The Godfather (novel)
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| Author | Mario Puzo |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Thriller, Crime novel |
| Publisher | G. P. Putnam's Sons |
| Released | 10 March 1969 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) & Audio Book |
| Pages | 448 pp (Paperback edition) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-7493-2468-6 (Hardback edition) & ISBN 0-399-10342-2 & ISBN 0-451-16771-6 (Paperback editions) |
| Followed by | The Sicilian |
The Godfather is a novel written by American author Mario Puzo originally published in 1969 by G. P. Putnam's Sons. It details the story of a fictitious Sicilian Mafia family settled in USA and headed by Don Vito Corleone, who became synonymous with the Italian Mafia. The novel covers the years 1945 to 1955, and also provides the backstory of Vito Corleone from early childhood to adulthood. The book made the English dictionary richer with new words like consiglieri, caporegime, Cosa Nostra, and omertà.
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[edit] Titling
Much controversy surrounds the title of the book and its underworld implications. Although it is widely reported that Puzo was inspired to use "Godfather" as a designator for a Mafia leader from his experience as a reporter, the term "The Godfather" was first used in connection with the Mafia during Joe Valachi's testimony during the 1963 Congressional Hearing on Organized Crime.
[edit] Main characters
The Godfather referred to in the title is Vito Corleone, whose surname recalls the town of Corleone, Sicily. Similarly, the maiden name of Corleone's mother is Corigliano, named after the town of Corigliano Calabro, Calabria; an area well known for 'Ndrangheta activity. Vito has four biological children: Santino "Sonny" Corleone, Frederico "Fredo" Corleone, Michael Corleone, and Costanza "Connie" Corleone. He also has an informally adopted son, Tom Hagen, who became the Corleones' consigliere. He is also the godfather of a famous singer and movie star Johnny Fontane
[edit] Film adaptation
In 1972, a film adaptation of the novel was released, starring Marlon Brando as Don Vito Corleone, Al Pacino as Michael Corleone, and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Mario Puzo assisted with writing the screenplay and with other production tasks. The film grossed approximately $134 million and won various awards, including three Academy Awards, five Golden Globes and a Grammy and is considered to be one of the greatest films of all time. The sequel, The Godfather, Part II won 6 Oscars, and became the first sequel to win the Oscar for Best Picture.
[edit] Other adaptations
The video game company Electronic Arts released a video game adaptation of The Godfather on March 21, 2006. The player assumes the role of a "soldier" in the Corleone family. Prior to his death, Marlon Brando provided some voice work for Vito, which was eventually deemed unusable and was dubbed over by a Brando impersonator. Francis Ford Coppola said in April 2005 that he was not informed of Paramount's decision to allow the game to be made and he did not approve of it.[1] Al Pacino also did not participate, and his likeness was replaced with a different depiction of Michael Corleone.
A board game based on the movie was also produced.
[edit] Sequels
In 2004, Random House published a sequel to Puzo's The Godfather, The Godfather Returns, by Mark Winegardner. A further sequel by Winegardner, The Godfather's Revenge, was released in 2006. The sequel novels continue the story from Puzo's novel. They do not contradict the events of the film sequels, and can be read independently, or be seen as supplemental, to the films.
The Godfather Returns picks up the story immediately after the end of Puzo's The Godfather. It covers the years 1955 to 1962, as well as providing significant backstory for Michael Corleone's character prior to the events of the first novel. The events of the film Godfather II all take place within the time frame of this novel, but are only mentioned in the background. The novel contains an appendix that attempts to correlate the events of the novels with the events of the films. The novels and films dovetail in a curious fashion.
The Godfather's Revenge covers the years 1963 to 1964.
Continuing Puzo's habit, as seen in The Godfather, of featuring characters who are close analogues of real life events and public figures (as Johnny Fontane is an analogue of Frank Sinatra), Winegardner features in his two Godfather novels analogues of Joseph, John F., and Robert F. Kennedy (the Shea family, in the novels) as well as an analogue for alleged organized crime figure Santo Trafficante, Jr. (Carlo Tramonti). In The Godfather Returns, Winegardner also dramatizes the sweep of organized crime arrests that took place in Apalachin, New York in 1957.
Winegardner uses all of the characters from the Puzo novels, and created a few of his own, most notably Nick Geraci, a Corleone soldier whose role in the two sequel novels is as important as those of the Puzo-created characters. Winegardiner further develops Puzo characters like Fredo Corleone, Tom Hagen, and Johnny Fontane.
[edit] The Sicilian
Another Puzo novel featuring Michael Corleone as a minor character, The Sicilian, was published in 1984. The novel was set at the end of Michael's two-year exile in Sicily, and the plot is based on the story of the real-life bandit Salvatore Giuliano.
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes and References
- ^ Godfather film director whacks Godfather game - by Tor Thorsen, GameSpot, April 8, 2005, retrieved April 8, 2005.
[edit] External links
- Amazon.com's Product Page for The Godfather
- Barnes & Noble.com's Product Page for The Godfather
- The Official Mario Puzo's Library entry for The Godfather
- GodfatherFilms.com's entry for The Godfather
- 20th-Century American Bestsellers's Entry for The Godfather
- Mark Winegardner
- The Godfather Returns
