Reviews with content warning for Racism - El Padrino

Reviews tagging 'Racism'

El Padrino by Mario Puzo

41 reviews

vintagesunkist's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

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

3.25

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craftyfairy's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.0

So many thoughts about this one ranging from critique of prose style, character work, plot arcs, and just general social commentary... suffice to say, the book is by far worse than the movie. And I haven't even seen the movie.
The prose is pulpy at best. Very typical of books in this time I feel, but I don't think that's an excuse. Surely not an excuse for making the book as long as it was. Took me the same amount of time to read this as any graham Greene book from the same time, and I know Mr Greene wouldn't be caught dead describing olive oil as "olive-colored oil".
Characters were unlovable but also not very fascinating. I wanted the book to be about our main character Don Vito Corleone, and yet it took a couple hundred pages to even hear a bit of backstory. When

don corelone was incapacitated and unable to take charge

the other characters were making decisions and it was about

how they would take revenge/solve this conflict

and yet I just didn't care about the other characters or why they did what they did. Boring.
The author has a terrible habit of jumping forward to an upsetting or surprising event, then working backwards to show how it happened. Sometimes he wouldn't even show what happened, just intimating that something bad HAD happened. Very soap opera esque, and also tiresome. I found myself wishing he would just tell the story plainly without trying so hard. Ending was shit, although I could see that coming.

the end is hyped for multiple chapters - oh what will happen?? What will michael do?? Kill people, obviously. How stupid. Who will he kill? Ah perhaps the people who wronger him.

Of course, as to be expected, the author has written this book to include a substantial amount of bigotry of all kinds, across gender and sex, race, religion, and even to gingers. Is this a reflection of how mafiosos would genuinely feel and behave at this time period? Maybe, but in some spots the bigotry seems so vivid and gratuitous, it is as if the author revels in it. Particularly, Puzo spends a lot of time describing domestic violence against women, body/sex shaming of women, assault of women, and any degrading descriptions of sex worker women imaginable. In one memorable scene, Puzo describes a labiaplasty of a girl who is unwanted by most men because she has what is clinically described by the doctor character as "having a big box". Her surgery story is told exclusively from his perspective as he is her boyfriend and crafts the perfect experience for himself with her body. And what does this all have to do with Mafia????? These are acquaintances of side characters for God sake.
I don't know how to conclude this review but I fear I have already written more than it deserves.

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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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zacharius's review against another edition

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dark mysterious 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

4.75

great additional detail/back story of characters the movies didnt go into (i now understand why Luca Brasi was seen in the light he was), along with other characters like johnny fontaine.

it sometimes felt mario got a little too into describing the bad behaviors that were considered the norm (i lost track of the amount of times a partner was smacked around among other things), but it definitely makes it feel on the nose for what most americans envision the mob to be like thanks to this book and its movie adaptation.

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