416 pages
English language
Published Jan. 17, 2013 by Penguin Random House.
The Sicilian is a novel by American author Mario Puzo. Published in 1984 by Random House Publishing Group (ISBN 0-671-43564-7), it is based on the life of Sicilian bandit Salvatore Giuliano. It is set in the same universe as Puzo's most famous work, The Godfather (1969), and contains characters from The Godfather. It is regarded as The Godfather's literary sequel and is the second book in The Godfather novel series. It was adapted into a film in 1987, though all Godfather references were removed for copyright reasons in the film adaptation. In this novel, the spelling of Salvatore Giuliano's name was intentionally changed by Puzo to "Guiliano". This novel, though a work of fiction, is based on the real life exploits of Giuliano.
Reads like a history textbook
A nice little in-fill in the Godfather saga. Eloquent and passionate, it reads like a love letter to Sicily more than anything else.
I had read this before many years ago, and I remembered liking it. When I had a chance to pick up a used copy very cheap, I figured it would be a good time to reread it. The book is pretty good, but it is not The Godfather. Then again, for Puzo, Don Corleone's tale is his opus. After that, pretty much anything would seem a bit less. The tale of the Sicilian is pretty good. The only problem I had with the book, and the reason I did not rate it higher, is because at times some of the descriptive passages seem a bit too long. I think that slows the pacing of the tale a bit. Having said that, fans of Puzo's work will likely enjoy this tale full of conspiracies and betrayals along with a heroic figure. Reading about Sicily and its people can be interesting, …
I had read this before many years ago, and I remembered liking it. When I had a chance to pick up a used copy very cheap, I figured it would be a good time to reread it. The book is pretty good, but it is not The Godfather. Then again, for Puzo, Don Corleone's tale is his opus. After that, pretty much anything would seem a bit less. The tale of the Sicilian is pretty good. The only problem I had with the book, and the reason I did not rate it higher, is because at times some of the descriptive passages seem a bit too long. I think that slows the pacing of the tale a bit. Having said that, fans of Puzo's work will likely enjoy this tale full of conspiracies and betrayals along with a heroic figure. Reading about Sicily and its people can be interesting, but as I said, Puzo overdoes it with some of the descriptions at times.
If you have read Puzo before, you will probably enjoy this book. If not, go pick up The Godfather first, then read this one. Also, for fans of Puzo's other novel, this one features appearances by Michael Corleone, revealing a bit more about his time of exile in Sicily. Worth reading just for the great lesson Michael learns along the way.
