Type of bind: Paperback
EAN num: 9780099499480
Format: Import
ISBN number: 0099499487
Label: Random House Uk Ltd
Manufacturer: Random House Uk Ltd
Page Count: 592
Printing Date: July 31, 2007
Publishing house: Random House Uk Ltd
Sale Popularity Level: 904633
Studio: Random House Uk Ltd
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Rated by buyers 
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This book is a pageturner. I stayed up most of the night reading it, even though I'm recovering from surgery, but... I figured out the ending, which I thought was quite predictable.But still, a very good read.
Rated by buyers 
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Reading the two Winegardner Godfathers -- "The Godfather Returns" and 'The Godfather's Revenge" -- reminds one just how much of a debt Mario Puzo owed to Francis Ford Coppola. Though the original Puzo novel threw the spotlight on a fascinating, and then little-known, neck of the American underworld, it did so in pretty turgid prose that was a challenge to wade through. And the Winegardners continue that tradition: lumpy writing, limp characterization and a long, long wait -- 600 plus pages in the paperback edition of "Revenge" -- for not a lot to happen. What little does happen is pretty predictable and heavy-handedly described.
It says much about "Revenge" that its one inspired scene is the nightmare sequence that opens it -- after that, it's all downhill. It says even more that its most compelling character by far is the hapless Fredo -- that is, the image of John Cazale's wonderful portrayal of Fredo in the movies -- whose ghost hangs over events even though Fredo and, sadly, Cazale have been dead for years by the time the book opens.
"The Godfather's Revenge" is small compensation indeed for the fact that Coppola hasn't made The Godfather Parts IV, V and VI.
Rated by buyers -
First of all, let's be clear: this is not great literature. But, and this is a big, BIG ... but we're talking the Corlieone family here, and you gotta show some respect, kabish? BING-BING-BING!!!
(Just kidding, they were only blanks. You can come out from under the table now, kids.)
The author, Mark Winegardner, has a tremendous advantage going for him. Meaning: what's the main job of a novelist? To create --with only their words and nothing more -- a vivid, engrossing picture of not only what's going on in a particular scene but also what's going on in the hearts and minds of their characters. And that's easy. But when someone either reads this book or else listens to it on disks, assuming they've seen the Godfather movies (and who hasn't?), they immediately associate the performance of the actors in the Godfather movies (AL Pacino, John Cazale, Robert Duvall, et al) with Winegartner's words. In short, Winegartner can't miss.
Add to that Scott Brick's as-usual excellent reading of a book and, hey, from a purely mercantile point of view -- it's an offer you can't refuse. Unnerstand?
The story begins with Fredo Corlieone appearing to his brother Michael as either a diabetic hallucination or else a real live ghost. Now, tell me, again, assuming you've already seen the Godfather movies, how could you not want to know what these two fratelli have to say to each other?
OK, alright, so the author isn't Ernest Hemingway, but did Ernest Hemingway have at his disposal such fascinating, well-drawn, *indelible* characters as can be found in the Corlieone family? No way, Giuseppe. BING-BING-BING!!!
(Just practicing. Those were real that time.)
The fact is, Mario Puzo, Francis Ford Coppola and all the great actors and creative talents in the Godfather trilogy stand behind this book by Mark Winegartner; and a fairly good job he does spinning this intriguing tale of mafioso mayhem.
Mark Winegartner, Mario Puzo's chosen successor, is now the literary Don of the Corlieone family, and he has to be, bar none, the l-l-l-luck-k-k-k-ies-s-s-st w-w-w-rit-t-t-ter on-on-on the-the-the face-face-face of-of-of the-the-the ear-r-r-rth-th-th. And he's not even an Italian at that! Eh, Mario, ma che fa?
Tell me you don't want to know whether Johnny Fontaine throws caution to
the wind and tries to seduce one of the Corlieone cuties. (You can't can you.) And tell me that you don't want to kknow what role the Corlieone Family may have had in the JFK hit. (Go ahead, I dare you.) Or what Tom Hagen's denouement turns out to be. Or the all the lurid details of the pornographic film Jack Woltz has on Jimmy O'Shea, the JFK character in the story. Ehhhh, come on, yous know yous wanna know. Tell me yous don't wanna know. ... Fugetaboutit!
As soon as you come across a familiar name in this book, or a familiar scene or a familiar situation, you immediately cast what's going on in your mind's eye with some of the world's greatest actors: Pacino, Cazale, Brando, Duvall. That's a dream come true for a novelist; it's like shootin' with loaded dice; it's like eating your way out of a pastry factory; it's like, it's like -- it's like you're Woody Allen and you're sleeping and you wake up and all of a sudden your Paris Hilton's body stocking. Eeeeeh! Maybe you're not Irish but yer in like Flynn, baby, you can't lose. That's such an enormous advantage for a novelist that it should be against the law. But hey, the law, hahahahahaha, hahahahahahahaha! BING, BING, BING!!!
Now, listen. Yeah, you, pay attention. I have a part for you in the subsequent Godfather movie and- what? What's that? You think Johnny Fontaine's gonna get the part instead of you. Hahahahahahaha! Hahahahahahahaha! Well let me tell you something, my mick-kraut friend, you don't understand. Johnny Fontaine never gets that movie. That part is perfect for him; it'll make him a big star. And I'm gonna run him out of the business, and let me tell you why.
Johnny Fontaine ruined one of Woltz International's most valuable proteges. Not to mention taking the gun instead of the cannolis (Oy vey, and was I hungry!). For five years we had her under training -- singing lessons, acting lessons, yodeling lessons from Lou Costello. I spent as much as 25 bucks on friggin' dance lessons with Spanky MacFarlane (that other scunjadile.) I was gonna make her a big star!
And let me be even more frank, just to show you that I'm not a hard-hearted man, and that it's not all dollars and cents and weiners and schnitzel with me -- BURP! She was young, she was beautiful, she was innocent. She was the best canoe buddy a boy ever had, and I've had 'em all over the world!!!
And then Johnny Fontane comes along with his olive-oil voice, his guinea charm and his boxed set of "Jerry Vale's ... Read More
Rated by buyers -
I know fiction is supposed to be essentially entertaining lies, but perhaps the biggest lie in many novels actually comes on the copyright page. I'm referring to the standard disclaimer that "any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental." Sure, there may legal reasons for such a statement, but it is often a lie, as is demonstrated in Mark Windegardner's The Godfather's Revenge, the sequel to The Godfather Returns, which is itself a follow-up to Mario Puzo's The Godfather.
For those familiar with the Godfather stories (and if you aren't, you should really not be reading this book without reading its predecessors first), this is the saga of the Corleone family, the dominant Mafia family in New York. The original book featured Vito Corleone, the patriarch of the family, but its real protagonist was Michael Corleone, Vito's reluctant heir. By the time of The Godfather Returns, Michael is firmly ensconced in his position, and he is still powerful at the beginning of the subsequent book (which takes place in 1963 and 1964), albeit with some real threats to him and his family.
In particular, there is Nick Geraci, something of a doppelganger for Michael, who barely survived the events of Winegardner's previous book. Now, Nick has come out of hiding and has a plan to dethrone Michael. Meanwhile, New Orleans boss Carlo Tramonti, angered at his temporary deportation by the INS, is out to get the President who he blames for the arrest; he also has it in for Michael, who had backed the election of the current president.
Michael has problems closer to home as well. Tom Hagen, his step-brother and closest adviser, is accused of murder. Michael also has to deal with personal issues: complications from diabetes, an estrangement from his children and his guilt over ordering the killing of his own brother, Fredo.
Among the characters in the book are plenty who are meant to represent real life figures, despite whatever disclaimers are given. President Jimmy Shea and his crusading Attorney General brother Daniel are obviously John Kennedy and his brother Robert. Johnny Fontane bears more than a passing resemblance to Frank Sinatra, and there is even a brief appearance of a Mario Puzo clone called Sergio Lupo.
With his previous book, Gardener was technically proficient, but also overly ambitious; the result was a book that tried to do to much. To a lesser extent, The Godfather's Revenge has the same issues: it dances all over the place, with the lack of a true central character. Michael comes closest, but even he is not in much of the book (though his presence is always felt). Overall, however, Gardener has improved over his previous novel, so if you were satisfied with his earlier effort, you should enjoy this book as well.
Rated by buyers -
I found this book a great disappointment. The previous book by the same author was good, but this one is best described as a book you can't wait to put down. If it were not about the Puzo characters, this book would never have been be published. Save your time and money. Forget about it! The only thing you'll get out of this is that Tom Hagen was killed by Nick Geraci by way of drowning in a car. That's it. I read reviews just like this one, but am a great Godfather fan, so went ahead and bought it. Big mistake.
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