Sunday, November 7, 2010

The Godfather - BBC Top 100 Reads 96/100

I must be the only person in England not to have seen any of The Godfather films - for some reason the sense of violence that I imagine them to portray has never appealed to me and perhaps made me more than a little apprehensive about sitting down to read the book. The essence of this novel is about families, how they react with one another, how their loyalties lie within their extended families and how they observe the outsiders that threaten to penetrate their domains. The violence is there but is kept in short, sharp amounts and doesn't over exaggerate the actions. I completely enjoyed this saga of the 1940's criminal under world and it would be interesting now to see how the film relates to what I've just read. Another one completed off my list - just 4 more to go.

7 comments:

trousers said...

96/100 - that's excellent. I notice that your "completed" list is increasing too. Good stuff!

Tim said...

4 left! Woo Hoo! You can do it!

You're not the only one to have never watched The Godfather films. I've also never seen them before. I'm not sure why because they've been on TV hundreds of times. Maybe the fact they're on for hours and hours puts me off.

Things to Do said...

I remember having some very strong reservations before I started the book, I thought it'd be super long and boring and I even love American mafia/gangster stories. But it was such a quick read it's hard not to be sucked in.

Jessica said...

Congrats! I've watched the films several times but I've always had difficulty keeping the characters straight. Perhaps if I read the book, I would get more out of the film.

Janette said...

Thanks Trousers - just could do with a small lottery win to help me complete the rest!
Tim - perhaps the length of the films is another reason why I haven't watched them!
Things To Do - It only took me a couple of days - wish the rest could be like that!
Jessica - the characters got a little confusing in the book i have to confess especially when the timelines were going back and forth but you do manage to get a grip of who's who.

Anonymous said...

I've seen bits and pieces of the movies but I haven't sat down to watch them in their entirety. I'll have to check them out!

Janette said...

If the film is nearly as good as the book then it shouldn't be too bad! Think I'm going to add them to my Lovefilm list!