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Created page with "{{short description|1969 novel by Mario Puzo}} {{Infobox book |  | name = The Godfather | ori..."

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{{short description|1969 novel by Mario Puzo}}
{{Infobox book | 
| name = The Godfather
| orig title =
| translator =
| image = Godfather-Novel-Cover.png
| image_size = 175px
| caption = U.S. first edition cover
| author = [[Mario Puzo]]
| cover_artist = [[S. Neil Fujita]]
| country = United States
| language = English
| series = ''[[The Godfather]]''
| genre = [[Crime novel]]
| publisher = [[G. P. Putnam's Sons]]
| release_date = March 10, 1969
| preceded_by = [[The Family Corleone]]
| followed_by = [[The Sicilian]]
| dewey = 813.54
}}

'''''The Godfather''''' is a [[crime novel]] by American author [[Mario Puzo]]. Originally published in 1969 by [[G. P. Putnam's Sons]], the novel details the story of a fictional [[American Mafia|Mafia]] family in [[New York City]] (and [[Long Beach, New York]]), headed by [[Vito Corleone]]. Puzo's [[Dedication (publishing)|dedication]] for ''The Godfather'' is "''For Anthony Cleri''". The novel's [[Epigraph (literature)|epigraph]] is by the French author [[Honoré de Balzac]]: "Behind every great fortune there is a crime." The novel covers the years 1945 to 1955 and includes the back story of Vito Corleone from early childhood to adulthood.

The first in a [[The Godfather (book series)|series of novels]], ''The Godfather'' is noteworthy for introducing Italian words like ''[[consigliere]]'', ''[[caporegime]]'', ''[[Cosa Nostra]]'', and ''[[omertà]]'' to an English-speaking audience. It inspired a [[The Godfather|1972 film of the same name]]. Two film sequels, including new contributions by Puzo himself, were made in [[The Godfather Part II|1974]] and [[The Godfather Part III|1990]]. The first two films are widely held in high esteem as examples of the cinematic art.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/top/bestofrt_year.php |title=Top Movies - Best Movies at Rotten Tomatoes |publisher=Rottentomatoes.com |access-date=2011-08-10}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/chart/top|title=IMDb Top Rated Movies|first=IMDb|last=Users|website=IMDb}}</ref>

==Summary==
The [[Corleone family]], one of the Five Families of the [[New York Mafia]], fights the other four families in a brutal war in the years after [[World War II]]. After Don Vito Corleone is shot by men working for drug kingpin Virgil "The Turk" Sollozzo, Corleone's two sons, Santino ("Sonny") and Michael, must run the family business with the help of ''[[consigliere]]'' Tom Hagen and the family's two trusted ''[[caporegimes]]'', Peter Clemenza and Salvatore Tessio. When Michael murders Sollozzo and his bodyguard, corrupt NYPD officer Captain Mark McCluskey, while meeting with them in a restaurant, the conflict escalates into a full-scale war which results in Sonny's murder; Michael is forced to assume control of the family as the new Don. Under his [[Retirement|retired]] father's tutelage, Michael orchestrates a plan to extract revenge, while relocating the Corleone family's power base to [[Las Vegas]] in order to further his goal of legitimizing the family and getting them out of organized crime. This encompasses the murder of all of the Corleone family's enemies, including Michael's brother-in-law Carlo Rizzi, who played a part in Sonny's murder. After selling all of the family's remaining businesses in New York, the Corleones permanently move to Las Vegas.

==Main characters==
The Corleone family patriarch is [[Vito Corleone]] (the Don), whose surname ([[Italian language|Italian]] for "Lionheart") recalls the [[Corleone|Sicilian town of the same name]]. His birth name is Vittorio Andolini, but after immigrating to the United States following the deaths of his parents and brother, he changed it to the name of his home village as one of his few acts of sentimentality. Vito fathered four children: [[Santino "Sonny" Corleone]], [[Fredo Corleone|Federico "Fredo" Corleone]], [[Michael "Mike" Corleone]], and [[Connie Corleone|Constanzia "Connie" Corleone]]. He also has an informally adopted son, [[Tom Hagen|Thomas "Tom" Hagen]], who became the Corleone family's ''[[consigliere]]'' (counselor). Vito Corleone is also [[Godparent|godfather]] to the famous singer and movie star [[Johnny Fontane]]. The godfather referred to in the title is generally taken to be Vito. However, the story's main character is Michael Corleone. The novel's central storyline details Michael's destiny to succeed his father as the head of the family empire, despite his desire to lead an [[American Dream|Americanized life]] with his girlfriend (and eventual wife) [[Kay Adams-Corleone|Kay Adams]].

The Corleone family is a criminal organization with national influence, notably [[Protection racket|protection]], [[gambling]] and [[labor union|union]] racketeering. Serving as the Don's [[underboss]] is his oldest son, Santino. The operational side of the organization is headed by two ''[[caporegime]]s'', [[Peter Clemenza|Peter "Pete" Clemenza]] and [[Salvatore Tessio]]. Other significant members of the organization include enforcers Luca Brasi and Albert Neri and upcoming soldier Rocco Lampone.

==Reception==
The novel remained on [[The New York Times Best Seller list|''The New York Times'' Best Seller list]] for 67 weeks and sold over nine million copies in two years.<ref>{{cite web | title="The Godfather" Turns 40 |work=CBS News|publisher=CBS Interactive Inc. | url=http://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/the-godfather-turns-40/3/ | date=March 15, 2012 | access-date=July 15, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140717004801/http://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/the-godfather-turns-40/3/ |archive-date=July 17, 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Film adaptation==
{{Main|The Godfather}}

The [[1972 in film|1972]] film adaptation of the novel was released with [[Marlon Brando]] as Don Vito Corleone and [[Al Pacino]] as Michael Corleone, directed by [[Francis Ford Coppola]]. Mario Puzo assisted with both the writing of the screenplay and other production tasks. The film grossed approximately $269 million worldwide and won various awards, including three [[Academy Awards]], five [[Golden Globe]]s and one [[Grammy]]. The film is considered to be tremendously significant in cinematic history. The sequel, ''[[The Godfather Part II]]'' won six [[Academy Awards|Oscar]]s, and became the first sequel to win the [[Academy Award for Best Picture]].

The film's plot follows the novel except for such details as backstories of some characters that are excluded, although they were filmed. Some of this footage was included in later re-edited versions such as, "The Godfather Saga." The subplot involving Johnny Fontane in [[Hollywood]] was not filmed. The most significant deviation of the film from the novel was that the latter had a more positive ending than the film in which Kay Corleone accepts Michael's decision to take over his father's business. The film ends with Kay's realization of Michael's callousness, a theme that would develop in the [[The Godfather Part II|second]] and [[The Godfather Part III|third]] films, which are largely not based on the original novel. Vito Corleone's backstory appeared in the second film, with his character portrayed by [[Robert De Niro]].

===Video game adaptation of the film===
{{Main|The Godfather (2006 video game)}}

The video game company [[Electronic Arts]] released a [[video game]] adaptation of ''The Godfather'' film on March 21, 2006. The player assumes the role of a "soldier" in the family. Prior to his death, [[Marlon Brando]] provided some [[Voice-over|voice work]] for [[Vito Corleone|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.<ref>''[http://www.gamespot.com/news/6121958.html Godfather film director whacks Godfather game]'' - by Tor Thorsen, [[GameSpot]], April 8, 2005, Retrieved April 8, 2005.</ref> [[Al Pacino]] declined to participate, and his likeness was replaced with a different depiction of [[Michael Corleone]].

==Sequels==
In 1984, Puzo's literary sequel to ''[[The Godfather]]'' was published. Titled ''[[The Sicilian]]'', it chronicles the life of "Giuliano" ([[Salvatore Giuliano]]) but the Corleone family is featured heavily throughout, [[Michael Corleone]] in particular. Chronologically this story sits between Michael's exile to [[Sicily]] in 1950 and his return to the United States. For copyright reasons, the Corleone family involvement was cut from the [[Michael Cimino]] [[The Sicilian (film)|film adaptation]], which is not considered part of the [[The Godfather (film series)|'' Godfather'' film series]].

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. These novels continue the story from Puzo's novel.

''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 ''[[The Godfather Part II]]'' all take place within the timeframe 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 Godfather's Revenge'' covers the years 1963 to 1964.

Continuing Puzo's habit, as seen in ''The Godfather'', of featuring characters who are close analogs of real-life events and public figures (as Johnny Fontane is an analog of [[Frank Sinatra]]), Winegardner features in his two ''Godfather'' novels analogs of [[Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr.|Joseph]], [[John F. Kennedy|John F.]] and [[Robert F. Kennedy]], as well as alleged organized crime figure [[Carlos Marcello]] (Carlo Tramonti). In ''[[The Godfather Returns]]'', Winegardner also dramatizes the [[Apalachin Meeting|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 [[soldato|soldier]] who plays a pivotal role in the sequel novels. Winegardner further develops characters from the original novel, such as [[Fredo Corleone]], [[Tom Hagen]], and Johnny Fontane.

In 2012, a prequel based on an unproduced screenplay by Mario Puzo titled ''[[The Family Corleone]]'', was written by [[Edward Falco|Ed Falco]]. It tells the story of how [[Vito Corleone]] rises to Don and how [[Sonny Corleone]] and [[Tom Hagen]] enter the family business.

==Literary references==
The Corleone family closely resembles the Karamazov family in ''[[The Brothers Karamazov]]'': a powerful father, an impulsive oldest son, a philosophical son, a sweet-tempered son, and an adopted stepson who is maintained as an employee. [[Honoré de Balzac]]'s novel ''[[Le Père Goriot]]'' (1835) has been the inspiration for notable lines that have gained wide popularity in cinema history. Similarly, Puzo opened his 1969 novel with an epigraph popularly attributed to Balzac: "Behind every great fortune there is a crime." The saying is most likely evolved over time from Balzac's original text: "The secret of a great success for which you are at a loss to account is a crime that has never been found out because it was properly executed."<ref>[http://quoteinvestigator.com/2013/09/09/fortune-crime/#more-7188 Quote Investigator]: Comédie Humaine by Honoré de Balzac, Edited by George Saintsbury, Old Goriot (Le Père Goriot) (1896), Translated by Ellen Marriage, Quote Page 124, J. M. Dent and Co., London and New York. "Le secret des grandes fortunes sans cause apparente est un crime oublié, parce qu’il an été proprement fait. 1834, Revue de Paris, Volume 12, Le Père Goriot by Honoré de Balzac, Seconde Partie: L’entrée dans le monde, Start Page 237, Quote Page 258, Au Bureau De La Revue De Paris, Paris, France. (Google Books full view); http://www.e-corpus.org/notices/150840/gallery/1947340/fulltext; viewed 10-2-2014.</ref>

"I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse" was included in both the original Puzo novel and in the [[The Godfather|film adaptation]]. It is the second-ranking cinematic quote included in [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes]] (2005) by the [[American Film Institute]]. Its origin may be from the same work to which Balzac is credited with the opening epigraph. Balzac wrote of [[Vautrin]] telling Eugene: "In that case, I will make you an offer that no one would decline."<ref>http://www.literaturepage.com/read/balzac-father-goriot-104.html (Father Goriot, page 104 in Chapter 1); "Dans ces conjunctures, Je vais vous faire une proposition Que personne ne refuserait. Honoré de Balzac, ''Œuvres complètes'' de H. de Balzac (1834), Calmann-Lévy, 1910 (Le Père Goriot, II. L'entrée dans le monde, pp. 110-196); viewed 10-2-2014.</ref>

==Real-life influences==
Large parts of the novel are based upon reality, notably the history of the "[[Five Families]]", the [[American Mafia|Mafia]] organization in New York and the surrounding area. The novel also includes many allusions to real-life mobsters and their associates. For example, Johnny Fontane is based on [[Frank Sinatra]],<ref>
{{cite web
|url= http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/gangsters_outlaws/mob_bosses/the_godfather/6.html
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120421011203/http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/gangsters_outlaws/mob_bosses/the_godfather/6.html
|archive-date=21 April 2012
|access-date= 2009-06-15
|title= Fact and Fiction in The Godfather
|first= Anthony
|last= Bruno
|website= [[TruTV]]
}}</ref><ref name="parker20151211">{{Cite news |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/sinatra-at-100-was-a-844595 |title=The Time Frank Sinatra Berated Mario Puzo For His Assumed Likeness in 'The Godfather' |last=Parker |first=Ryan |date=2015-12-11 |work=The Hollywood Reporter |access-date=2018-12-28}}</ref> and [[Moe Greene]] on [[Bugsy Siegel]].<ref>{{cite news |title=The Not-so-famous Alex Rocco |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=BG&p_theme=bg&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EADEF1D219E2215&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |quote=Until this year, Alex Rocco was best known as Moe Greene, the Bugsy Siegel character who was shot in the eyeglasses at the end of "The Godfather. ... |work=[[Boston Globe]] |date=November 13, 1989 |access-date=2008-07-20 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Snap Judgment: Betting against the odds |url=http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1201523800474 |quote= Moe Greene is, of course, Lansky partner Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel, who spearheaded the building of Las Vegas's first luxury casino-hotel, The Flamingo, ... |work=[[The Jerusalem Post]] |date=January 31, 2008 |access-date=2008-07-20 }}</ref> In addition, the character of Vito Corleone was a composite of real-life organized crime bosses [[Frank Costello]] and [[Carlo Gambino]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.factbehindfiction.com/index_files/TheGodfatherMarioPuzo.htm |title=''The Godfather'' by Mario Puzo|website=FactBehindFiction.com}}</ref>

== See also ==
* {{Portal inline|Novels}}

==Notes and references==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.jgeoff.com/godfather/novel/gfnovel.html The Official Mario Puzo's Library entry for ''The Godfather'']
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060503045430/http://www3.isrl.uiuc.edu/~unsworth/courses/bestsellers/search.cgi?title=The+Godfather 20th-Century American Bestsellers's Entry for ''The Godfather'']

{{Godfather}}
{{MarioPuzo}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Godfather, The}}
[[Category:1969 American novels]]
[[Category:The Godfather novels]]
[[Category:Novels by Mario Puzo]]
[[Category:G. P. Putnam's Sons books]]
[[Category:American novels adapted into films]]
[[Category:Novels set in the 1940s]]
[[Category:Novels set in the 1950s]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of the Mafia]]
[[Category:Third-person narrative novels]]

The Godfather (novel) - Revision history

Hoci Mini: Created page with "{{short description|1969 novel by Mario Puzo}} {{Infobox book | | name = The Godfather | ori..."