---
product_id: 10494898
title: "The Fortunate Pilgrim: A Novel"
price: "€ 29.18"
currency: EUR
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 11
url: https://www.desertcart.es/products/10494898-the-fortunate-pilgrim-a-novel
store_origin: ES
region: Spain
---

# The Fortunate Pilgrim: A Novel

**Price:** € 29.18
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- **What is this?** The Fortunate Pilgrim: A Novel
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## Description

desertcart.com: The Fortunate Pilgrim: A Novel: 9780345476722: Puzo, Mario: Books

Review: An Excellent, Deep, Serious, Story About Italian Americans Moving And Living in America - “The Fortunate Pilgrim” is a very well written work of serious mature fiction authored by Mario Puzo. It is principally about an Italian American lady who comes to America, without her family, as a young lady and struggles to transition to the American way of life. She lives in a largely Italian American neighborhood in New York City in the first half of the twentieth century. It is excellent but not a light reading experience. I don’t think it was a commercial success when first published. This is a standalone novel and was authored before “The Godfather”. Having previously read The Godfather, I can vaguely sense the literary trail from this novel to The Godfather. I am glad that I read both. This is a slower less entertaining novel than The Godfather. But it is deep, thoughtful, and mature. The characters are entirely different. I have now read Mario Puzo’s first three novels. The first is “The Dark Arena”. I liked the novel, but it is my least favorite of the three and if I was to skip one, that would be the one. I liked the next two approximately equally but they are very different. This novel is more mature and deep, The Godfather more entertaining. As I stated above, for my purposes I am very glad I read both. If I only wanted to be entertained I would probably pick The Godfather. In summary I really like this novel. It is not light and at times it moved slowly. I often had to pay close attention. I have become a fan of Mario Puzo and plan on reading more of his novels in the not too distant future. Thank you for taking the time to read this review.
Review: A Wonderful Glimpse into the Italian Immigrant’s American Experience - Mario Puzo often stated that he could not have written The Godfather without first having written The Fortunate Pilgrim. It definitely sets the groundwork for The Godfather. It explains, in real life experiences, why and how a Don could come into existence, and how a Don would fill an important niche in the process of serving and protecting his people from an America that would only fulfill their dreams if forced or coerced. A minority with a protector. It may have led to crime, but it is also a logical progression to crime. This novel is well worth the reading.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #163,852 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #833 in Organized Crime Thrillers #1,904 in Family Saga Fiction #8,181 in Suspense Thrillers |
| Customer Reviews | 4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars (1,467) |
| Dimensions  | 4.2 x 0.8 x 6.71 inches |
| Edition  | Reissue |
| ISBN-10  | 0345476727 |
| ISBN-13  | 978-0345476722 |
| Item Weight  | 2.31 pounds |
| Language  | English |
| Print length  | 304 pages |
| Publication date  | September 28, 2004 |
| Publisher  | Ballantine Books |

## Images

![The Fortunate Pilgrim: A Novel - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/719FJiU7AXL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ An Excellent, Deep, Serious, Story About Italian Americans Moving And Living in America
*by F***Y on February 24, 2023*

“The Fortunate Pilgrim” is a very well written work of serious mature fiction authored by Mario Puzo. It is principally about an Italian American lady who comes to America, without her family, as a young lady and struggles to transition to the American way of life. She lives in a largely Italian American neighborhood in New York City in the first half of the twentieth century. It is excellent but not a light reading experience. I don’t think it was a commercial success when first published. This is a standalone novel and was authored before “The Godfather”. Having previously read The Godfather, I can vaguely sense the literary trail from this novel to The Godfather. I am glad that I read both. This is a slower less entertaining novel than The Godfather. But it is deep, thoughtful, and mature. The characters are entirely different. I have now read Mario Puzo’s first three novels. The first is “The Dark Arena”. I liked the novel, but it is my least favorite of the three and if I was to skip one, that would be the one. I liked the next two approximately equally but they are very different. This novel is more mature and deep, The Godfather more entertaining. As I stated above, for my purposes I am very glad I read both. If I only wanted to be entertained I would probably pick The Godfather. In summary I really like this novel. It is not light and at times it moved slowly. I often had to pay close attention. I have become a fan of Mario Puzo and plan on reading more of his novels in the not too distant future. Thank you for taking the time to read this review.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ A Wonderful Glimpse into the Italian Immigrant’s American Experience
*by P***H on July 26, 2016*

Mario Puzo often stated that he could not have written The Godfather without first having written The Fortunate Pilgrim. It definitely sets the groundwork for The Godfather. It explains, in real life experiences, why and how a Don could come into existence, and how a Don would fill an important niche in the process of serving and protecting his people from an America that would only fulfill their dreams if forced or coerced. A minority with a protector. It may have led to crime, but it is also a logical progression to crime. This novel is well worth the reading.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A brilliant immigrant novel of hardship tempered by poetry
*by L***A on July 31, 2014*

My husband is the Godfather aficionado, not me. I have a German heritage on both sides, but I love his first generation Italian family (we are in our late 60s), so i enjoy "immigrant novels," especially Italian.Oddly, my first husband was also first generation Italian, and his feisty mother was not that far away from Lucia Santa with her combination of matter-of-fact cruelty and her loyalty to her family. She, too, was a widow when I knew her (Tony's father died when Tony was 12), and she had lost one of her three sons at ate 19 to an auto accident. I loved this book for many things: its deep characterizations;its insights into relationships, especially mother/son and mother/daughter; it's historic/sociological interest; and its insights into all the tough Italian character (and Irish and all the others of that era) of the men and women endured to gain a foothold in their new country. But most of all i loved it for the poetry of Puzo's words, his language that would not let me put the book down. Not purple prose but real poetry of the seasons, esepcially the heat; the hardship and joy; the suffering and moments of pleasure, the dreams and the reality. Don't miss this one!

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*Product available on Desertcart Spain*
*Store origin: ES*
*Last updated: 2026-03-21*