The Family Corleone (58 page)

Sonny watched the festivities undisturbed for a time, and it occurred to him, watching the councilman and the lawyers and the judges, the cops and detectives mingling with the heads of the families and all their men—it occurred to him that his family was the strongest of them all and nothing was going to stop them, not now. They had it all, they had everything, and nothing was in their way—nothing was in
his
way, since he was the oldest son and thus heir to the kingdom.
Everything
, he thought, and though he couldn’t have said what
everything
meant, he felt it, he felt it down to his bones, like a surge of heat. It made him want to lean back and roar. When Clemenza waved for Sonny to join him on the platform, Sonny opened his arms as if embracing Clemenza and every other guest at the wedding—and he stepped out into the courtyard to join his family.

Thanks to Neil Olson for providing me the opportunity to write this novel. Mario Puzo’s characters and themes turned more compelling and engaging the more deeply I explored them. Thanks to Tony Puzo, the Puzo family, and Jon Karp for approving Neil’s choice, and thanks most of all to Mario Puzo himself, whom I sincerely hope would have approved of
The Family Corleone
.
The Godfather
saga had already moved into the realm of American mythology during Mario’s lifetime. I’m honored to have had this chance to work with such rich material.

Thanks also to Mitch Hoffman for his insightful editing, his encouragement, and his reliable good humor; and to Jamie Raab, Jennifer Romanello, Lindsey Rose, Leah Tracosas, and all the talented professionals at Grand Central. A special note of thanks to Clorinda Gibson, who reviewed my use of Italian and thus had to work with all those words she wasn’t allowed to say growing up in a good Italian family.

As always, I’m deeply grateful to my friends and family, and to the many writers and artists I’ve had the good luck to meet and work with over the years. Thanks to you all.

Saint John of the Five Boroughs

Wolf Point

Winter in Florida

Burning Man

Sabbath Night in the Church of the Piranha

Acid

Plato at Scratch Daniel’s

In the Park of Culture

Chemical Landscapes, Digital Tales

Circa 1967–1968

Self-Portrait as Child w/Father

Charmin’ Cleary

A Dream with Demons

Sea Island

The Center

Possum Dreams

The Pact

Radon

Sabbath Night in the Church of the Piranha

The Dark Arena

The Fortunate Pilgrim

The Godfather

Fools Die

The Sicilian

The Fourth K

The Last Don

Omerta

The Family

agita (AH jita)
—indigestion; southern dialect pronunciation of
aciditá

andate (ahn DAHT ay)
—go

andiamo (ahn dee AM oh)
—let’s go

animale (ahn ee MAL eh)
—animal

aspett’ (AHS pet)
—wait

attendere (ah TEN dar eh)
—wait

avanti (A VAHN tee)
—go ahead

bambino (BAM bean oh)
—baby

basta (BAH sta)
—enough

bastardo / bastardi (bahs TAR doh / bahs TAR dee)
—bastard / bastards

bella (BEL lah)
—beautiful

bestia (BEST ee ah)
—beast

braciole, braciol’ (brah JOL)
—thin slices of beef filled with grated cheese, parsley, and bacon that are rolled, tied, pan-fried, and cooked in tomato sauce

buffóne (bu PHONE eh)
—buffoon

cafon’ (CAH vone)
—a jerk; “a rude person”

cannoli (cah NOHL ee)
—Italian pastry filled with sweetened ricotta cheese

capicol’ (CAH ba gool)
—a cold-cut meat; a cross between salami and ham

capisce, capisc’ (cop EESH)
—understand?

capo / caporegime (CAP oh reg eem)
—a high-ranking made member of a crime family, with his own soldiers under him

capozzell’ / capozzell’ d’angell’ (CAH poh zell d’an GEL)
—a lamb’s head cleaved in half

cazzo (KAHTZ soh)
—exclamatory obscenity, literally “penis” or “dick”

cent’anni (CHENT ahnee)
—a traditional toast: “may you live a hundred years”

cetriol’ (JIH druhl)
—literally “cucumber”; used to describe or call someone a “dope” or “stupid”

che cazzo (cay KAHTZ soh)
—exclamatory obscenity, literally “what dick”; the Italian equivalent of “what the fuck?”

che minchia (cay meenkyah)
—roughly the same as
che cazzo
, southern dialect

ciuccio / ciucc’ (CHOO ch)
—literally “donkey” or “ass,” used to describe or call someone a stupid person

consiglieri (cohn seel YEAR ree)
—counselor

demone (deh MOHN eh)
—demon

diavolo (dee AH voloh)
—devil

disgrazia (dees GRAZ ee ah)
—disgrace

esattament’ (ez AHTA ment)
—yes; exactly

finocchio / finocch’ (fin NOKE yo / fin NOKE)
—literally “fennel”; derogatory slang for a homosexual male

giamoke (JAH moke) / giamope (JAH mope)
—southern dialect for a “sucker” or “loser”

grazie (GRATZ ee ah)
—thanks

grazie mille (GRATZ ee ah MEEL eh)
—thanks very much

guerra (GWHERE ah)
—war

idiota (eed ee OH ta)
—idiot

il mio diavolo (eel meeoh dee AH voloh)
—my devil

infamitá (IN fam ee TAH)
—infamy

imbecille (EEM beh CHEE leh)
—imbecile

infezione (een FETZ ee own ee)
—infection

la nostra famiglia (la nohstrah fa MEEL ya)
—our family

lupara (LOOP ara)
—shotgun

Madon’ (mah DOHN)
—Madonna; Mother

Madonna mia (mah DOHN na MEE ah)
—literally “my Madonna”; used as an exclamation

Madre ’Dio (MAH dreh DEE oh)
—Mother of God

mammalucc’ (mama LUKE)
—a friendly way of saying “stupid,” often followed by a gentle slap

mannaggia / mannagg’ (mahn NAH juh / mahn NAHJ)
—southern dialect exclamation; the Italian equivalent of “damn”

mannaggia la miseria (mahn NAH juh la mee ZER eeah)
—my horrible luck

mezzofinocch’ (MEHT zo fin ook)
—half-homosexual; sissy

mi’ amico (MEE ah MEE coh)
—my friend

mi dispiace (MEE disp YAH chay)
—I’m sorry

mi dispiace davvero (MEE disp YAH chay dah vairoh)
—I’m truly sorry

minchia (MEEN kee ah)
—exclamatory obscenity, literally “dick”

mi vergogno (mee ver GOHN yo)
—I’m ashamed

mortadell’ (mort ah DELL)
—literally, a type of lunch meat; used to refer to someone as a “loser”

mostro (MOH stroh)
—monster

non forzare (non FORT zahr eh)
—don’t force

non piú (NON PEW)
—no more

non so perché (nohn so per CEH)
—I don’t know why

paisan’ (PIE zahn)
—a fellow countryman

parli (PAR lee)
—speak

pazzo (PAHT zoh)
—crazy; mentally ill

per caritá (per car ee TAH)
—for pity’s sake

per favore (PER fav OR eh)
—please

per piacere (PER pee ah CHEH reh)
—please

pezzonovante (PETZO novant eh)
—big shot

salute (SAH loot)
—roughly “cheers,” a toast

sciupafemmine (SHOOP ah FEM een eh)
—womanizer

scucciameen / scucc’ (SCUTCH ah meen / SCUTCH)
—someone who is a pain the neck, a bother

scungilli
(skoon GEE lee)
—a large mollusk with spiral shells, found along the coast of Italy.

sfaccim (sfa CHEEM)
—southern dialectic vulgarity, literally “sperm”

sfogliatella (SFOO ya tell ah)
—a triangular-shaped Italian pastry

sì (CEE)
—yes

signora (seen YOR ah)
—missus

splendido (SPLEN deed oh)
—splendid

sta’zitt’ (STAH zeet)
—shut up

stronz’ / stronzo, pl. stronzi (STROHNZ / STROHZ oh)
—piece of shit, idiot

stugots / sticazz’ (STU ghatz)
—from the Italian
(qu)esto cazzo
, which means “this dick” and a southern dialect cursing someone as a jerk

stupido (STU pee doh)
—stupid

suicidi (soo ee CHEE dee)
—suicides

va fa’ Napule! (VAH fah NAH poh lah)
—exclamation; hell, damn—literally, “Go to Naples”

v’fancul’ / ’fancul’ (VAH fahn gool / FAHN gool)
—literally something like “go do it in the ass”; generally means “fuck” or “what the fuck?” according to how it’s said.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

Copyright © 2012 by The Estate of Mario Puzo

All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher constitute unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

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First e-book edition: May 2012

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ISBN: 978-1-4555-2161-6X