Schauplatz BREMEN in den 5oer Jahren, GIs und German Fräuleins... 1953 first published "The Dark Arena", Puzo himself was stationed in Bremen after the war.

My first Puzo, which I had on hand, and would help me decide to buy the Godfather or not. Yup, I'll be picking up the Godfather the next time I get a chance. The Dark Arena was good, not great, but it was definitely an enjoyable read exposing a time and setting I was not very familiar with. The characters, although not very likable (which I've seen other reviewers complain about), we very well done, each fitting in their own niche. Overall it wasn't a very pleasant book, not what one would call a beach read, but it was definitely worth reading as Puzo spins a good tale. ( )

Vivían en un mundo de hombres despiadados y sus mujeres. Un mundo de poder desnudo e influencia secreta. Un mundo fuera de la ley, más allá de la ley, por encima de la ley. Vivían en The Dark Arena.
Mosca, joven, dura, ambiciosa. Le gustaban los juegos y tratos y no tenía miedo de matar. Pero había una cosa con la que no contaba: el amor.
Hella, amaba a Mosca más que a la vida misma, lo cual era muy peligroso, para ambos.
Eddie, un verdadero operador. Solo se preocupaba por sí mismo y por los tratos que podía hacer. Y cuando estaba borracho, era vicioso.
Leo, un alma dividida. Estaba entre mundos y atrapado en las intrigas mortales de Eddie y Mosca.

I found this to be rather dull and boring, it portrayed a pretty decent atmosphere of post war Germany however none of the characters were particularly likeable and the story didn't really move me in anyway what so ever. The ending was also quite bland for everything you had to sit through to get there.

I'm surprised it's written by the same person as Godfather, his writing certainly matured with time. ( )