Fools Die (Paperback)

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Key Phrases: cage manager, dice pit, casino cage, New York, Jeff Wagon, Charlie Brown (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

From the blockbuster author of The Godfather, here is the international and New York Times bestseller about the feverish world of a big-time gambler. Reissue.

About the Author

Mario Puzo was born in New York. He is the author of the bestselling novel The Godfather and many other acclaimed novels. Puzo also wrote many screenplays, including those for the three Godfather movies, for which he won two academy awards. He died at his home in Long Island, New York, at the age of seventy-eight. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 544 pages
• Publisher: Signet (October 1, 1979)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451160193
• ISBN-13: 978-0451160195
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (59 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #158,166 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Better than Godfather, November 20, 1997

By A Customer

Godfather is a shallow action thriller compared to Fool's Die. Don't be fooled by the superficially simple title, this tale of a mans life is a modern David Copperfield. At times I consider Fool's Die my favorite book of all time. This seems to be Puzos sleeper novel, I can't believe there are no other reviews for it. The most enjoyable aspect is the main character's realistically flawed choices in life, a man at once both honorable and improvident. This book is required reading to all intelligent men, especially aspiring writers(the main character is a writer), who should relate to the main character's dilemmas and trials.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Masterpice From A Brilliant Storyteller!!!, May 27, 2005

By	John Baranyai "Book Nerd And Ex High School G... - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I first read this book when it was released back in 1979 ( Ah, My Sweet Lost Youth!!!)and I was so impressed by it that I wanted to write a letter to the author teling him how much I enjoyed it. This book has it all. Lust, greed, treachery, deception, sex and violence all the way from the High Roller Gambling Rooms of Las Vegas to the Shores Of Japan. The main character is a guy named Merlyn who somehow believes that he is a type of magician who can control his destiny.Another character worth mentioning is the writer Osano who desperately seeeks refuge from his loneliness in a heady mixture of drugs, casual sex and booze. All of this is deftly handled by Mr. Puzo and the reader is in for one heck of a roller coaster ride!!!

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Puzo not quite at his best. , December 13, 2006

By	Rocco B. Rubino "Rocco R." (Ohio) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Positives: Fools Die is a complicated tale of the inner workings/intertwined worlds of Hollywood and Las Vegas. Puzo is a master-story teller (this is an understatment), who develops characters to their fullest, scenes that are rich and robust so as to put the reader "right there," and writes compelling dialogue.

Negatives: Unless you have a fairly good grasp of the arcana of gambling, the novel's plot will be like swiss cheese in many places. While we are on the subject of plot, it is hard to figure out if this is a tale of degenerate gamblers lost in a miasma of winning, losing, and losing and losting..., of hookers, profligate lifestyles and intrigue; or is this a novel about writers who are comtemptuous of Hollywood; the age old argument if novels are the "true art-form" as opposed to movies?

The sex is gratuitous in the extreme, so much so as to be chauvanistic. The dialogue is raw in the extreme. Puzo's view of human nature is cynacal and a tad jaded. In retrospect, I have to question if all of this was necessary in order to tell a great story.