In honor of the upcoming 50th anniversary of "The Godfather" movie release, a lesser-known Mario Puzo book called "The Sicilian" fits into the Godfather saga nicely. The setting is post-World War II Sicily. In this era, the large estate owners were generally protected by the Mafia (usually referred to as Friends of the Friends) and the government. Puzo details how difficult life in post-World War II Sicily was for the average person.
In 1943, an incident with the police turned a young day worker named Salvatore Guiliano into a bandit. Guiliano shares his new wealth among the masses and becomes an icon in Sicily. Guiliano's long battle against the estate owners, Mafia and government is described. A certain Corleone Family member who is hiding out in Sicily eventually is brought into the situation.
Brent Heutmaker, Fridley
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