I hope this will be his last GF book then.
For some reason I don't think that it is. There are a lot of years, even after this book, that can be touched upon. I also have a feeling that he's going to do one about Vincent taking over after Mary's death. Probably will do it with the hopes of it being made into a motion picture.
Don Cardi
IMO GF IV, if it's ever made, should be multi-episodic like GF II, dealing with three time periods:
1. 1930s as Vito consolidates his empire and a teenage/young 20s Sonny enters the family business, exploring more of the back stories of guys like Tessio, Clemenza and Luca Brasi;
2. 1970s as Michael attempts to move the family into legitimate business, and the ultimate loyalty of Tom Hagen is tested, probably including his death. (This would be the hardest to carry off, since none of Pacino, Duvall or Shire can pass for being in their 40s-50s any more, even with heavy makeup).
3. 1990s as Vincent takes over the family, with Connie, effectively as his consigliere, and an emotionally shattered yet still sometimes dangerous Michael withdraws from the business, and other Corleone grandchildren such as Santino Jr. or Frank (Sonny's legitimate sons) and Michael (Rizzi) Corleone (Connie's son, the baby baptized at the end of GF I) make their own moves to assume control of the family.
4. Then, as in GF III, a brief coda set about 2008-2009, as an 85-ish Connie Corleone dies in the garden of the house in Long Island (repurchased by the family as a retirement home for the grande dame of the clan), slumping out of a lawn chair just yards away from the spot where Vito Corleone died in 1954.
(I realize this should probably go in the GF IV forum).
