'll give 'em that.

Dese guys...: I have to wonder if maybe this book would've been better as an e-book with easy reference links. Because, between Shea, Ping Pong, Laughing Sal, Huggy Muggy, Toby Wong/Toby Chong, Charlie Chan, I found myself just flipping to the next page because I don't know this person nor do I care.

The Fredo Whack: This shift kinda came out of nowhere because it's like the author suddenly started having doubts about his M.O. and said, "uhhhh... I'd better go to the movie now." It really throws off what is already thrown off as it is.

The Rodent Association: JJ Baker, Jr??? 'Nuff said.

The Fredo Corleone Show: I was laughing through this because I kept thinking back to "The King of Comedy" where Pupkin, in his mom's basement, plays make-believe chat host with cutouts of Liza Minnelli and Jerry Lewis. If you read that section and imagine pin-drop silence from the audience, it's hilarious.

Yes, it was pritty bad wasn't it?

M.T.K

IT was beyond bad. Perhaps we should start a thread which lists the good parts of the book...then again I would imagine that thread would not have a lot of posts

I read one chapter and felt quite fed up.
But since I grew curious and want to ask you guys, what's the famous "wood" thing everyone refers to, something with Kay?

She's handjobbing Mike in the theatre and says something like, "we've got wood." Pure cornball.

Yes, Michael said that for their aniversary the appropriate thing to give as a gift was wood. And so, he builds the Lake Tahoe house for her.

Then, while they are on their little getaway, going the movies and making out like teenagers, she grabs his penis and says, "Behold...wood" or something like that. I kringed at the thought-Kay would never do such a thing and Puzo would never write Kay doing such a thing. It was absolutely horrific. That's when I began to lose all hope for the novel.

Haha yeah, either that or the Merv Griffen set in Kramers appartment.

Its hard to narrow down what exactly is wrong w/ GFR w/o spending your entire life doing it, but you did a pretty good job of it. Welcome to the club.

I stopped reading The Sicilian to start reading The Godfather Returns, but then I finished The Sicilian. GFR what a waste of time. Did Winggarnder make alot of money off this book?

M.T.K

He probably didn't make much if he got a percentage of the returns. The book debuted in the top 20 and fell faster than a cinder block dropped off the Empire State Building.

It probably won't hurt his career though, I hear his books before TGR are actually pretty good, but I'll never read them.

This is the kind of book where everyone involved just kind of shurgs their shoulders and forgets it ever happened. Kind of what us readers should do too.