I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I am a very big fan (as are many) of the original novel. While this book certainly does not equal the The Godfather, it still retains your interest and sheds new light on some of the events only touched on by the films. Winegardner does a decent job of mimicking the voices and thoughts of the characters of the original novel (a daunting task if there ever was one) and keeping them fairly true to their original natures. If he goes wrong it is in overstatemwnt of these characters rather than understatement. Michael Corleone is even more calculating, morose and yes heartless in this book. Kay Corleone is deftly returned to her true nature from the novel and the contrived and dopey film version (II & III, I believe created chiefly to satisfy feminist concerns of the 70's era)is left behind. Tom Hagen is found to be oddly patriotic for a man who spends most of his life helping to corrupt the system. The most interesting twist is with the character of Fredo Corleone. I won't spoil it for you, but I am not sure that it really works. It was a good try though. The story line is pretty good, but it gets a tad too fantastic and complicated at times to feel true. While Puzo slyly hinted at who some of his characters and events might be in real life, Mark Winegardener is blatantly obvious. James Kavanagh Shea = John Fitzgerald Kennedy. It is a sign of the times that an author can feel so free to be unflatterring to a barely concealed real-life reference. He does Joe Kennedy Sr. even fewer favors. Bottom line is that if you loved The Godfather then you will probably like this effort. But, if you haven't yet read The Godfather do yourself a big favor and read it!Read full review
couldn't put it down
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Not to the standards of the original, but what would be? Still nice to read about the Corleone family some more.
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Excellent back stories behind the characters.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Like these novels with more insight into the Corlene family
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