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    The Fortunate Pilgrim
    The Fortunate Pilgrim
    The Fortunate Pilgrim
    Audiobook9 hours

    The Fortunate Pilgrim

    Written by Mario Puzo

    Narrated by John Kenneth

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Before The Godfather and The Last Don, Mario Puzo wrote The Fortunate Pilgrim, a novel many believe to be one of the classics of Italian-American fiction. In this special edition, Mario Puzo's legions of fans will discover a different side of this legendary author, writing for the first time about an Italian family in which a woman holds the power.

    Lucia Santa has traveled three thousand miles of dark ocean, from the mountain farms of Italy to the streets of New York, hoping for a better life. Instead, she finds herself in Hell's Kitchen, in a bad marriage, raising six children on her own. As Lucia struggles to hold her family together, her daughter confronts the adult world of work and romance while her eldest son is drawn into the Mafia. Meanwhile, her youngest son aspires to American pursuits she cannot understand.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateSep 18, 2009
    ISBN9781423396956
    The Fortunate Pilgrim
    Author

    Mario Puzo

    Mario Puzo was the author of the international bestseller The Godfather and cowrote the screenplays for the Academy Award-winning trio of films based on the book. Puzo's other books include The Last Don and Omerta, both New York Times bestsellers.

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    Reviews for The Fortunate Pilgrim

    4/5

    126 ratings13 reviews

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    • 4/5
      I would call this a classic of Italian-American fiction.It's the tale of Lucia Santa Angeluzzi-Corbo, a Southern Italian immigrant who settles in New York(Hell's Kitchen) in the 1920s and her family.I did this in audio because I love the colorful language that these immigrants spoke.Lucia Santa is matriarch..a woman of immense strength and an equally imposing fragility.I loved this audio and had no trouble at all sitting around the family table4.5 fav
    • 5/5
      I enjoyed every piece of this book. It's totally different from the usual Mario's book of Mafian life.
    • 5/5
      The Fortunate Pilgrim, by Mario Puzo. (283 pgs, 1964)(About the experience of being an Italian immigrant and the children of Italian immigrants in NYC in the first half of the 20th century), 5 stars. This man is such a talented author and this book, which is partly biographical for his life, really spoke to my heart because my Grandparents were Italian Immigrants. Weep bitter tears for Lucia Santa and her family and laugh out loud for the way he accurately describes all your Italian relatives in this most extraordinary book. Then be thankful your parents and grandparents were the fortunate pilgrims, and you can live the carefree life of Gino (throughout most of the book) living in the ‘burbs’ in the land of opportunity.
    • 5/5
      This is Puzo's first book.This is a family story of immigrants and generational struggle and growth.This story will touch your heart and break your heart.A must read for any descendent of Italian or Sicilian immigrants.This story could only have been written by Mario Puzo.
    • 2/5
      The Fortunate Pilgrim is an immigrant story featuring Lucia Santa. Her family has moved from Italy and finds themselves in Hell’s Kitchen, New York. In a somewhat autobiographical story (Lucia Santa being his real life mother), she has to go through a great deal of adversity as a single mom raising six children. The story is filled with tragedy: one son commits suicide, a daughter spent significant time in a sanitorium, another son is muscle for the Mafia. Despite all of that Lucia finds ways to persevere and keep her family together.I’m a huge fan of Mario Puzo and thoroughly enjoy his gangster novels. This is why I found this novel particularly disappointing. The prose is still high quality. Mario Puzo is a fantastic writer that as a fellow writer I can appreciate. But I could never get into the story. The plot had a rambling quality that seemed to lack focus. It just went from one event to the other and didn’t have any tightness. Out of all the Puzo novels I have read, this is easily the worst. Unless you are a hardcore Puzo fan, I would advise skipping it.Carl Alves – author of Blood Street
    • 4/5
      This work of fiction moved me so much that I couldn't believe that Puzo was capable of such versatility. The impressive story about the struggling mother and her indigent family members, each with their own magnificent stories about challenging family ties, never ceased to teach me about how endurance with loved ones at several life crises strengthens your inner self. Each character being so very detailed and intricate, turned out extremely satisfying and lovable to such extent that picking one as a favorite seemed just impossible.

      Taking a risk to write about a book which doesn't include violence or themes of vengeance, menace or even ordinary crime, Puzo strived in delivering a masterpiece.
    • 4/5
      "The Fortunate Pilgrim" is one of the most interesting novels I had the pleasure of reading. Mario Puzo did an excellent job of incorporating language and imagery into the novel in a manner that allows the reader to not only visualize the characters, but relate to them as well. Lucia Santa's family is a nontraditional family, one where its members choose and follow their own paths. One of her sons chooses to join the Mafia, and another one breaks an important Italian social code and marries a Jewish woman. Lucia Santa is relatable because of the fact that she simply wants to live the American Dream in spite of all of her life's difficulties. The book also pushes readers to think about their own background, and what they are willing to do and sacrifice to reach the American Dream.
    • 5/5
      of course it's good, it's mario puzo... i now own all his books, yehaw! so for history's sake, this is the first book that he wrote. he said that he stuck to real and you can feel this in the book. it's not like a typical mafia book. it is about a family in ny and their lives. one of the sons is in the mob but that's pretty much all you know except for one instance with same guy. it is very well written and you know the family by the time you are done. you also can see them as you read, very clearly.
    • 4/5
      Amazing Story!I suppose like a lot of other people I started reading Mario Puzo book the Godfather and just loved the story. I wasn't happy with "The Silician", but I was surprised by this book: "The Fortunate Pilgrim". For a brief summary, this is the story of Lucia Santa an immigrant from Italy living in New York City during the 1930's. Lucia has six children and a bad marriage. Mario Puzo descriptions of the section known as Hells Kitchen are amazing and his detail of the city and hardships that Lucia must endure is awesome. Overall, this book turned out to be one of my favorite Mario Puzo novels and I would highly recommend it.
    • 4/5
      A Realistic touching family drama.I loved The Godfather and this book is a favorite as well. This is a story of an Italian family living in poverty and how they struggled through. It's not just about family members prevailing through tragedy, but it's also each member finding a role in life. It's an inspiring tale of a family in the Depression era and of family stife and love, sacrifice and pain. Looking at the family's struggle from today's wealth it is hard to comprehend a family never knowing when their next meal is going to come from. However, Mario Puzo's superb writing style makes you feel for this family almost as if you are there with them. Highly recommend.
    • 4/5
      Very different from others Puzo's books I had read. But I liked it very much. It was nice to read about italians in USA and the lifestyle of 50's and 60's. I recommend this for all who are interested past lifestyle and italians.
    • 3/5
      I ended up liking the book. I had a hard time getting into it at first, but I had to keep at it. It's about the struggles of Italian immigrants in the US and how this one family established life here.
    • 3/5
      An insight into the life of a typical Italian-American family living in New York in the fifties and sixties. Bursting with gritty tension and misfortune.