THE LEGEND FALLS. Review on Omerta - Mario Puzo

Omerta : MARIO PUZO

Omerta: a Sicilian code of honor which forbids informing about crimes thought to be the affairs of the persons involved ( World Book Dictionary)

With such a start to the book you would surely be in a state of feverish excitement more so if it comes from the person who has given the world GODFATHER.However, at the end,you feel just like a child who was promised so much and given very little .Not that the book is a rubbish –it’s just an average book from a great storyteller .If Tom ,Dick or Harry had written it there would have been no sore thumbs sticking out but with PUZO you feel you have been let down badly.

The plot was nonetheless present, the basic human qualities and sins are as present in the 21st century as they were few decades back.The end goal of fame ,riches and power remained the same only the means to such end changed.The characters could also be identified with their predecessors you had the crooked cop in the form Aspinella Washington & Paul di Benedetto; the sagacious Mr.Pryror , the loyal faithful Aldo Monza , Don Raymonde Aprile who follows the old code of honour ,Timmona Portella eyeing every piece of pie but lacking the quality to be a don at par with others , the don’s children who aren’t all that useful when it comes to a mob war and the Astorre Zeno who transforms from a macaroni dealer with a love for horses and singing ballads to one who takes the task of avenging the Don”s death on himself. The parallels with the GODFATHER are unmistakable, but while the GODFATHER made you gasp in joy , with the OMERTA you let out a sigh of sorrow. Needless to say ASTORRE confirms the Don’s faith in him and saves the day – so far so good , not really considering the characters fail to evoke interest in the reader,leaving them indifferent to the tragic events that befall them.The characters fail to evolve as per their potential and only when the plot changes to SICILY do we get the old PUZO back.

That ASTORRE will triumph was a beyond doubt conclusion,but one can only feel sorry for the other characters .Left as they are ,they fail to develop into something that does justice to them. Kurt Clike ,the F.B.I. agent who gets caught in the web of deception often crossing the thin line between personal vendetta and call of duty.In the end the there is only one honourable end to his suffering – dying while answering the call of duty.Even the personal relationship with his wife is strained and he never untangled it.The characters of MARRIANO RUBIO , Timmona Portella also suffer from the same lackluster effect .

Even the title doesn’t live up to the reputation –the people don’t maintain the stony silence expected from them –they fold up against the hand held against them either from coercion or for the sake of monetary pleasure.

But all these does not mean OMERTA is bad ,just that it fails to carry the flag of PUZO aloft and when you complete it you feel you have gone through a PUZO book for the sake of PUZO ,not for the sake of a classic of literature.