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Mark Winegardner is a celebrated novelist who was handpicked by Mario Puzo's estate to write The Godfather Returns, an instant New York Times bestseller. Winegardner's previous books, including the novels Crooked River Burning and The Veracruz Blues, have been chosen as among the best of the year by The New York Times Book Review, Chicago Sun-Times, Los Angeles Times, the New York Public Library, and USA Today. He is a professor (and former director) at the creative writing program at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida.
by Jonathan Karp
Throughout the decade I was Mario Puzo's editor, I would periodically beg him to write a sequel to The Godfather. "Bring back the Corleones!" I would plead. "Whatever happened to Johnny Fontane? Can't you do something with Tom Hagen? Don't you think Michael has some unfinished business?"
Mario was always polite in the face of my wheedling and his response was always the same: No.
I understood why Mario never wanted to continue the story. He was a gambler at heart, and resurrecting The Godfather would have been a bad percentage move for him. It was bound to pale in comparison to the original. How do you improve on a legend?
But one day on the phone, Mario did give me his blessing to revisit the Corleones. He told me his family could do whatever they wanted with the rights to The Godfather after he died. (His exact phrase was "after I croak," which I remember precisely because it was the first time an author had ever discussed his posthumous career with me in such direct terms.)
Mario left behind two novels, Omerta and his partially completed tale of the Borgias, The Family, so it was awhile before I approached his estate about the prospect of reviving The Godfather. After conversations with Mario's eldest son, Anthony Puzo, and his literary agent, Neil Olson, we agreed on a strategy:
We would discreetly search for a writer at roughly the same stage of his or her career as Mario was when he wrote The Godfather -- mid-forties, with two acclaimed literary novels to his credit, and a yearning to write a larger, more ambitious novel for a broader readership than his previous books had reached. We didn't want a by-the-numbers hired gun. We wanted an original voice, someone who would bring artistry and vision to the Corleone saga, just as director Francis Ford Coppola had so done brilliantly in his film adaptations.
I outlined what we were looking for in a one-page query, which I sent confidentially via email to about a dozen respected literary agents. Within 24 hours of sending my confidential email, I received a phone call from New Yorker staff writer Nick Paumgarten. He'd heard all about our search and wanted to write about it. At first, I was reluctant to cooperate, due to my concern that every would-be goomba in the country would send me a manuscript. Upon further consideration, I realized that there probably weren't a lot of goombas reading The New Yorker, and that a story might be a good way to get out the word and attract a broader range of authors.
The day the story was published, The Godfather Returns became headline news. I was deluged with calls from almost every major media organization in the United States, as well as many abroad, from CNN to the BBC in New Zealand. The New York Times Magazine published a cautionary essay about the dangers of sequels. I appeared on a Detroit radio morning zoo show with a Vito Corleone impersonator who warned me that my career might come to an untimely end if I didn't hire him to write the book.
We had set a deadline for the delivery of outlines from potential writers. We stuck to our guidelines -- only published authors of acclaimed fiction would be considered. By the day of the deadline, we had been swamped with submissions from well-regarded authors (plus countless more from unpublished ones). As I sorted through the outlines, I was taped by a TV cameraman and interviewed by NBC News correspondent Jamie Gangel, who was covering our search, and who ultimately revealed the winner live on The Today Show.
I quickly narrowed down the field to about a dozen serious contenders. Some were dismissed on account of inadvisable plot lines. (Michael Corleone falls in love with a Native American activist. Or, the Corleone women take over the family business. Or, Sonny Corleone didn't really die.) Others were rejected because the writers didn't seem to have the right feel for the material. One literary critic described Mario Puzo's style as "somewhere between pulp and Proust." That's part of the reason for his success -- he was an original writer who loved to entertain his readers. He could turn a phrase, and there was a sly ironic undertone to almost everything he wrote, but Mario's greatest talent was for telling a story that stayed with you because the details were so captivating. Our ideal writer would have similar gifts.
From the dozen contenders, we arrived at four finalists. We would have been happy to publish any of them. After consultation with Tony Puzo and Neil Olson, we unanimously agreed that the best candidate was Mark Winegardner. Like Mario, he was an author of two acclaimed literary novels, The Veracruz Blues and Crooked River Burning, and to our delight, both of which had organized crime plot theads. I read Crooked River Burning and loved it, not only for its ambition (it's the story of the rise and fall of a great American city over a period of decades), but also because the author shows such compassion for his characters. Mario Puzo's greatest literary inspiration was Dostoevsky, who taught him to see the humanity within the villainous. Winegardner has an equally big heart when writing about his characters. That can be very interesting when you're going to have to kill a lot of them. He was our first choice to write The Godfather Returns and we were elated when he accepted. Our selection was international news. When Mark visited Sicily for some background research, it was a front page story there.
Neither Mark nor I have ever worked on a more highly-anticipated book. We know the risks of following in the tradition of a pop classic. I'm not worried. Having edited the novel, I'm certain of its quality and its power. The Corleones have become an American myth, and like all great myths, each retelling brings new meaning and new rewards.
Jonathan Karp is Vice President and Editorial Director of Random House.
PaulPagano
Posted September 20, 2010
The Godfather's Revenge is a fitting coda to Mario Puzo's classic world-view of America's crime families. In my humble opinion, Mark Winegardner has redeemed himself for the disappointing, "The Godfather Returns," by creating believable new characters and building upon the lesser-knowns. The reader will discover: how Tom Hagen shed his mortal coil; how politics and crime really are one-in-the-same; and why Michael Corleone outlasted all his contemporaries. Unlike "Return," Winegardner is truer to the characters and themes that made Puzo's novel the ultimate crime saga. I can only hope that the Puzo Estate will commission yet another Winegardner-penned Godfather novel. The last 100 pages had my heart racing and the stunning conclusion does not disappoint. I'm only sorry it took me three years to finally purchase and read it!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Brad1236
Posted May 30, 2009
Entertaining, inasmuch as it yields the opportunity to revisit some of the old favorites from the Godfather saga, and certainly better than the actual 3rd installment of the movie series.
It felt bogged down a bit at times, but usually was enjoyable, and the characters were nicely drawn. The historical references were nice, also.
Godfather snobs may be put off by the dream sequence early, as I kind of was. Still, I think it wuld be fun for people who enjoy books about the MAFIA, especially about the Corleones.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Bookfiend93
Posted May 30, 2009
Characters were excellent and the plot was convoluted and thrilling- until the end. Instead of a big ending which tied everything up, the author let everything trickle away. In fact, my question was "Where's the revenge?" If the author's point was that Michael Corleone had lost his edge, this audio book illustrated that perfectly. But that could have been done in a much shorter work. This audio book fails the sniff test because the ending stinks
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted November 29, 2007
The book is set in the year 1963. Mafia, the Kennedys oh sorry, the Sheas, man this is gonna be great! No this book goes in the wrong direction for me. I thought it would involve more of the Shea brothers and how the mafia wanted to knock them off. This book is more about relationships and family matters.
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Posted April 21, 2007
Like I said, 'Revenge' was better, but Winegardner is very good at concluding a legendary saga. He ain't Mario Puzo, but he is outstanding, and I'm eager to see his future projects. Way to go, Mr. Winegardner. Keep up your good work.
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Posted January 13, 2007
im glad mark is contiueing the godfather saga thank god they choose him after mario puzo died but man this is one of the greatest mafia books ever written i read it one sitting if you think this book is good check out the godfather returns by mark
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Posted December 15, 2006
Not once, but twice. After two attempts at reviving some of the most interesting characters in literary history, Winegardner fails. In The Godfather's Revenge, the writer takes both political and organized crime historical fact and interweaves them with the fictional characters created by Mario Puzo. While there is nothing wrong with that in itself, his doing so in this book only seems to serve the purpose of filling up pages for the novel. While the first several chapters immedeatly hook the reader in, it loses steam just as fast. Winegardner creates what seems like some interesting characters, but he fails to build on those characters and they wind up just being 'extras' for what turns out to be a pretty bland story. A lot of unecessary dialogue throughout the novel. I will admit though, that the Nick Geraci character is a very interesting character, and for the most part when the story focuses on him, it does keep you interested. Several subplots involving some of the Corleone characters are just not believable. Winegardner does an excellent job of building this tension between his Nick Geraci character and Puzo's Michael Corleone character, throughout the book, only to disapoint us with a very anti-climactic finish. Most of the storyline is very predictable, especially towards the very ending of the book. While Winegardner is not a terrible writer, it is quite obvious that he has no real feel for the interesting characters created by Mario Puzo and therefore disapoints the true Godfather fan with this failed attempt at continuing one of the most interesting sagas in the literary world.
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Posted January 6, 2007
No, Mario Puzo he ain't, but Winegartner does a great job of story telling. He keeps his characters fresh and the story line intresting. If you are a 'mafia' buff, you will enjoy this book.
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Posted January 3, 2007
Who can forget the Corleone family? Whether first met between the pages of a book, in a darkened movie theater or on a smaller screen in your home, they were unlike any people most of us have known. Mario Puzo had introduced the world to the Mafia. Francis Ford Coppola brought gang members to all too vivid life on screen. For many (myself included) that would be enough.....and then I saw that this audio book was read by Joe Mantegna. Tony award winner Mantegna, as many know, was the ultimate gangster on screen in 'The Godfather: Part III' and 'Bugsy.' His voice is deep, resonant, and when he issues an order - you better hop to it. He never over-dramatizes, which would be easy to do in this fast-paced tale, but exercises such control that his narration is almost tight, if you will, rendering it compelling to the nth. Winegardner (author of 'The Godfather Returns') now mixes the Corleones with politics - a president and an attorney general (his brother) - think JFK. Michael Corleone has more than he can handle with Nick Geraci, once a devoted follower now a deadly rival, and one of his top men plotting to assassinate the president. There's the tie between the CIA and Mafia killers, and the reappearance of favorite characters - Johnny Fontane, the spineless crooner, and Tom Hagen, the Irish consigliere. For this listener, one of Winegardner's most intriguing characters is Francesca Corleone Van Arsdale, Sonny's daughter, who is a chip (or chippy, if you will) off the old block. The Corleone's never fail to amaze and entertain - thanks to a superb narration and an inventive story by Winegardner who writes with the approval of the Puzo estate. - Gail Cooke
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Overview
The original 1969 bestseller that became a landmark event in American popular culture.An American crime boss pursuing the mantle of legitimacy...A former top man on the run...The ambitious brother of a galvanizing young President...A New Orleans capo out for revenge...An Irish consigliere plunged into mortal peril. Five lives on a collision course with tragedy that will make history and shock the world-an unforgettable capstone to Mario Puzo's great American epic.