The Godfather by Mario Puzo

I recently traveled to Kisii town via Kisumu. In my bag I had two books, Robert Greene’s 48 laws of power—which is a permanent fixture— and How to stop worrying and start living by Dale Carnegie. You’d think I had enough books for the trip right? Wrong!! As I waited for my flight back to Nairobi, I went into the bookshop to check out the books as I always do whenever I’m at the Kisumu Airport. I looked around and obviously I loved everything I saw but this time I had to restrain myself and walk out with only one book.  It was a close tie between Good to great by Jim Collins and the Godfather by Mario Puzo. The Godfather won.

I’ve heard people talk about the movie adaptation which I haven’t watched by the way. And just as well because I am a firm believer that the book is always better than the movie….a true book lover knows this. Oh please I’ll not even debate this with you, you…movie person!

“Italians have a little joke that the world is so hard a man must have two fathers to look after him, and that's why they have godfathers.” 

The book sets out a compelling story on the Italian mafia in America and its origins in Sicily. The running theme is the constant struggle in the life of the protagonist Michael Corleone whose father is a mafia boss, to accept the life he was born into or to rebel against it and live a normal all American life. In part-rebellion, he enlists as a US marine defying his father and dates an American girl whom he makes sure doesn’t have a drop of Italian blood.

His struggle to merge the two worlds is however apparent and this first comes out at his younger sister’s wedding. While trying to explain what his father does to his girlfriend Kay, he repeatedly defends his father for the crimes he does (which he doesn’t consider to be crimes by the way). At some point it seems that Michael could succeed in staying completely out of the Corleone family business until his father the Don Corleone is shot. Michael finally snaps when his father’s associates and competitors persistently try to kill him.

He approaches his older brother Sonnie Corleone who is holding fort while his father is in hospital and offers to kill the man who conspired to kill his father. This he does in the most brazen attack at an Italian hotel and in broad daylight! That is an open act of aggression and is bound to spark a war of the mafia families, which it promptly does and Michael discreetly flees to Sicily for safety.

While in Sicily, he receives news of Sonnie’s death and it becomes more apparent that he should take over the family business after his father. He learns of the origins of the mafia which helps put his father’s life into perspective. As a rebellion against the government and its systems; the mafia was viewed by the Sicilians as a means by which one could get the type of justice which was not guaranteed by formal government.  The people relied on a “godfather” to sort out their troubles and get justice. The Mafia’s golden rule was and remains a code of silence, an unwritten rule to keep the government out of their affairs (“Omerta”).

In one of the scenes in the book, the Don is approached by a man who had all along believed in the justice system and vowed not to seek the help of the mafia. He’d educated his children in the system, paid his taxes and generally been a good citizen. His American dream was shattered when his daughter is defiled, beaten to a pulp and left for dead. Being a good citizen and believing he’d get justice in the courts, the man sits through the proceedings until conclusion.  When the system finally delivers its justice, he sits in disbelief as the boys are handed a suspended sentence and walk free!!!

At this point, as a reader, one is prompted to think of what they would do in the man’s shoes. The empathetic know exactly what they would do if they had the option of a godfather.  Again, one is further prompted to think about the different vigilante groups in our country and their origins and whether failures in our systems could be the reason why gangs like Mungiki, Sungu sungu get formed and gain myriad followers and sympathizers.

On my part, my mind starts racing through pages of my memory back to the days that I worked in the NGO sectors with groups in the informal settlements (Mathare, Korogocho, Kibera and Kiambiu) in Nairobi.  As a lawyer I would preach the gospel of law and the justice system. What I would always see whenever I would speak to the groups about the law or the justice system was hopelessness, in fact it was a collective sigh of “not again” “another clueless person who doesn’t realize that these laws she talks about are just but empty words which don’t apply to us…those with the money own justice”. One conversation had me seriously questioning the fairness of the system:

Participant: You say that I shouldn’t take money if my child is defiled by my neighbour?

Me: Yes you can go to the police and report, the person will be apprehended and taken to Court and your daughter will get justice.

Participant: What if the defiler has money to give to the police and when I go to report I end up being arrested myself?

Me: What? That can never happen…um…you can engage one of the NGOs like ours we’ll take up the case for you for free.

Participant: Then where will I live?!

Me: (Speechless)!

May be one needs a godfather after all. Find time and read the book. It’s Epic, for lack of a better word.