The Fortunate Pilgrim: A Novel

“The Fortunate Pilgrim” is a very well written work of serious mature fiction authored by Mario Puzo. It is principally about an Italian American lady who comes to America, without her family, as a young lady and struggles to transition to the American way of life. She lives in a largely Italian American neighborhood in New York City in the first half of the twentieth century. It is excellent but not a light reading experience. I don’t think it was a commercial success when first published. This is a standalone novel and was authored before “The Godfather”. Having previously read The Godfather, I can vaguely sense the literary trail from this novel to The Godfather. I am glad that I read both. This is a slower less entertaining novel than The Godfather. But it is deep, thoughtful, and mature. The characters are entirely different. I have now read Mario Puzo’s first three novels. The first is “The Dark Arena”. I liked the novel, but it is my least favorite of the three and if I was to skip one, that would be the one. I liked the next two approximately equally but they are very different. This novel is more mature and deep, The Godfather more entertaining. As I stated above, for my purposes I am very glad I read both. If I only wanted to be entertained I would probably pick The Godfather. In summary I really like this novel. It is not light and at times it moved slowly. I often had to pay close attention. I have become a fan of Mario Puzo and plan on reading more of his novels in the not too distant future. Thank you for taking the time to read this review.

Mario Puzo often stated that he could not have written The Godfather without first having written The Fortunate Pilgrim. It definitely sets the groundwork for The Godfather. It explains, in real life experiences, why and how a Don could come into existence, and how a Don would fill an important niche in the process of serving and protecting his people from an America that would only fulfill their dreams if forced or coerced. A minority with a protector. It may have led to crime, but it is also a logical progression to crime. This novel is well worth the reading.

My husband is the Godfather aficionado, not me. I have a German heritage on both sides, but I love his first generation Italian family (we are in our late 60s), so i enjoy "immigrant novels," especially Italian.Oddly, my first husband was also first generation Italian, and his feisty mother was not that far away from Lucia Santa with her combination of matter-of-fact cruelty and her loyalty to her family. She, too, was a widow when I knew her (Tony's father died when Tony was 12), and she had lost one of her three sons at ate 19 to an auto accident. I loved this book for many things: its deep characterizations;its insights into relationships, especially mother/son and mother/daughter; it's historic/sociological interest; and its insights into all the tough Italian character (and Irish and all the others of that era) of the men and women endured to gain a foothold in their new country. But most of all i loved it for the poetry of Puzo's words, his language that would not let me put the book down. Not purple prose but real poetry of the seasons, esepcially the heat; the hardship and joy; the suffering and moments of pleasure, the dreams and the reality. Don't miss this one!

This is my least favorite of all the books I have read by this author. It started out with great promise. The characters were true to life and the storytelling up to the usual Puzo form. But by the middle of the book it all came to a screeching halt. The characters became dull and boring and the storyline dragged to the point I wanted to simply skim. I was actually looking forward to the end.

This was an entertaining story that kept me turning the pages to the very end. It was not predictable and that was what I appreciated most about it. This was written years ago before cussing was prominent in books and so if I can recall correctly there is little to no cursing in the story. The story is quite sad throughout and magnifies the tragic circumstances the immigrants faced with trying to make a way in the new land of America. Each character has their own struggles and different ways of handling their trials. The story spans the lifetime of the main character from her young adulthood to her old age. If you've ever watched a documentary about the living conditions of the immigrants from Italy, then this story gives another voice to go with those pictures. I would recommend this book for a book club or for older teens on up.

This book was one of Puzo's first books. He states that it also was his favorite. It tells the story of an Italian immigrant family living in 1920's New York's Hell's Kitchen. The story is relatable and I see much of my mom and grandmother in Puzo's writing style. I think he draws inspiration from his mother and family in a way as Puzo also grew up in an Italian family with a similar mom who was an immigrant and strong and who grew up in Hell's Kitchen about the same time period. The way Puzo writes in this book is so much different than his other novels. He writes in a specific artistic style but the way he brings this family to life becomes more engaging as pages are turned. I didn't know if I would like this book when I first started reading it but by the time I was a quarter of the way in to it, I had become invested and engaged. By the time I was done reading, I can honestly say I was happy I had the opportunity to read it and would recommend the book to anyone who grew up with an Italian-Sicilian family.

Entra Di diritto tra I miei 10 libro preferiti di sempre. Il migliore di Mario Puzo probabilmente

Good

This book is an intimate view of a troubled immigrant family...joys and warts and tears and all. I ate it up.

This book is written in a very heartfelt manner. I suspect it’s based on Puzo’s real life cause I read his Wikipedia page and found a lot of parallels between this story and his real life. Amazing read. Loved it

The book arrived on time, and the described condition was accurate.