The Godfather has been noted by readers as a “bizarre” novel which highlights one thing about the film adaptation. Better known as the first in a Hollywood trilogy from director Francis Ford Coppola, the Mario Puzo-penned book was praised on release.
The author would go on to work closely with the team adapting his book for the screen, though some have suggested the book has a few strange moments. Readers have since taken to the r/Godfather Reddit page and shared their thoughts on the book, with many fans claiming a read through of the Puzo classic is well worth your time.
The book’s strange scenes were ultimately cut from the adaptation and fans say viewers of today are all the better for those omissions.
A Reddit user asked: “Just curious how many here have read the book… seems like there are a lot of questions about plot details and characters, which are definitely better answered by reading the original.”
Fans have since suggested it highlights one thing in particular – the book is a far darker portrayal of Michael Corleone, who is played by Al Pacino in the three movie adaptations of Puzo’s characters.
One user wrote: “I read the book, then went and said a prayer for the soul of Michael Corleone.” Other users have noted the harsher style found in the book, which they believe is partly because of the time it was written.
A fan wrote: “Yeah, anyone who spends a significant amount of time watching the movies should read the novel. The stuff that was cut out of the book for the movies is easy to make fun of, but it is a pretty good example of the low brow side of 1960s culture.”
Another agreed, adding: “I remember being quite captivated by the book, although the material on Johnny Fontane/Nino Valenti and Lucy Mancini/Jules Segal was largely salacious filler meant to appeal, one presumes, to fans of Irving Wallace novels.”
Others have said the film adaptation does well to cut down the “unnecessary” sections of the book, of which there are many.
One user wrote: “I’ve read the book. It adds some detail but it is of its time. It’s very misogynistic and there some very detailed and frankly unnecessary gynecological stuff that makes for difficult reading.”
Another user shared: “If the movie included all of the detail from the book, there is zero chance The Godfather (film) would be held up as one of the finest pieces of cinema of all time like it currently is.
“It’s true that some of the most talked about scenes (the Sollazo meeting) had more detail in the book, but they clearly made some editorial decisions when making the movie because they knew like 30% of the book is bizarro-world fluff.”
Not everyone was horrified by the contents of the book, however, with one user going as far as to say the book is better than Coppola’s acclaimed adaptation.
The fan wrote: “The book is sooooo much better than the movie.”