The Family follows the rise and fall of the Borgia empire. I say empire because the head of the family was the Holy father himself, and the elder son controlled the entire papal army. its based on the entire family, which has become Mario Puzo’s signature style of writing in many ways.
Though it is nowhere compared to other Puzo greats like the Godfather, and my personal favourite (apart from the Godfather, ofcourse) Fools Die, it does show potential of being a great epic. Unfortunately Puzo died before he could have finished the book, and the story was finished and published by Gino, who was apparently his long time companion. I personally feel that if Puzo had lived to finished the book, he would have managed to make the book into a masterpiece.
Wonderfully written, though some Puzo fans may be disappointed as it does not have his normal flair.
Great book on its own, though not very good when compared to Puzo’s previous books. Definitely worth a read alteast