Mario Puzo is far from his best in this book- The Last Don. It is the story of stereotypical characters that are usually found in Harold Robbins / Sidney Sheldon’s & Joan Collins.
The characters include the old Don-Domenico Clericuzio ofcourse, the brooding nephew Croccifixio De Lena (Cross) the main protagonist- very handsome savvy and intelligent, with a familial past he’s ashamed of yet inclined to, his brave father Pippi De Lena- nephew to the Don, the uncle’s and cousins that form the powerful Clericuzio family, a strong mafia lineage that has shifted it’s base to American shores from it’s native Sicily so that the Don can satisfy his vision of his grandchildren livi ng a normal and liberated life away from the hardships and the stigma of being from a Mafioso family. The other characters include Dante the evil cousin to Cross, the all too perfect actress Athena Aquitane with a past that can only be unravelled by the brooding Cross, his sister Claudia who is mostly a prop in the story as are the movie men in this book, men working for the Clericuzio family including police officers, forgers, drug kingpins, hotel owners and other people indebted to the family that looks after all of them.
The story starts with the birth of Cross and Dante- the villainous cousin, grandson to the Don, and the meeting that declares the Don’s inclination that the next generation be born into a life of normalcy away from the violence of the Mafia, primarily the Santadio family that was overwhelmed prior to this story.
It continues with different storylines, initially of Cross’s father Pippi De Lena’s character and his life, how he divorces his wife and moves away with Cross, and his wife takes custody of their daughter Claudia- they grow up initially close then slowly drifting apart, though the brother and sister maintain their bond. Eventually, Cross is tested and trained for his strength of character, and then sent to a Clericuzio family assemblage- the Xanadu hotel in Las Vegas famous for their casino’s and villa’s that attract the richest of the world under the tutelage of the owner, Gronevelt. Here he learns the tricks of the trade and is groomed further to take on the reigns of the management after Gronevelt passes away.
During this time when Cross is working in the Xanadu, the author vaults to Claudia’s story of her growing up with her mother, her penchant for reading, theatre, writing and finally writing screenplay’s, and thus Hollywood. He has mentioned in detail, how she had a vivacious personality, intelligence and an unusual charm, but was unattractive, something that didn’t bother her personally but an adept plastic surgeon who is the father of one of her boyfriend’s is charmed by her personality and offers to remodel her face. This done, she has turned ‘handsome’, has an affair with this plastic surgeon and now gets her work appreciated and is successful for her talents. It is also mentioned how easy and ‘free spirited’ she is with her relationships, sleeping with friends, and practically everyone she comes across just because she wants to, and not because her work compels her to. The author has strangely been very explicit and detailed of very many liaisons, many of them deviating from the storyline completely, which are generally very unnecessary.
The Hollywood part of the storyline is at best dreary, with many characters mentioned, many who don’t have much relevance to the main mafia plot, but are weak threads to connect Cross’s meeting with the ‘most bankable’ actress Athena Aquitane. This is another largely unnecessary character who plays love interest to Cross. She is the type of woman who is flawless, one that has just walked out of a Sidney Sheldon novel into this book. Athena is so perfect in every way, that her husband who once loved her is now her most dangerous enemy, simply because he cannot stand her perfection and the loss of her love. So he plans to kill her by first threatening her with their deep dark secret and then with acid before taking any action. Athena is so frightened that she drops out of the multi million-dollar movie ‘Messalina’ in mid production. Predictably, Claudia has written this screenplay and this is her ticket to the next ‘bankable screenwriter’s’ level, and also she is best friends with Athena. So after everyone tries to convince Athena to rejoin the movie, and fails, Claudia decides to ask her brother to step in. Note that all this while Claudia has no idea who or what her brother really does, although she knows about the Clericuzio family that she was estranged from.
So Cross, the brother who can never deny his sister, views this step as a foray into Hollywood- a venture he has planned as a way to isolate himself from the Clericuzio family and the mafia life that he was never fully committed to. he falls in love with Athena and suddenly the author decides that this is the reason that Cross involves himself into Hollywood, and not his earlier mention of Cross’s intention of entering it as a business proposition. He gets Athena’s husband killed without the Clericuzio family knowing, finds out the deep dark secret about Athena and is now the prince in shining armour to Athena in distress.
Meanwhile Cross’s jealous cousin Dante who lives with the Clericuzio family has a dodgy, exceptionally violent and sadistic nature who doesn’t just kill cleanly like the other hit men (hammer’s), but takes a lot of pleasure from mutilating his victims. a sign that disturbs the Don, but with his great wisdom, mentioned a dozen times in the book, he foresees the end of this problem and so sits tight. Eventually it becomes a dual between Cross and Dante, one adept at planning his moves, and the other blinded by jealousy, anger at not getting his rightful dues. The story truly begins when Pippi de Lena (Cross’s father) is murdered and Cross has to avenge this.
The story continues this way, with many extra fittings, extra characters, and sleazy overtly immoral portrayals between unnecessary characters of the plot. Who cares about a writer who can’t get paid for his story unless he commits suicide, and his dentist’s girlfriend’s misadventures? Who cares about bigwigs at the Hollywood end who have never met any of the Mafia lot and are promptly fired at the end of the story so that conveniently a one hit wonder screenwriter is made boss to the biggest production company in Hollywood? Even Cross’s sister Claudia’s narration is mentioned in such great detail that one wonders when she is going to step in and shoot somebody, and be the new heiress to the mafia deal. Athena the film star is described in great depth only so that it seems fitting that she romances Cross the brave hero.
Finally The Don, is pleased that his plans have worked out seamlessly without his having to interfere- and the Clericuzio family would now blend in with the American society.
Compared to the ‘Godfather’ or ‘Omerta’, this book is a BIG let down. One wonders at the necessity of so many characters and sub plots which a are irrelevant to the story, infact slow it down greatly, and the formulaic stereotypical characters. Surely it is not a run-of-the-mill book, but nowhere close to the magic this author has created before.