Not exactly original, too much like Scarface. Something less predictable would be better or with a twist, like he gives up the life and follows Hagen's son into the priesthood.

I've downloaded the audiobook off iTunes and am presently listening to it. I will let people know what I think of it once I have gotten more into it.

I got my copy yesterday. I've read the jacket cover only and have already been disgusted by a "mistake" by Falco. The cover is reliving a discussion between Vito and Carmela about their eldest son. Vito says, "Sonny will be OK".

VITO NEVER CALLED HIS OLDEST SON, "SONNY". IT WAS ALWAYS, "SANTINO".

C'mon, Ed, if you're gonna write a book about the Corleones, you have to know this stuff!!!!

That's honestly unforgivable. Between that and the ridiculous Empire State Building anachronism on page one---PAGE ONE!!!!---this book is already competing with Alexandra Ripley's literary "sequel" to "Gone With the Wind." And that ain't a compliment.

It's very telling that Paramount made all that noise. They must have known that this book was a dog. Because if it's not, why would they try to stop it when they would still own the inevitable movie rights?

But I haven't started it yet. I have my copy sitting on the kitchen table and I'll start it either tonight or tomorrow. And if I'm wrong about it, I'll gladly man up and post a stellar review for poor Ed.

Vito: "Never. Give him something to earn a living, a good living. But never let him know the Family's business. Tell the others, Sonny, Fredo, Clemenza."

Nice one. Guess that means he will survive this round.

Not so fast. I suspect that olivant, in his rush to find my statement wrong skipped over this quote, a few pages before his quoted line above. Puzo wrote: "Standing at the door with him were two of his three sons. The eldest, baptized Santino but called Sonny by everyone except his father, was looked at askance by the older Italian men;"

Puzo chose to add this at the introduction of the character in the novel. It's a telling thing.

The line olivant quoted is merely a mistake in editing, something that should have been caught but obviously wasn't.

lets think of vito as a person, he makes mistakes here and there or says names differently than usual (not perfect wording i know) but still you can't point out that little flaw it's just nit picking.

i got mine on wednesday. not too bad. better then winegarder or whatever is name is! but only read the first 30 pages

Ed, what I dont like is you always put in "said". you never put any other word. angelo said blah blah but then you put vinnie said. been more interesting using other words like replied, asked, whispered

Maybe it's also a mistake in editing in this novel? In any case, I don't really care that much about these minor details as long as the story itself is good.

sonny you getting it?

Yes, but I wait till the ebook is available to buy in the Netherlands.

Picked the book up a couple of days ago, but it's now second in a queue to be read. Irvine Welsh's 'Skagboys' came out a couple of weeks ago, & I've been waiting three years for it, so that's what's being read first.

I've been hanging out for another GF novel for years, Skagboys was originally meant to be published in 2010 - what are the odds that they'd both be released within a week or so of each other?

That Vito calls his oldest son Santino while everyone else call him Sonny is Puzo's excellent way of characterizing Vito. Vito is more reserved and formal than the others around him. And I do have Vito almost always refer to Sonny as Santino, but I didn't see it as some kind of rule that could never be broken. In a tender moment between Vito and his wife, he might refer to Santino the same way his wife does, as Sonny. I was trying for a moment of tenderness between Vito and his wife.

Here are a couple of particularly good reviews of the novel that came out last week.

George De Stefano is the author of An Offer We Can’t Refuse: The Mafia in the Mind of America (Faber & Faber/Farrar, Straus, Giroux). He is also a member of the National Book Critics Circle. From The New York Journal of Books:

http://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/review/family-corleone

Jon Jordan is ex-cop/detective turned novelist from Milwaukee. From Crimespree:

http://crimespreemag.com/blog/?s=The+Family+Corleone

Liking it so far. Better then the winegardner ones

Just purchased the ebook at kobobooks.

In the only sentence I could find in the novel where Vito calls him Sonny, it was a tender moment between Vito and Tom about Carlo.

Maranzano from the Puzo novel has had his name changed to Mariposa. Is there any specific reason for this? The novel refers to real-life figures such as Dutch Schultz, Al Capone, etc., so why change the name of that character?

Are you referring to Maranzalla? Maranzano is mentioned.

I've searched for "Maranzano" in the ebook but without results. I've also noticed another small error: Massimo Fanucci was killed during the Feast of San Rocco, not San Gennaro as stated in the novel. The Feast of San Gennaro was first held in 1926.

Sonny: Is the Feast of San Rocco mentioned anywhere in the books or movies? I spent some time trying figure this out and decided eventually that it was an anachronism but also one of the most famous scenes from the movie. In the movie, we see Saint Anthony being paraded through the streets with dollar bills pinned to his image. I grew up in Brooklyn and went to the Feast of San Gennaro many times, and this parading of Saint Anthony was one of the highlights of the whole affair. So, again, I figured it was the Feast of San Gennaro and a minor anachronism and went with it in the novel because it was such a famous scene. But if the Feast of San Rocco is mentioned anywhere--and they also parade a saint (though it looked like Saint Anthony to me) I'd love to know . . .

Dontommasion: The Family Corleone is set in 1934, and Salvatore Maranzano died in 1931. Luciano and Lansky set up Maranzano after they learned that he had hired Mad Dog Coll to murder Luciano and Vito Genovese. In The Godfather, Puzo has Maranzano still alive in 1933, two years after he'd been killed. Schultz and Capone were still around in '34, though Capone was in prison.

I don't think the novel explicitly refers to the Feast of San Rocco, but it is described that Vito kills Fanucci on a hot summer night. The Feast of San Rocco is held in mid August which fits perfectly while the Feast of San Gennaro is held in late September.

Anyway, in the movie it's without any doubt the Feast of San Rocco as shown in these screenshots:

Yeah, the screenshot of San Rocco was always memorable to me.

Here's a pic of the real Feast of San Rocco from 1933 (read the insert in the lower right hand corner). The statue with the money pinned on it is a likeness of Saint Rocco, not Saint Anthony. Although in defense of Ed, I've been to many Feasts in the Bronx and Manhattan where the statue that was passed through the streets was a likeness of Saint Anthony.

San Rocco is what I remember.

I'm not even a nitpicker, but I pretty much noticed that IMMEDIATELY while reading the jacket. Still, as long as the story is good, I'm willing to give it a chance.

Sonny, Pizzaboy, Olivant: Thanks. Great screen shots. I'm shaking my head at having not realized that HUGE sign indicated the Feast of San Rocco, and not the name of a church, which is how I think it registered with me. Thanks for clarifying. If I'm lucky and the book goes to a second edition, I may get a chance to make minor changes in the text.

I just learned about an hour ago that the book sold well enough its first week to land at #16 on the 5/27 NY Times Best Seller list, so maybe I'll be lucky and get that chance.

I'm into the second half of the book and things seem to be moving very quickly now!

RichCerto, the gentlemen who did the audio recording for the book did Pentangeli very well!