The Family Corleone (58 page)
Read The Family Corleone Online
Authors: Ed Falco
Sonny watched the festivities undisturbed for a time, and it occurred to him, watching the councilman and the lawyers and the judges, the cops and detectives mingling with the heads of the families and all their men—it occurred to him that his family was the strongest of them all and nothing was going to stop them, not now. They had it all, they had everything, and nothing was in their way—nothing was in
his
way, since he was the oldest son and thus heir to the kingdom.
Everything
, he thought, and though he couldn’t have said what
everything
meant, he felt it, he felt it down to his bones, like a surge of heat. It made him want to lean back and roar. When Clemenza waved for Sonny to join him on the platform, Sonny opened his arms as if embracing Clemenza and every other guest at the wedding—and he stepped out into the courtyard to join his family.
Thanks to Neil Olson for providing me the opportunity to write this novel. Mario Puzo’s characters and themes turned more compelling and engaging the more deeply I explored them. Thanks to Tony Puzo, the Puzo family, and Jon Karp for approving Neil’s choice, and thanks most of all to Mario Puzo himself, whom I sincerely hope would have approved of
The Family Corleone
.
The Godfather
saga had already moved into the realm of American mythology during Mario’s lifetime. I’m honored to have had this chance to work with such rich material.
Thanks also to Mitch Hoffman for his insightful editing, his encouragement, and his reliable good humor; and to Jamie Raab, Jennifer Romanello, Lindsey Rose, Leah Tracosas, and all the talented professionals at Grand Central. A special note of thanks to Clorinda Gibson, who reviewed my use of Italian and thus had to work with all those words she wasn’t allowed to say growing up in a good Italian family.
As always, I’m deeply grateful to my friends and family, and to the many writers and artists I’ve had the good luck to meet and work with over the years. Thanks to you all.
Novels
Saint John of the Five Boroughs
Wolf Point
Winter in Florida
Burning Man
Sabbath Night in the Church of the Piranha
Acid
Plato at Scratch Daniel’s
In the Park of Culture
Chemical Landscapes, Digital Tales
Circa 1967–1968
Self-Portrait as Child w/Father
Charmin’ Cleary
A Dream with Demons
Sea Island
The Center
Possum Dreams
The Pact
Radon
Sabbath Night in the Church of the Piranha
The Dark Arena
The Fortunate Pilgrim
The Godfather
Fools Die
The Sicilian
The Fourth K
The Last Don
Omerta
The Family
THE FAMILY CORLEONE
agita (AH jita)
—indigestion; southern dialect pronunciation of
aciditá
andate (ahn DAHT ay)
—go
andiamo (ahn dee AM oh)
—let’s go
animale (ahn ee MAL eh)
—animal
aspett’ (AHS pet)
—wait
attendere (ah TEN dar eh)
—wait
avanti (A VAHN tee)
—go ahead
bambino (BAM bean oh)
—baby
basta (BAH sta)
—enough
bastardo / bastardi (bahs TAR doh / bahs TAR dee)
—bastard / bastards
bella (BEL lah)
—beautiful
bestia (BEST ee ah)
—beast
braciole, braciol’ (brah JOL)
—thin slices of beef filled with grated cheese, parsley, and bacon that are rolled, tied, pan-fried, and cooked in tomato sauce
buffóne (bu PHONE eh)
—buffoon
cafon’ (CAH vone)
—a jerk; “a rude person”
cannoli (cah NOHL ee)
—Italian pastry filled with sweetened ricotta cheese
capicol’ (CAH ba gool)
—a cold-cut meat; a cross between salami and ham
capisce, capisc’ (cop EESH)
—understand?
capo / caporegime (CAP oh reg eem)
—a high-ranking made member of a crime family, with his own soldiers under him
capozzell’ / capozzell’ d’angell’ (CAH poh zell d’an GEL)
—a lamb’s head cleaved in half
cazzo (KAHTZ soh)
—exclamatory obscenity, literally “penis” or “dick”
cent’anni (CHENT ahnee)
—a traditional toast: “may you live a hundred years”
cetriol’ (JIH druhl)
—literally “cucumber”; used to describe or call someone a “dope” or “stupid”
che cazzo (cay KAHTZ soh)
—exclamatory obscenity, literally “what dick”; the Italian equivalent of “what the fuck?”
che minchia (cay meenkyah)
—roughly the same as
che cazzo
, southern dialect
ciuccio / ciucc’ (CHOO ch)
—literally “donkey” or “ass,” used to describe or call someone a stupid person
consiglieri (cohn seel YEAR ree)
—counselor
demone (deh MOHN eh)
—demon
diavolo (dee AH voloh)
—devil
disgrazia (dees GRAZ ee ah)
—disgrace
esattament’ (ez AHTA ment)
—yes; exactly
finocchio / finocch’ (fin NOKE yo / fin NOKE)
—literally “fennel”; derogatory slang for a homosexual male
giamoke (JAH moke) / giamope (JAH mope)
—southern dialect for a “sucker” or “loser”
grazie (GRATZ ee ah)
—thanks
grazie mille (GRATZ ee ah MEEL eh)
—thanks very much
guerra (GWHERE ah)
—war
idiota (eed ee OH ta)
—idiot
il mio diavolo (eel meeoh dee AH voloh)
—my devil
infamitá (IN fam ee TAH)
—infamy
imbecille (EEM beh CHEE leh)
—imbecile
infezione (een FETZ ee own ee)
—infection
la nostra famiglia (la nohstrah fa MEEL ya)
—our family
lupara (LOOP ara)
—shotgun
Madon’ (mah DOHN)
—Madonna; Mother
Madonna mia (mah DOHN na MEE ah)
—literally “my Madonna”; used as an exclamation
Madre ’Dio (MAH dreh DEE oh)
—Mother of God
mammalucc’ (mama LUKE)
—a friendly way of saying “stupid,” often followed by a gentle slap
mannaggia / mannagg’ (mahn NAH juh / mahn NAHJ)
—southern dialect exclamation; the Italian equivalent of “damn”
mannaggia la miseria (mahn NAH juh la mee ZER eeah)
—my horrible luck
mezzofinocch’ (MEHT zo fin ook)
—half-homosexual; sissy
mi’ amico (MEE ah MEE coh)
—my friend
mi dispiace (MEE disp YAH chay)
—I’m sorry
mi dispiace davvero (MEE disp YAH chay dah vairoh)
—I’m truly sorry
minchia (MEEN kee ah)
—exclamatory obscenity, literally “dick”
mi vergogno (mee ver GOHN yo)
—I’m ashamed
mortadell’ (mort ah DELL)
—literally, a type of lunch meat; used to refer to someone as a “loser”
mostro (MOH stroh)
—monster
non forzare (non FORT zahr eh)
—don’t force
non piú (NON PEW)
—no more
non so perché (nohn so per CEH)
—I don’t know why
paisan’ (PIE zahn)
—a fellow countryman
parli (PAR lee)
—speak
pazzo (PAHT zoh)
—crazy; mentally ill
per caritá (per car ee TAH)
—for pity’s sake
per favore (PER fav OR eh)
—please
per piacere (PER pee ah CHEH reh)
—please
pezzonovante (PETZO novant eh)
—big shot
salute (SAH loot)
—roughly “cheers,” a toast
sciupafemmine (SHOOP ah FEM een eh)
—womanizer
scucciameen / scucc’ (SCUTCH ah meen / SCUTCH)
—someone who is a pain the neck, a bother
scungilli
(skoon GEE lee)
—a large mollusk with spiral shells, found along the coast of Italy.
sfaccim (sfa CHEEM)
—southern dialectic vulgarity, literally “sperm”
sfogliatella (SFOO ya tell ah)
—a triangular-shaped Italian pastry
sì (CEE)
—yes
signora (seen YOR ah)
—missus
splendido (SPLEN deed oh)
—splendid
sta’zitt’ (STAH zeet)
—shut up
stronz’ / stronzo, pl. stronzi (STROHNZ / STROHZ oh)
—piece of shit, idiot
stugots / sticazz’ (STU ghatz)
—from the Italian
(qu)esto cazzo
, which means “this dick” and a southern dialect cursing someone as a jerk
stupido (STU pee doh)
—stupid
suicidi (soo ee CHEE dee)
—suicides
va fa’ Napule! (VAH fah NAH poh lah)
—exclamation; hell, damn—literally, “Go to Naples”
v’fancul’ / ’fancul’ (VAH fahn gool / FAHN gool)
—literally something like “go do it in the ass”; generally means “fuck” or “what the fuck?” according to how it’s said.
GLOSSARY OF ITALIAN EXCLAMATIONS, CURSES, WORDS, AND PHRASES USED IN
THE FAMILY CORLEONE
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2012 by The Estate of Mario Puzo
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher constitute unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
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First e-book edition: May 2012
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ISBN 978-1-4555-2161-6X