- Paperback: 432 pages
- Publisher: William Heinemann Ltd; New edition edition (4 Sep 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0434012165
- ISBN-13: 978-0434012169
- Product Dimensions: 23.2 x 15.2 x 3.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,674,919 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Family
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
The Family is the belated fruit of Mario Puzo's life-long obsession with the Borgias, whom the creator of Don Corleone saw as just another family whose family business happened to involve killing people. He never got round to writing the book until his last months, when he was old and tired and made some unfortunate artistic decisions. This is the sort of old-fashioned historical novel in which the likes of Machiavelli, Da Vinci and Savonarola make momentary walks-on and in which people regularly spend half a page explaining international politics to each other--nonetheless, much of it has an intensity that compels in spite of the stiltedness of much of the dialogue. Puzo and his editor feel that the interesting story is how Rodrigo Borgia, Pope Alexander, created his son Cesare as the dark instrument of his will, and how Lucrezia, the emotional heart of the family, became a woman many remember as saintly in spite of participating fully, even incestuously, in her family's intrigues. The Borgias were not so different from their various rivals--just, for a while, more successful. --Roz Kaveney
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Time Magazine
‘Head-long entertainment, bubbling over with corruption, betrayal, assassinations, Richter-scale romance, and, of course, family values.’
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
There is much more story in this book than the number of pages really allows and it has the feel of an unfinished work (which it was).
By no means a bad book, I think one could compare it to say
the silmarillion vs the lord of the rings (different genres, but stick with me).
The Borgias were a lifelong interest perhaps even obsession for Mario Puzo and the intrigue, family politics and abuse of power are themes that he would explore more fully in the Godfather.
As such the Family has a great deal of source material in it, not all of which is fully fleshed out.
It is none the less an intersting read, but it lacks the vital spark that the author might have brought to it had he lived to complete it himself.
In fact so much was going on at this time that it occasionally swamps the characters and that's a pity because in flashes they are portrayed very convincingly. At other times, their deeds and actions become almost a litany and certainly much more like an outline than a finished work (hence the comparison with the simarillion).
By no means a bad book, I think one could compare it to say
the silmarillion vs the lord of the rings (different genres, but stick with me).
The Borgias were a lifelong interest perhaps even obsession for Mario Puzo and the intrigue, family politics and abuse of power are themes that he would explore more fully in the Godfather.
As such the Family has a great deal of source material in it, not all of which is fully fleshed out.
It is none the less an intersting read, but it lacks the vital spark that the author might have brought to it had he lived to complete it himself.
In fact so much was going on at this time that it occasionally swamps the characters and that's a pity because in flashes they are portrayed very convincingly. At other times, their deeds and actions become almost a litany and certainly much more like an outline than a finished work (hence the comparison with the simarillion).
For those who are interested, the story is set in the period 1492- 1520 or thereabouts and revolves around the actions of the Borgia Pope (Alexander) and his sons and daughter (Lucrezia).
The church of Rome was (it seems) utterly corrupt at this time and its leaders involved in the pursuit of earthly power and pleasure. This leads to wars, murders, torture and all manner of ill-deeds.
Overall well worth a read, particularly if you are interested in the history of the period.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This was the fifth Puzo book I read and I approached this novel with enthusiasm. The first 150 or so pages were very dull, but regardless of this, I carried on reading. This was becoming increasingly difficult to do because I found that the entire novel was extremely dull.
I also felt that Mario Puzo tried to change his style of writing with this book. I found that in reading "The Godfather," "The Sicilian," and "Omerta" Puzo developed his own style. With this novel, he changed it, so therefore, the author was pretty much unrecognizable.
But I would say that the characters were complex and engaging, and from what I found out, the historical evidence seemed to be very good.
I also felt that Mario Puzo tried to change his style of writing with this book. I found that in reading "The Godfather," "The Sicilian," and "Omerta" Puzo developed his own style. With this novel, he changed it, so therefore, the author was pretty much unrecognizable.
But I would say that the characters were complex and engaging, and from what I found out, the historical evidence seemed to be very good.
In conclusion, I thought that the story was unengaging and dull, yet historically and charactiristically, it was very good. If you are looking for a purely Puzo read, you will be disappointed. I'm not saying avoid this at all costs, I'm just saying don't go out of your way to buy it.
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
According to the afterword Mario Puzo was fascinated by 15th century Italy. This was his last novel, it was a 'labour of love two decades in the making' which he never quite finished. It's all the more tragic then that this is a novel that some how never quite works.
It's not surprising that the
ghosts of the Corleones stalk these pages since the similarities between the Borgias and the great Mafia dynasties is the most succesful aspect of the book, but sometimes the parallels are not just painfully obvious they are laboured.
If as L. P. Hartley says, "The past is a foreign country, they do things differently there," then the task of a good historical novel is to open the door to that far place. Allowing the reader to explore not just places but modes of thoughts and social structures that were commonplace then but very different now. This book did not do that for me. I have not felt the sunshine of renaissance Italy on my back, nor wondered at the forces that made artists like Michelangelo, and Leonardo da Vinci exciting and revolutionary which ultimately changed our world view. The Borgias sit at the crux of one of the most world shaking times yet for the most part there is a plodding quality which makes this read more like a text book than the poison soaked, morality challenging, scandal ridden story of one of the most controversial families in world history.
It's doubly sad because I anticipated so much more from this author on this subject. This is a good book that could and should have been great.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
a weird book
The Family A pleasant and amusing enough book, however, it is very strange reading about a noble renaissance family calling each other by abbreviated names. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Veronica Franco
Hmmmmm
Starts well but as it progresses the whole premise on which it is built seems more and more unbelievable. Read more
Published on 3 Jun 2009 by Lefty Finn
Incestuous...Iniquitous...Intriguing
This was only my second Mario Puzo, my first being the Godfather (the mother of all mafia books!). I was concerned that it would not compare, but I was pleasantly surprised. Read more
Published on 21 Mar 2008 by Femmielala
What a shame!
Poor old Puzo went out with a whimper rather than a bang with this one (albeit, it WAS completed by someone else). Read more
Published on 25 Feb 2008 by Mrs. Judith Lugg
Mr. Puzo last, but least remembered book
This book is written to show us the beginings of the true Italian Crime family, of course they are Spanish. The Borgias are the essence of getting and keeping power for the family. Read more
Published on 7 Oct 2007 by M. A. Ramos
15th Century Godfather
If you like both the "The Godfather" and Renaissance history, "The Family" is the book for you. An historical novel, it is the fictionalized story of the Borgia family of Rodrigo... Read more
Published on 13 July 2007 by James Gallen
A big disappointment
It takes a lot to make the Borgia family dull, but Mario Puzo succedeed brilliantly!
Published on 17 Sep 2005 by Corsaro71
Definitely get this book!
I would never call myself a book person, more one of those people who wait for the movie to come out, but when I came across 'The Family' I became truly immersed. Read more
Published on 19 May 2004 by "jamie_doig"
Lewis's critique
If your looking for the best Gangster knovel of it's time, look no further because Mario Puzo's 'The Family' combines historical Genius, with the hard hitting, blunt face of the... Read more
Published on 23 Oct 2003 by Lewis Harman
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
