This book is painful - just because it's a roman a clef doesn't mean it has to read like a book report. Yuck. Don't waste your money or your time. ( )

I adore The Godfather - the book was lovely pulp fun and, of course, Coppolla turned into something much much more with his films (even the third one that left a lot to be desired). Mr. Fusilli's novel suffers from covering similar territory and not doing it nearly as well.

This book covers quite a bit of territory with some interesting and vital characters contained within, although the most interesting characters are not the major ones. I really wanted that New York City early Mob days feel, and you get that from this, but for me I was unable to stop comparing the book to The Godfather and that's unfortunate.

A good story, well told, but not what I thought it would be. ( )

When I decided to read this book, I was excited about the possibility of reading a saga length book on Narrow's Gate. I really got into the characters of Leo Bell (my favorite) and Sal Benno. They were growing up as friends in very tough neighborhood. Sal knew Leo's secret and decided to protect him. Sal wasn't interested in school like most of the kids in the neighborhood but Leo was. Leo was drawn to books and libraries as a way of protecting himself. I like these two characters the most.

The book doesn't open with them but a takeover of who would be the Sicilian mob leader. That part of the book had covered before, I thought by newspapers, magazines, and the Godfather trilogy. The new leader who stole his position from his boss and all the minor criminals in the organization didn't seem that developed. And I found myself not wanting to read about them because the stereotypes were too prominent. Also, I did not see any anguish from as to whether or not they should even be mobsters employed. Their government officials and police that were mentioned that worked with the mob but they were just labeled and were not given names

Then there was another major character, William Rosiglino aka "Bebe", a kid whose mother thought that he was good for nothing, much less school, until she overheard him singing in the shower. It is easy to figure out who the writer is fictionalizing by the time and place and the physical description of him. His mother, Rosa captured my attention right away. Also, there was the obedient, pure and loyal wife of Bebe and the “other” woman who is very easy to figure out.

At the beginning of the book, I could not lay it down but whenever it swung back to the mob activities, I lost interest and wanted to get back either to Benno and Bell or Bebe and his mother, Rosa. I stuck it out but felt disappointed. It had started out so promising. I thought I would have enjoyed it more if there was even less of the mob in the book and more about friendship between the two men or Rosa. Also, I would have enjoyed it more, if there had been a main character who was a woman. The themes definitely revolved around the men.
In all, the book was interesting me except for parts that involved the mob.

You may have a different opinion so I invite you to read this book and see for yourself. It is 575 pages long so it is a commitment time wise.

I received this book from the Amazon Vine Program but that in no way influenced my review. ( )