Just finished the book. It's a whole lot better than Winegardner's books thats for sure. I would hope Falco will now be the one to attempt a book on the end of the Corleone Saga (Vincent as head of the family)


****Spolier alert****

One criticism though: I was always under the impression that when Vito was shot by a group of Mad Dog Irishmen it was more than just a shoulder injury. I would have expected that he would have had to be in the hospital. Also Puzo speaks of Sonny taking charge while Vito was down and starting his own regime "like a young napoleon" I didnt see any of that in the novel so for that Im a bit dissappointed

The question is how much of it is directly taken from the Puzo script, and how much is artistic license. Maybe Puzo changed certain elements from his original novel himself.

"Rich", I have to say that I've been absorbed in your fine work! Your prose is also quite cinematic at times, which really adds to the story -- as I try to visualize how it would appear in a film. I'm not quite finished yet -- but I'll say you've done a fine job indeed. But I gotta see how it ends first Kudos!

Mr. Certo, just wanted to let you know that I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Just thought you'd like to hear that instead of all the nit picking.

Well done, sir.

Paulie could not be 10 years old in 1935. In the original novel he is described as being 26 years old in 1945.

I can live with the Rosato brothers being around in the early days, because there's no rule that they should be completely reminiscent to the Gallo brothers, whom they are based on. Afterall, The Godfather has its own universe. I also don't have a problem with the war being set a year later than in the original novel. Remember that Clemenza says in film that the last war took place ten years earlier.

But I can't deny that I also have the impression that this story was written too hastily, based on the many discrepancies. But then again, the original novel and even the films also have many discrepancies, which we are all more than aware of.

The good thing about this novel is that's its much more a novel like the original than the Winegardner stuff. It's much more true to the original novel and the films and is therefore a nice addition. The portrayal of the main characters, like Vito, Sonny and the rest of the family is well done. They all act and behave authentically, based upon their behaviour and personality as seen in the films. I especially liked the story of Sonny and Sandra, which was excellent and very realistic. I very much enjoyed that part. So for that I give Falco a big plus.

But this novel also has too much of an introduction and too less of an ending. IMO, a little too much of the story is focussed on the Irish, and too less on the actual war between the Corleones and Maranzano/Mariposa, which was something that I think this novel was supposed to be about. In the original novel the war went on for six months, while in this novel it only went on for a couple of weeks. So in that perspective, the story lacks information and it leaves many questions unanswered. I'm a little disappointed in the fact that there's no mention of Hyman Roth, Moe Greene or Murder Inc., which was at its height in the mid 1930s.

The story overall is decent, but as of this moment it's not completely fulfiling. I hope that Falco makes some changes in a next edition based on our feedback.

However, with all that being said, there is one particular detail that has troubled me. Now I am going off of memory as it's been a long time since I read Puzo's novel. Am I correct in remembering that in Puzo's novel the Irish gang shot Vito in the throat / chest area causing him to talk with a raspy voice?

In Puzo's novel he was hit in the chest. The raspy voice was introduced by Marlon Brando after he had watched tapes of Frank Costello during the Kefauver hearings.

So why write in this novel that he was shot in the arm?

And one other thing that troubled me was that no mention was made of Sonny seeing Vito kill Fannucci. In this novel he says that he saw Vito kill Tom's biological father, but never references his witnessing Vito killing Fannucci.

As far as the foreshadowing, from the first time I read the line "the furnace roared," and he mentioned it more than once, I knew where he was going. I think we all did.