A review by pamelajobrownlee
Fools Die by Mario Puzo
3.0
It speaks well of Puzo's skill that I did not struggle to read and finish this book. It flowed beautifully, and was well-written.
That said, this seemed to be no more to me than a self-absorbed writer struggling with his love of gambling and his conflicting feelings about women: conflicting in that he wanted to think of himself as modern and in support of the women's movement, but really wanted women to be agreeable, docile, beautiful, young and devoted to him, with no interest in having sex with other men (women are, apparently, OK).
This is supported by the three main (and "perfect")women in the book: the wife, the lover, and the bimbo. The wife and the bimbo don't have any real character development. The wife is notable for keeping the home fires burning, being supportive in all things, remaining beautiful and good in bed, raising the kids, and encouraging her husband to go off on his own adventures (even being a little annoyed if he's around home too much). The bimbo is beautiful, available for sex with pretty anyone recommended to her (Hey, would you sleep with my friend? He's a good guy. Sure!), maintains an air of innocence while looking like a slut, and can eat a tremendous amount of food without gaining weight. This is actually a spectator sport for the men in the book. Finally, the lover, who actually gets to have a personality. She is intelligent, beautiful (shock!), very in love with her married lover (he with the perfect wife), and a feminist who would like her man to leave his wife. She is also bisexual, mostly in that she occasionally likes to have sex with her female roomie (and really enjoys sucking on large breasts, and is dominant in that relationship), but is nevertheless completely feminine in her relationship with her male lover. While he supports her freedom to have fun, friendly sex with anyone she chooses (as he does), he resents that she sleeps with other men.
Finally, it seems Puzo is using his three main male characters to speak his own feelings to the world: a brilliant but cynical older writer (older Puzo?) whose weakness is that he truly needs and loves women (while obviously resenting and objectifying them); a brilliant, more level-headed younger writer (younger Puzo?) who juggles a mistress and a wife, and goes head-to-head with Hollywood, standing up for the integrity of his novel; and an old, very clever casino owner who is apparently all-seeing (fantasy Puzo?). All of them pretty much sound the same way when it comes to women; enough that I was often confused about whose story was being told.
I could really go on and on; the book is just filled with self-serving irony ("How could she not have realized I was kidding when I told her she was a cunt?" or killing off a main female character literally three pages after her feminist speech about how writers conveniently kill off female characters).
Bottom line: Kudos for well -written book (hence, three stars). Also, Puzo is an asshole.
That said, this seemed to be no more to me than a self-absorbed writer struggling with his love of gambling and his conflicting feelings about women: conflicting in that he wanted to think of himself as modern and in support of the women's movement, but really wanted women to be agreeable, docile, beautiful, young and devoted to him, with no interest in having sex with other men (women are, apparently, OK).
This is supported by the three main (and "perfect")women in the book: the wife, the lover, and the bimbo. The wife and the bimbo don't have any real character development. The wife is notable for keeping the home fires burning, being supportive in all things, remaining beautiful and good in bed, raising the kids, and encouraging her husband to go off on his own adventures (even being a little annoyed if he's around home too much). The bimbo is beautiful, available for sex with pretty anyone recommended to her (Hey, would you sleep with my friend? He's a good guy. Sure!), maintains an air of innocence while looking like a slut, and can eat a tremendous amount of food without gaining weight. This is actually a spectator sport for the men in the book. Finally, the lover, who actually gets to have a personality. She is intelligent, beautiful (shock!), very in love with her married lover (he with the perfect wife), and a feminist who would like her man to leave his wife. She is also bisexual, mostly in that she occasionally likes to have sex with her female roomie (and really enjoys sucking on large breasts, and is dominant in that relationship), but is nevertheless completely feminine in her relationship with her male lover. While he supports her freedom to have fun, friendly sex with anyone she chooses (as he does), he resents that she sleeps with other men.
Finally, it seems Puzo is using his three main male characters to speak his own feelings to the world: a brilliant but cynical older writer (older Puzo?) whose weakness is that he truly needs and loves women (while obviously resenting and objectifying them); a brilliant, more level-headed younger writer (younger Puzo?) who juggles a mistress and a wife, and goes head-to-head with Hollywood, standing up for the integrity of his novel; and an old, very clever casino owner who is apparently all-seeing (fantasy Puzo?). All of them pretty much sound the same way when it comes to women; enough that I was often confused about whose story was being told.
I could really go on and on; the book is just filled with self-serving irony ("How could she not have realized I was kidding when I told her she was a cunt?" or killing off a main female character literally three pages after her feminist speech about how writers conveniently kill off female characters).
Bottom line: Kudos for well -written book (hence, three stars). Also, Puzo is an asshole.