Trying to read it right now. I was hoping for more on Gronevelt since I'd already read The Last Don, and all that piqued my interest in this is that it was the same universe. I'm more than half way through and there's hardly any mention of the mob, just a couple of references to The Skim. The Clericuzuio haven't been mentioned at all, so I assume he invented them when writing The Last Don.

I find the story of the gamblers in Vegas, one of the characters clearly being based on him, to be uncompelling. About all I find compelling about the book are his vicarious observations and musings through his character Merlyn, but that's not what I read for.

I'm going to force my way through this then read The Last Don again, then I plan on reading The Fortunate Pilgrim (which many critics think is his best book) and The Sicilian. After that I think I'm pretty much done with Puzo, except for GF 1-2 films.