Mario Puzo (Autor):Omerta: A Novel (Englisch) Taschenbuch
- Livro de bolso 2000, ISBN: 9780345432407
[ED: Taschenbuch], [PU: Ballentine Books], ZUSTAND: gut, textsauber (keine Anstreichungen oder Markierungen).
To Don Raymonde Aprile's children he was a loyal family member, their father… mais…
[ED: Taschenbuch], [PU: Ballentine Books], ZUSTAND: gut, textsauber (keine Anstreichungen oder Markierungen).
To Don Raymonde Aprile's children he was a loyal family member, their father's adopted "nephew.” To the FBI he was a man who would rather ride his horses than do Mob business. No one knew why Aprile, the last great American Don, had adopted Astorre Viola many years before in Sicily; no one suspected how he had carefully trained him . . . and how, while the Don's children claimed respectable careers in America, Astorre Viola waited for his time to come.
Now his time has arrived. The Don is dead, his murder one bloody act in a drama of ambition and deceit--from the deadly compromises made by an FBI agent to the greed of two crooked NYPD detectives and the frightening plans of a South American mob kingpin. In a collision of enemies and lovers, betrayers and loyal soldiers, Astorre Viola will claim his destiny. Because after all these years, this moment is in his blood. . . .
Mario Puzo wurde 1920 als Sohn armer italienischer Einwanderer in New York geboren. Seine Mafiaromane machten ihn weltberühmt. Er starb 1999 auf Long Island.
Pressestimmen
"[A] deft and passionate last novel by the Balzac of the Mafia."
--Time
"A SPLENDID PIECE OF CRIME FICTION . . . A FITTING CAP TO A TREMENDOUS CAREER . . . Through it all, Puzo keeps the heat on and keeps the reader enthralled with his characters and his story."
--The Denver Post
Klappentext
To Don Raymonde Aprile's children he was a loyal family member, their father's adopted "nephew." To the FBI he was a man who would rather ride his horses than do Mob business. No one knew why Aprile, the last great American Don, had adopted Astorre Viola many years before in Sicily; no one suspected how he had carefully trained him . . . and how, while the Don's children claimed respectable careers in America, Astorre Viola waited for his time to come.
Now his time has arrived. The Don is dead, his murder one bloody act in a drama of ambition and deceit--from the deadly compromises made by an FBI agent to the greed of two crooked NYPD detectives and the frightening plans of a South American mob kingpin. In a collision of enemies and lovers, betrayers and loyal soldiers, Astorre Viola will claim his destiny. Because after all these years, this moment is in his blood. . . .
Buchrückseite
To Don Raymonde Aprile's children he was a loyal family member, their father's adopted "nephew." To the FBI he was a man who would rather ride his horses than do Mob business. No one knew why Aprile, the last great American Don, had adopted Astorre Viola many years before in Sicily; no one suspected how he had carefully trained him . . . and how, while the Don's children claimed respectable careers in America, Astorre Viola waited for his time to come.
Now his time has arrived. The Don is dead, his murder one bloody act in a drama of ambition and deceit--from the deadly compromises made by an FBI agent to the greed of two crooked NYPD detectives and the frightening plans of a South American mob kingpin. In a collision of enemies and lovers, betrayers and loyal soldiers, Astorre Viola will claim his destiny. Because after all these years, this moment is in his blood. . . .
Über den Autor und weitere Mitwirkende
Mario Puzo was born in New York and, following military service in World War II, attended New York's New School for Social Research and Columbia University. His bestselling novel The Godfather was preceded by two critically acclaimed novels, The Dark Arena and The Fortunate Pilgrim. In 1978, he published Fools Die, followed by The Sicilian, The Fourth K, and the second installment in his Mafia trilogy, The Last Don. Mario Puzo also wrote many screenplays, including those for Earthquake, Superman, and all three Godfather movies, for which he received two Academy Awards. He died in July 1999 at his home on Long Island, New York, at the age of seventy-eight, just after completing the manuscript of Omerta.
Leseprobe. Abdruck erfolgt mit freundlicher Genehmigung der Rechteinhaber. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.
PROLOGUE
1967
N THE STONE-FILLED VILLAGE of Castellarnmare del Golfo facing the dark Sicilian Mediterranean, a great Mafia Don lay dying. Vincenzo Zeno was a man of honor, who all his life had been loved for his fair and impartial judgment, his help to those in need, and his implacable punishment of those who dared to oppose his will.
Around him were three of his former followers, each of whom had gone on to achieve his own power and position: Raymonde Aprile from Sicily and New York, Octavius Bianco from Palermo, and Benito Craxxi from Chicago. Each owed him one last favor.
Don Zeno was the last of the true Mafia chiefs, having all his life observed the old traditions. He extracted a tariff on all business, but never on drugs, prostitution, or other crime of any kind. And never did a poor man come to his house for money and go away empty-handed. He corrected the injustices of the law-the highest judge in Sicily could make his ruling, but if you had right on your side, Don Zeno would veto that judgment with his own force of will, and arms.
No philandering youth could leave the daughter of a poor peasant without Don Zeno persuading him into holy matrimony. No bank could foreclose on a helpless farmer without Don Zeno interfering to put things right. No young lad who hungered for a university education could be denied it for lack of money or qualification. If they were related to his cosca, his clan, their dreams were fulfilled. The laws from Rome could never justify the traditions of Sicily and had no authority; Don Zeno would overrule them, no matter what the cost.
But the Don was now in his eighties, and over the last few years his power had begun to wane. He'd had the weakness to marry a very beautiful young girl, who had produced a fine male child. She had died in childbirth, and the boy was now two years old. The old man, knowing that the end was near and that without him his cosca would be pulverized by the more powerful coscas of Corleone and Clericuzio, pondered the future of his son.
Now he thanked his three friends for the courtesy and respect they had shown in traveling so many miles to hear his request. Then he told them that he wanted his young son, Astorre, to be taken to a place of safety and brought up under different circumstances but in the tradition of a man of honor, like himself.
"I can die with a clear conscience," he said, though his friends knew that in his lifetime he had decided the deaths of hundreds of men, "if I can see my son to safety. For in this two-year-old I see the heart and soul of a true Mafioso, a rare and almost extinct quality."
He told them he would choose one of these men would to act as guardian to this unusual child, and with this responsibility would come great rewards.
"It is strange," Don Zeno said, staring through clouded eyes. "According to tradition, it is the first son who is the true Mafioso. But in my case it took until I reached my eightieth year before I could make my dream come true. I'm not a man of superstition, but if I were, I could believe this child grew from the soil of Sicily itself. His eyes are as green as olives that spring from my best trees. And he has the Sicilian sensibilityromantic, musical, happy. Yet if someone offends him, he doesn't forget, as young as he is. But he must be guided."
"And so what do you wish from us, Don Zeno?" Craxxi asked. "For I will gladly take this child of yours and raise him as my own."
Bianco stared at Craxxi almost resentfully. "I know the boy from when he was first born. He is familiar to me. I will take him as my own."
Raymonde Aprile looked at Don Zeno but said nothing.
"And you, Raymonde?" Don Zeno asked.
Aprile said, "If it is me that you choose, your son will be my son."
The Don considered the three of them, all worthy men. He regarded Craxxi the most intelligent. Bianco was surely the most ambitious and forceful. Aprile was a more restrained man of virtue, a man closer to himself. But he was merciless.
Don Zeno, even while dying, understood that it was Raymonde Aprile who most needed the child. He would benefit most from the child's love, and he would make certain his son learned how to survive in their world of treachery.
Don Zeno was silent for a long moment. Finally he said, "Raymonde, you will be his father. And I can rest in peace."
The Don's funeral was worthy of an emperor. All the cosca chiefs in Sicily came to pay their respects, along with cabinet ministers from Rome, the owners of the great latifundia, and hundreds of subjects of his widespread cosca. Atop the black horse-drawn hearse, two-year-old Astorre Zeno, a fiery-eyed baby attired in a black frock and black pillbox hat, rode as majestically as a Roman emperor.
The cardinal of Palermo conducted the service and proclaimed memorably, "In sickness and in health, in unhappiness and despair, Don Zeno remained a true friend to all." He then intoned Don Zeno's last words: "I commend myself to God. He will forgive my sins, for I have tried every day to be just."
And so it was that Astorre Zeno was taken to America by Raymonde Aprile and made a part of his own household.
CHAPTER 1
WHEN THE STURZO TWINS, Franky and Stace, pulled into Heskow's driveway, they saw four very tall teenagers playing basketball on the small house court. Franky and Stace got out of their big Buick, and John Heskow came out to meet them. He was a tall, pear-shaped man; his thin hair neatly ringed the bare top of his skull, and his small blue eyes twinkled. "Great timing," he said. "There's someone I want you to meet."
The basketball game halted. Heskow said proudly, "This is my son, Jocko." The tallest of the teenagers stuck out his huge hand to Franky.
"Hey," Franky said. "How about giving us a little game?"
Jocko looked at the two visitors. They were about six feet tall and seemed in good shape. They both wore Ralph Lauren polo shirts, one red and the other green, with khaki trousers and rubber-soled shoes. They were amiable-looking, handsome men, their craggy features set with a graceful confidence. They were obviously brothers, but Jocko could not know they were twins. He figured them to be in their early forties.
"Sure," Jocko said, with boyish good nature.
Stace grinned. "Great! We just drove three thousand miles and have to loosen up."
Jocko motioned to his companions, all well over six feet, and said, "I'll take them on my side against you three." Since he was the much better player, he thought this would give his father's friends a chance.
"Take it easy on them," John Heskow said to the kids. "They're just old guys futzing around."
It was midafternoon in December, and the air was chilly enough to spur the blood. The cold Long Island sunlight, pale yellow, glinted off the glass roofs and walls of Heskow's flower sheds, his front business.
"A million bucks," Stace said. "That's a lot of money."
"My client knows it's a big step to hit Don Aprile," Heskow said. "He wants the best help. Cool shooters and silent partners with mature heads. And you guys are simply the best."
Franky said, "And there are not many guys who would take the risk."
"Yeah," Stace said. "You have to live with it the rest of your life. Somebody coming after you, plus the cops, and the feds. "
"I swear to you," Heskow said, "the NYPD won't go all out. The FBI will not take a hand."
"And the Don's old friends?"...
Rezensionen:
"I like novels like this one. It has all the elements that one could hope for in a novel. It has depth; is easy to follow; and can be done in a couple of sittings. I did not think The Last Don was as good as The Godfather, and I expected Omerta to be worse than The Last Don. Yet, this new tale of Mafia Suspense rivals The Godfather in twists, turns, and can't-put-it-down suspense. The language is VERY easy to read. I had no problem progressing even after a hard day at work. You don't really have to think about much; it is all there for you. The story is excellent. The plot seems like it took a long time to write out, and it is worthy of an author like Puzo. The progression of the Character development is the only problem that the book runs across. A few of the characters are not explained well, and this is mostly because there are just so many characters in the book. After reading the book, I cannot safely say that I know the motives surrounding any of the characters. I think this is kind of a good thing, though; it leaves much of the character/motives to be interpeted and inferred by the reader's own mind. If the characters were explained better, I am certain that the book would be too simplistic. I would definetly reccommend this book to anyone, as it is an easy romp of a read. And don't be suprised if you get a little bit of a Scicilian accent by the end of the novel."
"I have been a fan of Mario Puzo since i was in the 6th Grade and read "The Godfather." I read the second in the trilogy (The Last Don) and found it just as captivating as "Godfather." Now, on the first day the book was available, I rushed out to buy "Omerta", which, 50 pages in, has me already captivated. Puzo (Rest In Peace)is, simply put, the master."
"Mario Puzo is back! In his greatest work since The Gofather, Mario Puzo tells a griping story of how a true MAFIOSO digs into his vast resoures to secure his familys holdings and future. No one can tell quite a story on the Mafia as can Mario Puzo. Although Fiction, Mario Puzo's unbelievable accuracy on how the Old Mafia conducted their business, OMERTA, is truly a masterpiece of work."
"This book is very interesting, and is rather peculiar in style in light of Puzo's other work. Although it is in normal gangster theme that echoes Puzo's book, it reads easier and is lighter in nature which makes a good change. I would reccomend it."
"Pretty much as my mother's Father told me - Grazie Nonno - e di piu Grazie Signore Puzo
Un Libro bellissimo scritto"
"This may not be as good as some of Puzo's previous books, but as a piece of crime fiction it stands the test of readability and plausibility.
I enjoyed it immensely on a flight from London to Helsinki - yes, it won't take long to read (it's not that deep a plot), but I climbed off the plane feeling satisfied by my purchase."
"Great read & a good pace. Don’t size is good so you can read pretty quickly"
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