ISBN: 0375728082

Paperback, [EAN: 9780375728082], Large Print, Random House Large Print, Random House Large Print, Book, [PU: Random House Large Print], Random House Large Print, Omerta, the third novel i… mais…

Paperback, [EAN: 9780375728082], Large Print, Random House Large Print, Random House Large Print, Book, [PU: Random House Large Print], Random House Large Print, Omerta, the third novel in Mario Puzo's Mafia trilogy, is infinitely better than the third Godfather film, and most movies in fact. Besides colorful characters and snappy dialogue, it's got a knotty, gratifying, just-complex-enough plot and plenty of movie-like scenes. The newly retired Mafioso Don Raymonde Aprile attends his grandson's confirmation at St. Patrick's in New York, handing each kid a gold coin. Long shot: "Brilliant sunshine etched the image of that great cathedral into the streets around it." Medium shot: "The girls in frail cobwebby white lace dresses, the boys [with] traditional red neckties knitted at their throats to ward off the Devil." Close-up: "The first bullet hit the Don square in the forehead. The second bullet tore out his throat." More crucial than the tersely described violence is the emotional setting: a traditional, loving clan menaced by traditional vendettas. With Don Aprile hit, the family's fate lies in the strong hands of his adopted nephew from Sicily, Astorre. The Don kept his own kids sheltered from the Mafia: one son is an army officer; another is a TV exec; his daughter Nicole (the most developed character of the three) is an ace lawyer who liked to debate the Don on the death penalty. "Mercy is a vice, a pretension to powers we do not have ... an unpardonable offense to the victim," the Don maintained. Astorre, a macaroni importer and affable amateur singer, was secretly trained to carry on the Don's work. Now his job is to show no mercy. But who did the hit? Was it Kurt Cilke, the morally tormented FBI man who recently jailed most of the Mafia bosses? Or Timmona Portella, the Mob boss Cilke still wants to collar? How about Marriano Rubio, the womanizing, epicurean Peruvian diplomat who wants Nicole in bed--did he also want her papa's head? If you didn't know Puzo wrote Omerta, it would be no mystery. His marks are all over it: lean prose, a romance with the Old Country, a taste for olives in barrels, a jaunty cynicism ("You cannot send six billionaires to prison," says Cilke's boss. "Not in a democracy"), an affection for characters with flawed hearts, like Rudolfo the $1,500-an-hour sexual massage therapist, or his short-tempered client Aspinella, the one-eyed NYPD detective. The simultaneous courtship of cheery Mafia tramp Rosie by identical hit-man twins Frankie and Stace Sturzo makes you fall in love with them all--and feel a genuine pang when blood proves thicker than eros. This fitting capstone to Puzo's career is optioned for a film, and Michael Imperioli of TV's The Sopranos narrates the audiocassette version of the novel. But why wait for the movie? Omerta is a big, old-fashioned movie in its own right. --Tim Appelo, 2354170011, Literature & Fiction, 2354165011, Large Print, 2354164011, Formats, 2205888011, Custom Stores, 1040638, Specialty Stores, 916520, Books, 2354171011, Mystery & Thrillers, 2354165011, Large Print, 2354164011, Formats, 2205888011, Custom Stores, 1040638, Specialty Stores, 916520, Books, 932506, Family Saga, 932470, Genre Fiction, 927790, Literature & Fiction, 927726, Subjects, 916520, Books, 949944, Mystery, 949946, Anthologies, 949948, British Detectives, 1051690, Canadian Detectives, 949950, Cat Sleuths, 949954, Hard-Boiled, 949956, Historical, 949958, Reference, 949960, Series, 949962, Sherlock Holmes, 949964, Women Sleuths, 948808, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, 927726, Subjects, 916520, Books, 949980, Suspense, 949968, Thrillers, 948808, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense, 927726, Subjects, 916520, Books<

2001, ISBN: 0375728082

Paperback, [EAN: 9780375728082], Random House Large Print, Random House Large Print, Book, [PU: Random House Large Print], 2001-05-01, Random House Large Print, Mario Puzo, author of eigh… mais…

Paperback, [EAN: 9780375728082], Random House Large Print, Random House Large Print, Book, [PU: Random House Large Print], 2001-05-01, Random House Large Print, Mario Puzo, author of eight novels, will eternally be known for one book: The Godfather. It's true that this is no mean legacy but it should be remembered that Puzo's output has included some considerable novels, notably The Sicilian and The Last Don. His new book, Omertà is unquestionably the finest of his latter-day work, a sweeping, violent epic with brilliantly precise characterisations. Omertàis the Sicilian code of silence, the essential element by which the Mafia has maintained its power over the centuries. Puzo is interested in the way in which changing times have forced organised crime to adapt, however painful the process. The code is tested when a mob boss, Don Aprile, is brutally murdered in New York. Both Astorre, Aprile's nephew, and Cilke, the New York FBI chief, launch investigations into the killing. It soon becomes clear to both men that a grim conspiracy has spread its tentacles across rival gangs, corrupt bankers and even the courts. Much blood must be spilled before the killers are found--there are many (on both sides of the law) who will do their best to stop this happening. Puzo's favourite theme--the interchangeability of big business and organised crime--is handled with his customary panache. However much we may disapprove of the horrifically violent Mafiosi, we remain riveted by their implacable cold-bloodedness. Astorre has all the complexity of Michael Corleone (even if we've been here before) but Cilke is a new departure for the author--a lawman who is quite as powerfully characterised as Puzo's criminal protagonists. It goes without saying that the grisly set-pieces are handled with the usual élan: The car sped up and stopped as the Don reached the last step. Stace jumped out of the back seat--in one quick move he rested his gun on the roof. He shot two-handed. He only shot twice. The first bullet hit the Don square in the forehead. The second bullet tore out his throat. His blood spurted all over the sidewalk, showering yellow sunlight with pink drops. --Barry Forshaw, 270408, Mystery, 72, Crime, Thrillers & Mystery, 1025612, Subjects, 266239, Books, 275050, Family Sagas, 62, Fiction, 1025612, Subjects, 266239, Books, 525002, Sagas, 88, Romance, 1025612, Subjects, 266239, Books<

ISBN: 0375728082

Taschenbuch, [EAN: 9780375728082], Arrow Books Ltd, Arrow Books Ltd, Book, [PU: Arrow Books Ltd], Arrow Books Ltd, 541686, Kategorien, 117, Belletristik, 187254, Biografien & Erinnerungen… mais…

Taschenbuch, [EAN: 9780375728082], Arrow Books Ltd, Arrow Books Ltd, Book, [PU: Arrow Books Ltd], Arrow Books Ltd, 541686, Kategorien, 117, Belletristik, 187254, Biografien & Erinnerungen, 403434, Business & Karriere, 120, Börse & Geld, 287621, Comics & Mangas, 124, Computer & Internet, 11063821, Erotik, 340583031, Esoterik, 288100, Fachbücher, 142, Fantasy & Science Fiction, 548400, Film, Kunst & Kultur, 122, Freizeit, Haus & Garten, 13690631, Geschenkbücher, 419943031, Horror, 5452843031, Jugendbücher, 118310011, Kalender, 5452736031, Kinderbücher, 189528, Kochen & Genießen, 287480, Krimis & Thriller, 1199902, Musiknoten, 121, Naturwissenschaften & Technik, 143, Politik & Geschichte, 536302, Ratgeber, 298002, Reise & Abenteuer, 340513031, Religion & Glaube, 403432, Schule & Lernen, 298338, Sport & Fitness, 186606, Bücher<