The Godfather
The Godfather by Mario Puzoby Mario Puzo
Shares rank 21 of 122 novels by recommenders
People recommend it as one of the best screenplays and novels, capturing the American Dream; critics call the book pulpy and the film overlong.
People recommend it as one of the best screenplays and novels, capturing the American Dream; critics call the book pulpy and the film overlong.
14 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 9
- criticize it
- 5
- approval share
- 64%
Recommended in 6 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 9 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 1.8 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 6 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Widely hailed as one of the best
“It's just considered one of the best movies and screenplays of all time.”
Comment from 25 Sep 2026 in “The Mafia may be keeping fentanyl out of Italy” “I know The Godfather still will be.”
Comment from 15 Mar 2026 in “A Theory of the World as run by large adult children” Captures the American Dream
“This encapsulates the American Dream better than anything else.”
Comment from 20 Jul 2026 in “Who Is America's Homer?” “The Godfather is the great American novel.”
Comment from 20 Jul 2026 in “Who Is America's Homer?”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Book seen as pulpy
“apparently The Godfather book wasn't very good”
Comment from 20 Jul 2026 in “Who Is America's Homer?” “the book was kinda pulpy and schlocky”
Comment from 4 Jun 2026 in “A Man Who Reads Books for a Living (One Every Two Days)”
Other novels people recommend
The four most recommended other novels, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crime and Punishmentby Fyodor Dostoevsky | 39 | 9 | 81% | 6 | — | Approved |
| The Brothers Karamazovby Fyodor Dostoevsky | 28 | 8 | 78% | 5 | — | Approved |
| Infinite Jestby David Foster Wallace | 26 | 5 | 84% | 9 | 10 yrs6 owners | Approved |
| The Great Gatsbyby F. Scott Fitzgerald | 24 | 9 | 73% | 6 | — | Approved |
| The Godfatherby Mario PuzoThis page | 9 | 5 | 64% | 6 | — | — |
What people said
12 of the 14 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“The Godfather overly romanticized the mafia and made them out to be "violent but in a principled way" people”
“It's just considered one of the best movies and screenplays of all time.”
“I've seen the movie so many times”
“apparently The Godfather book wasn't very good”
“This encapsulates the American Dream better than anything else.”
“The Godfather is the great American novel.”
“the book was kinda pulpy and schlocky”
“It transcends it's source, without transposing or changing anything”
“pretty much encapsulates all of my requirements”
“I know The Godfather still will be.”
“overblown, pretentious, slow, and ultimately tedious three-hour quasi-epic”
“Kind of like the original Godfather novel”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.