Directo de mi blog:Mario Puzo, escribió la novela de "El Padrino" que fue llevada a la pantalla grande como una de las mejores películas de la historia sobre la mafia italiana. Puzo tenía una fijación sobre la historia de la mafia y escribió el libro titulado "Los Borgia" en lo que se narraba el inicio de la mafia como tal, personificado por el papa Alejandro VI, que era el cardenal Rodrigo Borgia de Valencia.Alejandro tuvo cuatro hijos reconocidos, César, Juan, Lucrecia y Jofre Borgia que como familia (los papas ni cardenales debían tener relaciones y por lo tanto hijos, y de tenerlos, los llamaban "sobrinos") eliminaron a todos quienes se oponían a sus deseos. También lograron alianzas ventajosas para darle poder terrenal a Roma y entre ellas tuvieron que hacer tratos con la ciudad-estado de Florencia.Florencia era controlada por la Signiora que era una especie de corte que le fungía como un senado... y como consejero de los miembros de esa corte, que eran diez, se encontraba Nicolás Maquiavelo. Maquiavelo ya era famoso por ser un gran orador, de 25 años, hombre de baja estatura y muy inteligente, pero fue en este tiempo en que consumó su poder como persona influyente, pero no como se le ha pintado en su legado.Cuando alguien habla de Maquiavelo, siempre piensa en la frase de "el fin justifica los medios" para obtener cualquier clase de poder o privilegio, pero en realidad Maquiavelo simplemente tuvo la virtud de saber cuando defender causas apoyándolas o enfrentándolas de acuerdo a los intereses de la ciudad de Florencia. Maquiavelo nunca quiso acceder al control de la ciudad o de tener mayores privilegios de los que ya tenía, sólo le preocupaba la supervivencia de la ciudad y se informaba oportunamente de las alianzas y traiciones en la Europa controlada por el papa, para saber con quién aliarse.Tuvo estrecha relación con Cesar Borgia, primero dándole apoyo y convenciando a la corte de las ventajas que representaba dicha alianza, lo ayudó en un caso especifico de conspiración en su contra; pero luego, a la muerte de Alejandro VI se la retiró, cuando vio que era insostenible la postura de los Borgia en Roma, a pesar de las promesas del papa Julio II de dejarlo al frente de los ejércitos papales. Como Florencia no contaba con un poderío militar como para defenderse por las armas, Maquiavelo utilizaba la astucia para lograr sus fines... de ahí que se le atribuyera la frase.Maquiavelo contaba entre sus caracterísiticas, la facilidad de comunicar con sinceridad y cinismo sus planes y sus decisiones para apoyar a su ciudad, y a pesar de la amistad que tuvo con hombres poderosos en su tiempo, como el mismo César Borgia, Julio II, el rey de Francia y los señores de Nápoles, Milán, Romaña y demás ciudades de la península itálica, sus decisiones y consejos sobre la supervivencia de Florencia fueron su prioridad número uno. Quizá la frase que lo hace famoso se aplicaría a "la supervivencia de Florencia (el fin) justifica las alianzas (los medios) hechas".Hace un par de días estaba en Sanborns viendo libros, cuando me encontré con uno que se titulaba "¿Qué hubiera hecho Maquiavelo? II" y en cuya contraportada decía que era un libro para ser una persona temida en los negocios e incluso en el hogar, y sostenía que el poder radicaba en ser malo y contar con poca ética en determinadas situaciones y que "no era un libro para cualquier persona", que debía uno ser ambicioso para lograr ese carácter. No me pareció que el título del libro le hiciera honor a la figura de Maquiavelo como un hombre malo y sin ética, pero incluso ponerlo de ejemplo para tal fin me pareció excesivo. Además, un libro que enseña a ser malo y poco ético no debería ser publicado, creo yo.
Let me begin by saying that I am a die-hard Mario Puzo fan. Unlike a lot of people, I was introduced to his writing through The Dark Arena and The Fortunate Pilgrim. However, nothing could have prepared me for the sheer brilliance of The Godfather, a book so insanely popular it created an entire subgenre in American literature. Culturally speaking, it was one of the most influential film series until a young English boy arrived at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Nevertheless, here I will be talking about Puzo’s last book, The Family, which was completed after his death (July 2, 1999) by his longtime companion, novelist Carol Gino. It is the part adventure saga, past historical romance that Puzo reportedly spent the last 15 years of his life researching. Unfortunately, while the research is excellent, the novel is not.The story centres on one of history’s most fascinating families, the Borgias. It begins in 1492 as Rodrigo Borgia, utilizing the bribery and political intrigue that were to subsequently mark his reign, becomes Pope Alexander VI. Quickly, Alexander moves to consolidate his family’s power, and thereby its future, by placing his four illegitimate children in positions of authority and privilege. The children, Cesare, Juan, Lucrezia, and Jofre, are simultaneously spoiled and corrupted by their father, who is portrayed as a forerunner of the Mafia dons Puzo had previously written about.Yet neither the Pope nor his children ever realize their full potential as rich historical characters. Although all of them played prominent roles in Italy’s history, none of them rose above cardboard stature in the novel. Their lives, which were dominated by murder, intrigue, war, rape and even incest, are presented in The Family with soap-opera dialogue in scenes that become increasingly repetitious. At no time do the characters come alive; at no point do they take over the novel. In an effort to portray the historical richness of the Renaissance, the book is stuffed with unnecessary details. Time after time, scenes are presented that add nothing to the central characters or the story itself other than to accommodate the appearance of such historical figures as Michelangelo, Machiavelli, da Vinci and the fanatical Florentine monk Savonarola. Regrettably, the novel fails at even this level.The Family does not read like a Mario Puzo novel, even a lesser one. A work of such historical depth requires strong, interesting dialogue and even stronger characters to deliver it–the very qualities that always raised Puzo’s work to a higher plane. Neither exists here.So we are left with two questions. How much of this novel did Mario Puzo actually write? How badly did his talent atrophy during the years of illness that preceded his death? In a touching afterword, Carol Gino writes lovingly of her long relationship with Puzo. She also informs us of his longstanding fascination with the Borgias and the years of research he devoted to what he hoped would be his finest novel. On the final page of the book, Gino tells how she came to complete it.Two weeks before he died, though his heart was failing, Mario was completely lucid. And one day, as I was sitting in his study across from his desk, he reached down and pulled a bunch of pages, handwritten in red felt marker on yellow lined paper, from the bottom drawer of his desk. I thought it was something from Omerta, but it wasn’t. “Read it,” he said, and handed it to me.And as I read I began to cry. It was the last chapter of the Borgia book.“Finish it,” he said. “Promise me.”And so I did.I feel like a complete bitch saying that Mario Puzo would have been better served had Gino returned those pages to the desk drawer. But yeah.
What do You think about The Family (2002)?
What do I think about this book?I love it! I fell in love with it for the very first time I read it, back when I was 17. I cried, I sighed, I got mad, I gasped... I love it so much I had the Spanish version and the English one (now I have none since I lost the first one, God only knows where and when, and I lent the other one to a friend of mine, whom I haven’t seen in two years, therefore he hasn’t returned it to me. Yet. So know I’m Borgia-less)… I digress What do I love about The Family?1.- Mario Puzo did an amazing work writing the story of the Borgias. I know this family was all about crime and lies, but by the way Puzo tells their story you cannot but love them. Seriously.2.- Cesar Borgia. If there’s someone who can make me bite my lip and sigh, that is Cesar. He is the most amazing male character I’ve ever read about. He is not good nor bad. Yes, he kills people and enjoys it, but he also suffers because of his father and he also knows the meaning of love. He is brave, yet he is weak. He is… *sighs* … let’s just say you must read it so you can fall in love with him.3- Puzo tried to show people a different side of this family. He made incest into a love story. He turned crime into a way to defend someone’s pride and reputation. He made Cesar Borgia into a hero (a troubled one) He used syphilis, rape and murder in such a magnificent way that I did not feel disgusted by any of this.4.- This book is about politics, religion, power, incest, murders, love, strategies and intelligence.These are my three favorite characters.Rodrigo Borgia- Alejandro VI. This character is manipulative and cruel yet he seems to have a fond heart when it comes to his little daughter. He has done things no father would and he is aware he is going to hell (well, if he is not, then he is fooling himself because he is, in fact, going to hell)Cesar Borgia. *sighs again* As I said before, this is the most wonderful character ever. He has also done terrible things but only for his father’s and family’s sake. Lucrecia Borgia. She is intelligent, loving, caring, yada yada. She is a real martyr in this book; she has done everything his father had demanded her to do and she is way different from the rest of her family, but still she loves them and worries about them.Lucrecia and Cesar…I’m not going to say anything about these two except that I love them.I know I didn’t say what the plot is about, but people shouldn’t really ask since The Borgias are a famous family, after all it is Pope Alejandro VI’s family we are talking about and everybody knows about them (I hope) So I’m just going to say this book is different from all the other books about them and that there is drama. A lot of drama, but not the kind of drama that gets you sick, but the kind of drama that keeps you reading until you reach the last page, then you say Wow and think about Cesar and cry a thousand times because he… perishes. (Again, there’s no spoilers here, since we all know Cesar Borgia dies…)Well, you should read it : D
—Talía
I started to listen to this as a book on tape a while ago, and really couldn't follow it. I didn't get very far into it at all.I don't know why, but I decided to give it another go, but in printed for this time. Taking my time with it, allowed me to more fully appreciated it. Some of the writing was still a little silly and filled with Puzo's pulpy, prosaic style, but the characters and story really grabbed me. I must admit, it begins kind of slow moving and meandering, but really picks up at about the 90 page mark where the actual plot kicks in.I like it!
—Jeffrey Wienckowski
It has been many years since I read this book. It was so twisted and good that it still stands out as one of the best of many books that I have read in my life. It was set in the Ceaser Borgia days, although I still think most of the story is fiction, a lot of the events and characters seem very real and as if it really happened. I think that this was one of the books that I read that made me want to become an author.... If your into Popes and ancient Roman history I would recommend this to you. Its really a real story that has its own pulse. I couldn't put it down and almost 10years later I still remember it so vividly that I could probably write the script to it myself... I will get this book again for my personal library....
—Terrence Baker
