Originally posted by plawrence:
What it comes down to is sloppy writing.
Since there's only the one occasion when he has the opportunity to name the family and doesn't vs. all the times that he indicates their existence, I believe that he meant there to be five families in addition to the Corleones.
I agree. But how can he be so sloppy in naming and describing four of them in the commission meeting chapter, and not even mentioning the fifth? Sloppy writing, yes. And how about the proofreaders/editors? Did it slip by them also.
He could have easily made a name up for the fifth family.
The chapter also addresses the Bocchiccios and tells of their settling in New York. But I don't believe that they were the fifth family that Puzo meant for several reasons;
1) They were not at war with The Corleones and Puzo writes that The Corleones were at war with the 5 Families.
2) In the commission meeting chapter, Puzo writes that The Bocchiccio boss arrived at the meeting, and then writes that the heads of the FIVE families were the last to arrive.
3)The Bocchiccios made their living hiring themselves out as temporary hostages whenever a negotiation or a meeting took place between the families. So that in itself tells me that they would have stayed neutral during the war between the families.
In reality, The Corleones were the sixth family and The Bocchiccios the seventh!
Don Cardi
