That sort of detail also figures in depictions of Michael's consigliere, Tom Hagen, and of randy, arrogant Ambassador Corbett Shea, a thinly veiled mock-up of Joseph Kennedy whom Michael counts on to legitimize Corleone political ambitions. Winegardner even nails an area and Geraci's godfather - at the same time:
"Cleveland worked with so many Jews, Irish, and Negroes that the men in it [the Family organization there] called it the Combination. People outside of it called its Don, Vincent Forlenza, "The Jew."
I don't want to give away too much; this book covers a lot of territory, from secret island hideaways in Lake Erie to redoubts in Lake Tahoe and Manhattan. The characters, too, run the gamut, from principals like Nick, Michael and Michael's sadistic, gay brother Fredo to Billy Van Arsdale, the pretty social climber who gets his kicks demeaning Francesca, Billy's wife and Michael's niece. It's a complicated book written with imagination — and humor.
Nick, badly hurt in an airplane accident, escapes a hospital and identification. Here's how:
"The two attending nurses whose responsibility it might have been to check frequently on the man admitted as Gerald O'Malley each claimed she was certain he'd been assigned to the other. The head nurse would take full responsibility for the mistake and resign in disgrace. She moved to Florida and got what was presumably a lower-paying job for a company providing in-home nursing care. Many years later she died peacefully in her sleep. When her will was read, her newly rich children marveled in the savings habits of that generation of American forged by the Great Depression."
Written so tightly that it squeaks, that paragraph is a Petri dish for more good fiction. Winegardner, who won a contest Random House mounted in search of someone to write a Godfather sequel, is clearly the man for the job. He's turned what might have been a sellout into something more honorable.
Article comments
1 - Bryce Eddings
Listed at Advance
2 - Luellen Smiley
Why is the fascination still sizzling hot for a gangster life story? Why do these characters make canonical literary material? I am writing a memoir, doubting the marketability of this genre, " Growing Up With Gangsters," about my father's life in organized crime, Jewish family, Los Angeles, 1940. Do you find the publics interest sincere, or is it drugged by publishers and editors reviews.
3 - John Hutchinson
Fredo was the lucky one...he took a bullet and didn't have to read this book. Total disappointment! This book went nowhere. No mention of Frankie Five angels, Clemenza, anyone of interest. Instead it is litered with boring stories of sisters, daughters and totally new characters that run out like a slow olive oil spill.
I wish I could have my time back!
4 - susan Sullivan
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5 - Jimbob
I loved this book - very intresting. it shows you how a real mafia family live like cause in real life its not killings like there is no tomorrow. It would be better if Frank Pentagli was in it but its still great. Also i liked that it mentioned more of Al Neri & Rocco Lampone & Tom.