Author: Don Winslow
Genre: Suspense/Thriller
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Pub Date: July 2010
Rating: 5 Stars
Our thoughts...
This was
my first encounter with Don Winslow and if his other novels are anything like
Savages, I plan to devour them all.
Winslow's writing style is definitely one that people are going to either love or hate.
Paragraphs and chapters are often brief and blunt; the first chapter consists of exactly one word. It is a style that has been attempted by many but rarely pulled off, often becoming annoying and distracting. Winslow manages to make it feel organic and I doubt this story would be so great if it had been written in a more traditional format.
Winslow's writing style is definitely one that people are going to either love or hate.
Paragraphs and chapters are often brief and blunt; the first chapter consists of exactly one word. It is a style that has been attempted by many but rarely pulled off, often becoming annoying and distracting. Winslow manages to make it feel organic and I doubt this story would be so great if it had been written in a more traditional format.
Ben and Chon are antiheroes to the core. Ben is a complacent
super-cannabis creating genius with significant philanthropic impulses that
take him all over the world. Chon is an unapologetic ex-SEAL with chronic
"PTLOSD: Post-Traumatic Lack Of Stress Disorder" and an unexpected
love for language. Chon is the Yang to Ben's Ying, if you will. They balance
each other very nicely and in a believable fashion. I was never left wondering
"Why are these guys so close?" This balance also explains how O can
love them both simultaneously and so thoroughly.
Savages contains a lot of slang and jargon specific to the area and
activities in the plot (drug cartels, illegal hyperponics, organized crime,
etc.). I had a Wikipedia page of common derogatory Spanish terms that I
frequently referenced so I could make sure I truly understood what I was
reading. I can understand how some readers feel like this gets a little
out-of-hand but I feel like it helps more than harms. No, people in suburbia (myself
included) don't generally speak this way, but people in other places and
situations do. It is important to the setting and helps transport the reader.
There are a lot of literary moments in this novel that made
me stop and reflect. Moments that are often easy to gloss over and pretend
aren't happening. Moments that tempted me to sweep the discomfort under the
rug. I liked that. I liked the fact that I was forced to think instead of
simply roll through the story. It wasn't anything that forced me to get overly philosophical
but just briefly reflect and, inevitably, become more invested in the story.
"What ever happened to morality?" Ben
sighed.
"Same thing that happened to CDs. Replaced by a newer, faster, easier
technology."
I can thankfully say I was not able to relate to the more
deviant and macabre aspects of this story. That didn't matter. I found myself
rooting for Ben, Chon, and O. How could I not? Their pasts heavily influenced
who they are, just like everyone else. They do the best they can with the cards
they are dealt. I wanted to like them despite our differences of opinion and I
wanted good things for them. I was even pleased with the ending. It was
believable, realistic, and remained true to the essence of the characters. They
were never compromised for the reader's sake. They are who they are and that's
why I loved them.
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