There are times when one doesn’t have the headspace to dive into a new book, when the comfort of old and familiar feels better. That’s why I read The Sicilian. I devoured all things The Godfather when I was a teen and haven’t revisited this series in a while – book or movie. But recently, I heard the background music on the radio, and it brought back so many old, nostalgic memories of my Grade X summer holidays, doing nothing but reading these books back-to-back and watching the grainy movies on videotape.
So, when I saw this book in the library, I had to pick it up. I remembered the first book quite vividly, but this one not so much.
About The Sicilian
The year is 1950. Michael Corleone is nearing the end of his exile in Sicily. The Godfather has commanded Michael to bring a young Sicilian bandit, Salvatore Giuliano, back to America with him. But Giuliano is a man entwined in a bloody web of violence and vendettas. In Sicily, Giuliano is a modern-day Robin Hood who has defied corruption – and defied the Cosa Nostra. Now, in the land of mist-shrouded mountains and ancient ruins, Michael Corleone’s fate is entwined with the dangerous legend of Salvatore Giuliano: warrior, lover, and the ultimate Sicilian.
~ Synopsis from goodreads
My Review
The Sicilian is a standalone story with a slight connection to the larger saga. Here, the Corleones play only a secondary role. The story is centered around Salvatore Giuliano – his life, his friendships, and his rise and fall. He is, in fact, very closely based on a real person, and knowing that the story wasn’t entirely fictional made it all the more engrossing for me.
Regarding timelines, it falls squarely into Michael Corleone’s time in Sicily after the death of his first wife in 1950.
The history of Sicily and Italy is told in rich detail, with both fictional and non-fiction elements. The brutality of life when you had to fight or perhaps kill over something like a wheel of cheese is on full display. I love how, looming over everything, is the shadow of Don Croce, who arguably is more important than the Pope or the Premier of Italy.
A lot of time is spent on the scene setting and the back stories, so it’s understandable that the book is slow. It’s also set in a different time – in the 1940s and 50s, with a very different sense of honor and morals, and it took a little getting into. But once I was in, I was in, utterly engrossed.
I loved how honorable the men were, even when murdering someone. They play by rules because they know that if they break them, then their rivals will also break them, and chaos will ensue.
The ending is predictable but sad. Although Giuliano has good intentions, he gets sucked into the treacherous world of the mafia, and eventually pays the price.
However, as much as I loved the book, if you ask me to pick one book of Mario Puzo I would still say The Godfather. That book is unbeatable in my opinion.
