Michael Cordelone, exiled to Sicily at the end of Mario Puzo’s novel The Godfather, is about to return to the US at the beginning of The Sicilian.
His father has ordered Michael to bring Salvatore “Turi” Guiliano to America with him.
Turi has been a bandit in the Robin Hood tradition since his teens. He is idolized by the poor for his opposition those who keep them poor: the government in Rome, the Mafia, the Catholic Church hierarchy, the police.
For seven years, Turi and his band have lived in the mountains, from which they raid and escape. Now Turi’s enemies seem to be joining forces against him.
Why does his father want Michael to help Turi?
How are the police and army getting information about Turi’s movements?
Can Michael get Turi out of the country before his enemies kill him?
Who cares?
Turi and the other characters are about as plausible as paper dolls.
There are a few tidbits of interesting Italian history in The Sicilian but the story is a bore.
Just as he did in Fools Die, his second attempt to recreate the success of The Godfather, in The Sicilian Mario Puzo produces an entirely forgettable novel.
The Sicilian: a novel by Mario Puzo
Linden Press/Simon & Schuster. 1984. 410 p.
1984 bestseller #3. My grade: B-
©2019 Linda G. Aragoni
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