Reviews with content warning for Death - El Padrino

Reviews tagging 'Death'

El Padrino by Mario Puzo

34 reviews

jpolito's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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syrah78's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I had a shorter time frame to read this than I would have liked and I have already seen the movie which didn't help because I knew everything that was going to happen. I didn't always appreciate the amount of detail that went into each character, but it was nice in terms of their lack of appearance in the movie. I didn't love the book by any means, it was very anti-women and quite racist. However, for a piece of it's time after reading the afterward, I can see why it is so famous. It is a society within our society and while it is fiction it partly comes from truth and could potentially truly happen. I feel like it gives the reader a lot to think about especially in terms of ethics. The great Don was like a more criminal robin hood. I really enjoyed the ending of this book. I think that it truly shows how the Don may have control over almost anything except one of the most sacred things - his soul - which it is questionable if it is still redeemable.

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greenan26's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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shadannn's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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somebodys_fool's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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samitdhull's review against another edition

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mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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soliasz's review against another edition

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dark sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Strangely, I found this book slightly dissapointing. While I enjoyed the main plot, I found myself confused at the uneeded sideplots and details. Why include a side-plot centering around the size of a characters genitals? Why detail a surgery about it? Why emphasize it so much?

Sometimes I feel that the author did not bother with the idea of killing your darlings, and chose to include so much unnecessary content that muddied the story.

But, I do admire Puzo's prose, simple, yet descriptive and captivating. I also have to give it another inch because of the fantastic and revered movie that sprang from it. The movie is great, but the book? Slightly underwhelming and dissapointing. I believe this is one of the very few cases that the movie is better then the book. If you're a fan of the series, perhaps you would get something out of it, but otherwise, you'd be better off watching, or rewatching the movie.

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