You Broke My Heart, Fettuccini: Book Review of The Godfather

 

The Godfather by Mario Puzo

Gratitude

Thank you, Montgomery County Public Library, for making The Godfather by Mario Puzo readily available to the public at no cost.

Description

In The Godfather, Puzo constructs a world in which when the system seems unfair for the little guy, he doesn’t need to wait for the heavens to supply justice in the afterlife, because he can appeal to Don Corleone to right the wrongs in this life. On earth, his godfather, Don Corleone, will help when all else fails. The Godfather will punish the boys who attacked his daughter, and also help the widow, the local boy who made it big, and the baker, while making sure that everyone gets a cut.

Don Corleone started as an immigrant who worked hard, but observed that another person’s power move could tip the balances—for example, a demand for protection money might change how a business operates, to the detriment of the guy at the bottom. Once he understands the way things work, Corleone decides that he will do what it takes to provide for his family, and if that means establishing his own mafia family, so be it.

Don Corleone’s sons, Sonny, Fredo, and Michael grow up in their father’s shadow. Sonny, the oldest, is hotheaded and the youngest, Michael, is defiant, enlisting in the army against his father’s wishes. Fredo, the middle boy, does not have the strength of his brothers. Connie, the baby of the family and the only daughter, is pampered and adored. The book opens on her wedding.

As with any good mafia man, Corleone’s influence is far reaching. He has many politicians in his pocket and informants in different areas, including the police department. The other families are on the look out for a weakness in the Corleone family to exploit, and they just might find one.

Would I teach this book?

Would I teach The Godfather? The Godfather has an interesting structure. It is split up into eight different books that move around from the past and story present, including telling parts of the story line from different characters’ points of view, without becoming repetitive. Puzo creates a family epic that both endears the reader to the Corleone family at the same time as laying bare the twisted morality it operates under.

In following the book’s structure and many characters, there is a lot to learn about making a simple plot line complex and creating a seemingly fantastic world within our own. To that end, it would be a good book to study in order to learn more about writing an entertaining plot. It is not high literary writing, but, as many bemoan, a lot literary novels do not put their strongest emphasis on plot. So, yes, The Godfather could be an instructional tool to that end and may also create a desire in a new generation to watch the trilogy of movies it spawned.

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Why Don't You Write a Letter to the San Juan Star?: Book Review of The Correspondent

 

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

Gratitude 

Thank you to the Montgomery County Public Libraries for making The Correspondent by Virginia Evans available as a lucky day book.

Description

Sybil Van Antwerp comes from another time, when there were few female judges, and to find a way to influence the court system, she spent her career clerking for a well-known judge. Sybil’s relationship with him was a working one only, but they were the closest of collaborators. She did not just advise him, they made decisions together, and to hear it told, on equal footing. Around the time the judge dies, Sybil also begins to experience deteriorating eye sight, and her already limited amount of travel shrinks even further.

Sybil communicates with the world largely through letters. She corresponds with her family and friends as well as some well-known authors, such as Joan Didion. Like Didion, she lost a child, though Sybil’s Gilbert died when he was only eight. Sybil still feels the loss with a terrible intensity that continues to impact her life in many ways. The letters include a lot of her backstory, and in an interesting way that does not slog down the plot.  

The Sybil we meet brokers no fools, as the saying goes, nor does she make departures from her quiet life, at least not easily. She can be hard and difficult, but she can also be thoughtful, caring, and willing to put up a good fight for anyone for whom she cares.

Would I teach this book? 

Would I teach The Correspondent? In a time when letters are way out of fashion, Virginia Evan’s The Correspondent may be one of the last modern-day epistolic books that is not fully emails. In fact, the author has Sybil defend her letter writing to other characters.

The book is not terribly long, which is helpful for teaching–the longer a book, the more difficult to include on the syllabus. It has a good story and great character development. It might not be as amazing as some might be claiming, but it is an enjoyable read. It is a possibility to be included in a creative writing or literature course, but it would not be in my top ten or even top twenty picks.


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