#1 in Crime & mystery
The Godfather
- 450
- Pages
- about 8 h
- Reading time
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Our view
“The Godfather” endures because it is a novel about people before it is a novel about crime: the Corleones are too morally tangled to sort into heroes and villains, and the Mafia’s internal politics grip as firmly as the violence. Readers who already know the story from the screen still find extra depth and detail here. Expect a dark family saga, not an action thriller.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
The Godfather is a crime novel by Italian American author Mario Puzo. Originally published on 10 March 1969 by G. P. Putnam's Sons, the novel details the story of a fictional Mafia family in New York City and Long Island, headed by Vito Corleone, the Godfather. The novel covers the years 1945 to 1955 and includes the backstory of Vito Corleone from early childhood to adulthood.
Reading order · The Godfather
Full order & progress →
Where the score comes from
The sources average 8.8 across 772 ratings. With that many, the reader vote carries 84% of the weight and the score stays at 8.6 — the Crime & mystery average of 7.6 barely moves it.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 8.6 | 48 | 6% |
| Hardcover | 8.8 | 724 | 94% |
Frequently asked
How long is The Godfather?
It has 450 pages — longer than 70% of the ranked books in Crime & mystery.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Crime & mystery — with scores between 7.9 and 8.4, closest to this book.
