Does anyone else think it is halarious that they have a sequel to the Godfather (book) even though Puzo is dead? I hate the idea of attempting to further Puzo's work.

Yeah I think its pretty stupid too, just like the GF4 they're making.

Are they really making GF 4?

Up to this point I havent heard for a fact they are, but you cant tell me its not in serious dicussion. :rolleyes:

Man I hope not. But I'd probably go see it since I'm obsessed with this movie.

Really, I never noticed
:p The thought of a Part 4 scares me, but I will have to be the first in line to see it.

The prospect of new Godfather movies has been discussed - Puzo hinted at a Part IV in an interview on the DVD filmed before his death and how he'd like to see it done. It's rumored it would be like Part II in structure, with a current-day storyline involving Don Vincent Corleone and another covering the thirties and Don Vito's "magic years"(the gap between the flashback sequences in II and the fifties scenes in II).

I have a feeling if this new Godfather book sells well, we may be seeing a movie version. Perhaps they will not title it Part IV to indicate that it will not be following as a strict sequel as such.

Personally, I'd like to see Winegardner do a book that covers the thirties, when Sonny came into the family business, Vito first was shot (this is referenced in a movie outtake on the DVD bonus features) and the Corleones built their crime empire. Time will tell - if the book sells, there will be more.

I agree that Puzo is the only one to write The Godfather - but I'm going to give this book a try. Why not? I'm starved for some Corleone fiction!

From today's New York Post, by Liz Smith

October 13, 2004 -- 'WHOEVER FORSAKES the old way for the new knows what he is losing, but not what he will find," goes the Sicilian proverb.

Many moons ago, I suggested one of my favorite writers for the sequel to Mario Puzo's grand opus, "The Godfather." Random House didn't take my suggestion, having conducted their own search for an author in 2002. They picked Mark Winegardner, a novelist whose work has been compared to E.L. Doctorow and John Dos Passos.

So now "The Godfather Returns" is here, and a mighty wow of a read it is. I couldn't put it down and spent two feverish days and nights putting off everything else to finish the saga of the Corleones.

How can there be a sequel when the original story seemed to end with almost everyone dead? Well, Winegardner has chosen to flesh out Puzo's work with a "timeline," going back to 1945 and coming up through the years to end in 1980. The book is written in segments, and many details and happenings are added. It is very well done. I suppose some "Godfather" addicts will carp, but I think it's the read of the fall, along with Peter Evans' non-fiction word-of-mouth hit "Nemesis," which deals with Bobby Kennedy and Aristotle Onassis.

I don't want to spoil anyone's reading of "The Godfather Returns," so let me just say — get it. Find out what Fredo's real problem was, and stuff like that!

Sounds like a pretty decent review....and it has me salivating.

I say we knock out Geoff and get his advance copy.

I called Barnes & Noble. It'll be out Nov 16th.

We can K.O. Geoff anyway, though.....

You hadda call Barnes & Noble??? That info is on the top of almost every page here! Better watch out that Geoff doesn't knock you out! :p

What was Liz Smith referring to about Fredo?? I can't wait!!

Plawrence,

Why do you think I set up "the meet" four days before the book's release? Just make sure that he brings it with him and we're in!


Don Cardi

He didn't tell me that he had an advanced copy!What kind of Don doesn't share inside information with his Consigliere and his Capo Di Tutti Capi? It's time for a mutiny I say! Have Tessio bring him to our meeting!

Chu want to go to war, we go to war!


Don Cardi

Was Freddie dropped on his head too much, was that his problem? :p What the hell was that supposed to mean. They had better not make him into some sort of retard.

I see how it is when I'm not paying attention to this thread!

Fredo's "condition" is an interesting one, tho kinda unexpected -- but I really don't want to spoil it... so you'll have to grab this book out of my cold dead hands! :p

Okay, feed me enough Stoli martinis next month and it might just slip out!

Besides being the worst Charlton Heston imitation I've ever heard, I WANT THAT BOOK!!

I ordered my copy from Amazon today.

Cool, Lou - I'm sure you'll enjoy it!

You DID order it via this site, tho, right?

I'm pretty sure I did.

I ordered my copy today plus I ordered the Godfather Legacy book to. I hope this helps you out Geoff.

Mig, Legacy is the essential book for any true GF fan. You'll love it.

Yeah, me too. The story(or stories, considering the films) is great the way it is. And since Mario Puzo is dead, whatever comes next is published fanfiction, no matter how good, or well written it is. And from what I've seen - well, I just read the Newsweek review - it's easily forgettable.

ok, im just pissed off right now. i finished reading the newsweek mag and just saw with fredo's condition is.. and i will not spoil it for anyone. but let me say that it's the dumbest thing in the world. in no way would fredo be what it is that they say he is, especially with the events towards the end of the first godfather. and his little change on tom hagen? that's not tom...not tom at all. the author is completely trying to change(from what i read in the review) two great characters that do not need changing. and im sure if puzo were alive today he would not be very please. blah. im disgusted.

Obviously the Newsweek reviewer didn't like the novel. Fine, that's one reviewer.

I've read The Godfather Returns and I must say I found the sections with Fredo to be quite compelling. And I don't think Winegardner would have developed Fredo's character in the way he did had he not picked up on some vague references late in Mario Puzo's novel: the Don is upset about Fredo and he won't say why. Hagen doesn't know. Michael doesn't know. Now we know.

I'm running Mark Winegardner's web site, by the way, and I've posted a few reviews and links to reviews there for anyone interested.

Cheers,
Tom
The Godfather Returns

well if you read the godfather closely you will read a part in which mike realises that the don was mad because fredo was screwing these cocktail waitresses. after all the don was straight laced as they say many times in the book. in no way was fredo like what the new author portrayes him. he has just tried to change a characters whole identity. what are we to believe that fredo is weak minded because of his condition? blah this is total b.s.

I really think people should actually read the book before commenting on it. But maybe that's just me.... :p

I just got an advanced reader's copy last evening. And, with the election apparently over, I should be able to start reading it tonight.

People comment on films they haven't seen. Why not books they haven't read?

True!

ok, i am comenting on something that is written down on paper. i am comenting on a change of character that i know well enough from reading the godfather and watching the trilogy. so i think my coment is valid. why would my coment not be valid?

I was bustin' more than anything, of course. Tho reading a negative review does tend to not show the more positive aspects about something, whether it's a book or a movie. Such details are pretty trivial to the overall story, IMHO. But alas, I should wait until *I* finish it before passing jugement myself. I will see where the "Fredo issue" goes before I dismiss it entirely; I really don't think Winegardner was being irresponsible, I'm sure it could be interesting how it plays out. I simply said "so far, so good"

Hi guys. I agree that reading closely is a good idea.

The Vegas passage we were discussing from Mario Puzo's novel is told from Hagen's point of view and it contains two powerful qualifiers: "perhaps" and "part of the reason."

"Hagen saw that this had taken Michael by surprise. They looked at each other. This was perhaps the real reason the Don was displeased with Freddie. . . " and "That too would be part of the reason for being in his father's bad books."

(Page 392 in my old paperback version.)

This is Hagen's perspective. We never truly find out directly from Vito Corleone why he is displeased with Freddie. Mr. Winegardner, it seems, is working within the wriggle room provided by Mario Puzo.

Certainly this novel won't please everyone--no novel does--but it would be a real shame if superficial reviews like the one in Newsweek turn readers off before they've had a chance to check out the novel and decide for themselves.

Again I havent read the new book, so please ignore my comments :p (please dont) but in the orginal book, and I quote "Freddie was always a pretty tough guy"(97) When? "...And Freddie used to beat the shit out of you[Michael] at least one a week!" (133) Personally, I dont see that happening,ever.In the original book and the movie Fredo has two pretty diffrent descriptions.

How did you get an advance copy?

How did you get an advance copy? [/b][/quote]I know a guy who knows a guy.

I'm jealous

From Barnes and Noble:

The Godfather Returns

SYNOPSIS
THE MISSING YEARS FROM THE GREATEST CRIME SAGA OF ALL TIME

Thirty-five years ago, Mario Puzo’s great American tale, The Godfather, was published, and popular culture was indelibly changed. Now, in The Godfather Returns, acclaimed novelist Mark Winegardner continues the story–the years not covered in Puzo’s bestselling book or in Francis Ford Coppola’s classic films.

It is 1955. Michael Corleone has won a bloody victory in the war among New York’s crime families. Now he wants to consolidate his power, save his marriage, and take his family into legitimate businesses. To do so, he must confront his most dangerous adversary yet, Nick Geraci, a former boxer who worked his way through law school as a Corleone street enforcer, and who is every bit as deadly and cunning as Michael. Their personal cold war will run from 1955 to 1962, exerting immense influence on the lives of America’s most powerful criminals and their loved ones, including

Tom Hagen, the Corleone Family’s lawyer and consigliere, who embarks on a political career in Nevada while trying to protect his brother;

Francesca Corleone, daughter of Michael’s late brother Sonny, who is suddenly learning her family’s true history and faces a difficult choice;

Don Louie Russo, head of the Chicago mob, who plays dumb but has wily ambitions for muscling in on the Corleones’ territory;

Peter Clemenza, the stalwart Corleone underboss, who knows more Family secrets than almost anyone;

Ambassador M. Corbett Shea, a former Prohibition-era bootlegger and business ally of the Corleones’, who wants to get his sonelected to the presidency–and needs some help from his old friends;

Johnny Fontane, the world’s greatest saloon singer, who ascends to new heights as a recording artist, cozying up to Washington’s power elite and maintaining a precarious relationship with notorious underworld figures;

Kay Adams Corleone, who finally discovers the truth about her husband, Michael–and must decide what it means for their marriage and their children and

Fredo Corleone, whose death has never been fully explained until now, and whose betrayal of the Family was part of a larger and more sinister chain of events.

Sweeping from New York and Washington to Las Vegas and Cuba, The Godfather Returns is the spellbinding story of America’s criminal underworld at mid-century and its intersection with the political, legal, and entertainment empires. Mark Winegardner brings an original voice and vision to Mario Puzo’s mythic characters while creating several equally unforgettable characters of his own. The Godfather Returns stands on its own as a triumph–in a tale about what we love, yearn for, and sometimes have reason to fear . . . family.

I personally think your crazy saying that, but whatever,right? I agree with whoever said they were discusted that this "condition" caused his weakness. :rolleyes: It was quite possibly the most unexpected turn, but the most cliqued in this modern day world. But Aside from Freddie, almost all the old characters are highly unlike any characterization that previously existed of them.

BTW- The contact on that site of yours, does it actually allow my to contact Winegardener?