Quotes from Mario Puzo

He used the Sicilian phrase of the Mafia, "Fari vagnari a pizzu." Pizzu means the beak of any small bird such as a canary. The phrase itself was a demand for part of the loot.

The fabulous land where there was justice for the poor, where the government was not the lackey of the rich, where the penniless Sicilians rose to riches simply by good honest labor.

And so on that bright morning, the smoky Sicilian sun making them sweat, the six Mafia chiefs rode their horses up and down along the wall surrounding Prince Ollorto's estate. The assembled peasants, under olive trees older than Christ, watched these six men, famous all over Sicily for their ferocity. They waited as if hoping for some miracle, too fearful to move forward.

The two men, one so huge, one so tiny, left the cemetery together. Terraced gardens girdled the sides of the surrounding mountains with green ribbons, great white rocks gleamed, a tiny red hawk of Sicily rode down toward them on a shaft of sunlight.

the naturalness of an animal

truth was a source of power, a lever of control, why should anyone give it away?

But above all with a patriarchal love for his followers. Virtue was rewarded. Injuries avenged. A livelihood guaranteed.

At this point Frisella, the barber, came out of his shop to join in the fun. Behind him was the Maresciallo, pompous and important, rubbing his smooth red face. He was the only man in Montelepre who had himself shaved every day.

He was not a bad man, he was a good husband and father, but constant worry about his investments, about the money he earned, about the inevitable expenses that came with being a man of property had worn his nerves to a frazzle so that he was in a constant state of irritation

Ah, Sicily, Sicily, he thought, you destroy your best and bring them to dust.

though Italy governed Sicily, no true Sicilian felt he was an Italian.

dormitorio? Kay, después de beber un buen sorbo, sonrió y repuso: —Bueno. Para ella, todo fue casi igual a como había sido antes, salvo que Michael era ahora más rudo, más directo, menos tierno.

The promised reward of heaven is too far away, men must have some pleasure now. God will forgive them.

on his own base. The Clericuzio estate in Quogue comprised twenty acres surrounded by a ten-foot-high redbrick wall armed by

Not to be rich, but to have money; to have money like a wall to put your back to, and then face the world.

Don't ever take sides with anyone against the Family again.

All of these men were good listeners, patient men. They had one other thing in common. They were those rarities, men who had refused to accept the rule of organized society, men who refused the dominion of other men. There was no force, no mortal man who could bend them to their will unless they wished it. They were men who guarded their free will with wiles and murder. Their wills could be subverted only by death. Or the utmost reasonableness.

What manner of men are we then, if we do not have our reason," he said. "We are all no better than beasts in a jungle if that were the case. But we have reason, we can reason with each other and we can reason with ourselves. To what purpose would I start all these troubles again, the violence and the turmoil?

The Don nodded his head thoughtfully. Then he turned to his son and said gently, "Santino, never let anyone outside the Family know what you are thinking.

Never let them know what you have under your fingernails. I think your brain is going soft from all that comedy you play with that young girl. Stop it and pay attention to business. Now get out of my sight.

Get in the car. If I wanted to kill you you'd be dead now. Trust me.

Una cosa no has aprendido de él, Mike: a hablar de la forma en que lo estás haciendo. Hay cosas que deben hacerse y se hacen, pero nunca se habla de ellas. Uno no trata de justificarlas; no pueden ser justificadas. Se hacen, simplemente. Y luego se olvidan.

What's past is past," Gronevelt said. "Never go back. Not for excuses. Not for justification, not for happiness. You are what you are, the world is what it is."  

You hang around me, Mike," he said, "you're gonna hear things you don't wanta hear." Michael lit a cigarette. "I can help out," he said. "No, you can't," Sonny said. "The old man would be sore as hell if I let you get mixed up in this.