I agree, Enzo. The Johnny Fontane Fontane/Nino Valenti parts didn't bother me too much. In a way, they were sort of relevant (although definitely peripheral) to the main story, being as how Johnny was the Don's Godson. And the whole thing about him repaying his Godfather by taking care of Nino said a lot about the Don's character and motivations.

However, the Lucy Mancini stuff was completely superfluous. I mean, who was she? Some broad Sonny was "doing the job" on who happened to have a "huge box". Her part should have been minimal. And Jules Segal should not have come into the story at all. He was the only character in the entire book who seemed really out of place to me. He felt like he didn't belong, and every time I read a part with him in it, I couldn't wait for it to be over. He took me out of the world of the Corleones.

Unlike the Don and other men of real power, he was not humble but haughty, reveling in his "the doctor is God" complex, talking any way he chose not only to Lucy, but also to Johnny and Nino. He wasn't even Sicilian or connected in any way. Who did he think he was? And then he had the nerve to show ingratitude to Michael and qualify his acceptance of a much-needed position at the new hospital with the proviso that it had "no strings". I love Puzo's work, but I hated that character, and he wasn't a character the reader was supposed to hate. I'd much rather have had the expository information about the Vegas operation through a story based around Fredo.