Prizzi's Money [Paperback]

Richard Condon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 8, 1994

In the sequel to Prizzi's Honor, Julia Asbury, upon discovering her husband's betrayal, sets out to outsmart the Prizzis at their own game. By the author of The Manchurian Candidate. 35,000 first printing. $35,000 ad/promo.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Condon's fourth satirical romp with the New York crime family introduced in Prizzi's Honor begins with the kidnapping of wealthy presidential advisor Henry George Asbury. The apparent crime is a scam worked out by Asbury and the Prizzis: he will keep the $75-million ransom payment; they will get control of his companies. Asbury's wife, who is in on part of the scheme but unaware that her husband is in the Prizzis' pocket, uses the kidnapping as a front for her own plot to bleed the Asbury empire of more than $1 billion. This does not sit at all well with Don Corrado Prizzi, but clever Julia Asbury eventually works out a deal with him, becoming a very rich widow in the process. Love rears its intrusive head when she gets involved with Prizzi enforcer Charley Partanna, who reads romantic novels, cooks dinner for his widowed father and can fall in love--or kill--at the drop of a hat. Since Don Corrado has chosen Julia as the ideal wife for one of his sons, matters become hilariously complicated. As is his wont, Condon uses these goings-on as a base from which to take pointed shots at the rich and powerful, especially Reagan Republicans, and several broad swipes at American life in the '90s. It's all great fun, even if the heavy-handed lampoonery goes over the top now and again.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Condon's latest satire resurrects the Prizzis, who almost succeed in double-crossing smart Julia Asbury by helping her husband fake his own kidnapping.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 241 pages
• Publisher: Crown; 1st edition (February 8, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0517596954
• ISBN-13: 978-0517596951
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,967,028 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars What was Richard Condon thinking?, May 16, 2004

By 

... (elsewhere) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Prizzi's Money (Paperback)

What happened? That was my reaction to this pitiful excuse of a book. Mr. Condon has succeeded in doing the impossible: he made the Prizzi crime family into something ridiculous. I loved the other Prizzi novels; "Prizzi's Honor" remains one of my favorite organized crime novels. That makes Prizzi's Money all the more intolerable. In this story, the Prizzi's are portrayed as bumbling, brainless oafs, easily deceived and utterly incompetant, both at crime and at legitimate business. WHAT?! Condon's first three novels introduced us to a vicious, professional, criminal family that had risen to the top of their world. Suddenly, they devolve into a pathetic cliche. Essentially the novel can be summed up as follows: woman steals money from Prizzi family, Prizzi attempts to get the money back are (repeatedly) foiled, woman gets away. I could've liked this story, but the Prizzi's here bear no resemblance to the ones in first three novels. Read and enjoy the first Prizzi novels. Try to forget this one was published.

3 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars good book - anenvironmental gaffe however, April 4, 2000

By 

xaxinojo (tucson,az) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Prizzi's Money (Paperback)

good entertaining book but would like to note the environmental gaffe about shawtoosh.

In October 1999 celebrities joined TRAFFIC and WWF India in calling for an end to the shahtoosh trade which drives a large-scale poaching of Tibetan antelope Pantholops hodgsonii (chiru) on the plateaux of China. A TRAFFIC East Asia and TRAFFIC India review summarised the latest information about the status of chiru and illicit trade of shahtoosh. It also served as the foundation for a successful campaign against shahtoosh trade in India, Hong Kong, Europe and the USA, gaining wide attention by the media and consumers worldwide.

International trade in shahtoosh, which is a luxury fibre made from the wool of chiru, has been prohibited under CITES since 1979. The only notable exception is the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, where the chiru wool is woven into shahtoosh shawls and scarves to be smuggled to consumer markets worldwide. Shahtoosh shawls range in price from USD1000 to USD5000. An estimated 20,000 animals have been killed each year to obtain the wool for the consumer market. The wild population is now estimated to be 70,000.

The summary report titled Fashion Statement Spells Death for Tibetan Antelope recommended, among other actions, that all the countries should stop all internal trade, export and import of shahtoosh products whilst consumers should refuse to buy and wear such products.

In India, the campaign spearheaded by TRAFFIC India and WWF India, with a helping hand from celebrities and politicians, has been the biggest success to date. Prominent adverts in newspapers urged people to "Say no to shahtoosh" and warned of the penalties of possessing a shawl or engaging in the illegal trade. The campaign, which was backed by the Delhi Government, also appealed for information about those flouting the law. As a result, an anonymous phonecall resulted in a raid on an exclusive auction held in a five-star hotel in Delhi. A shahtoosh shawl was seized from the auction and two persons, including the organiser of the auction, were arrested.