# The Godfather by Mario Puzo

9 Hacker News commenters recommended The Godfather by Mario Puzo and 5 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 6 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** People recommend it as one of the best screenplays and novels, capturing the American Dream; critics call the book pulpy and the film overlong.

## Why people recommend it

- Widely hailed as one of the best (2 comments): "It's just considered one of the best movies and screenplays of all time." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49843251)) "I know The Godfather still will be." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47388490))
- Captures the American Dream (2 comments): "This encapsulates the American Dream better than anything else." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48975129)) "The Godfather is the great American novel." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48974697))

## What people warn about

- Book seen as pulpy (2 comments): "apparently The Godfather book wasn't very good" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48977222)) "the book was kinda pulpy and schlocky" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48398636))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://hackerapproved.com/p/crime-and-punishment.md): 39 recommend
- [The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://hackerapproved.com/p/brothers-karamazov.md): 28 recommend
- [Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace](https://hackerapproved.com/p/infinite-jest.md): 26 recommend
- [The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://hackerapproved.com/p/great-gatsby.md): 24 recommend
- [Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand](https://hackerapproved.com/p/atlas-shrugged.md): 23 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "The Godfather by Mario Puzo", https://hackerapproved.com/p/godfather/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).