Synopses & Reviews
What is a family? Mario Puzo first answered that question, unforgettably, in his landmark bestseller
The Godfather; with the creation of the Corleones he forever redefined the concept of blood loyalty. Now, thirty years later, Puzo enriches us all with his ultimate vision of the subject, in a masterpiece that crowns his remarkable career: the story of the greatest crime family in Italian history -- the Borgias.
In The Family, this singular novelist transports his readers back to fifteenth-century Rome and reveals the extravagance and intrigue of the Vatican as surely as he once revealed the secrets of the Mafia. At the story's center is Rodrigo Borgia, Pope Alexander VI, a man whose lustful appetites for power, luxury, and women were matched only by his consuming love of family. Surrounding him are his extraordinary children: the simple, unloved Jofre; the irascible, heartless Juan; the beautiful, strong-willed Lucrezia; and the passionate warrior Cesare, Machiavelli's friend and inspiration. Their intermingled stories constitute a symphony of human emotion and behavior, from pride to romance to jealousy to betrayal and murderous rage. And their time, place, and characters are recaptured in all their earthy, human grandeur, with the unerring insight and compassion that were Mario Puzo's great gifts.
A labor of love two decades in the making, The Family marks the final triumph of one of the greatest storytellers of our time.
Synopsis
“Dazzling, passionate, a masterwork that ranks with Puzos best.”
—Nicholas Pileggi, author of Wiseguys
“One of his most satisfying works….A thoroughly entertaining posthumous present from one of the masters of popular fiction.”
—Booklist
Mario Puzos final masterwork. A sweeping epic saga of corruption, greed, treachery, and sin, The Family is the ultimate crowning achievement of the #1 New York Times bestselling novelist who gave the world The Godfather, arguably the greatest Mafia crime novel ever written. In The Family, Puzo—whom the Washington Post calls, “A serious American talent”—plunges reader into the colorful tumult of the Italian Renaissance, immersing them in the roiling intrigues and deadly affairs of the remarkable family whose name has always been synonymous with power, corruption, poison, and murder: the infamous Borgias.
About the Author
Mario Puzo was the author of the international bestseller The Godfather and cowrote the screenplays for the Academy Award-winning trio of films based on the book. Puzo's other books include The Last Don and Omerta, both New York Times bestsellers.