Savages: A Novel

I see most people found this book a bit trite, but living in San Diego, I felt a connection to this story. I know these people. The story took place in places I see every day. I particularly liked the narration too. He took some liberties, where other narrations tend to be pretty dry. However, the narrator betrayed himself by screwing up some of the spanish names that a real californian would never screw up, ie: Cajone is not pronounced with a j sound. There were several of these. If you are from the east coast, I can see why you wouldnt connect to this book. When I hear narrative about mexican drug gangs operating in the neighborhoods where I live, it does become more exciting. I immediately went out to read his other stories set in San Diego, Frankie Machine and Dawn Patrol, and liked those books too.

this book is an ode to style. Not to say that substance is lacking although the characters are not particularly credible. But oh the style. In the same vein perhaps as James Ellroy and almost in the same league. That's high praise...

I thoroughly enjoyed this wacky, violent story about drug dealers. The characters are not people I would ever call likeable, but I was sucked in to their unique world and actually found myself pulling for these guys.

An ex-soldier/mercenary-type of guy teams up with an over privileged humanitarian-type of guy to produce top quality marijuana bred from seeds brought back from Afghanistan. When they find themselves being taken over by the Baja Cartel, Ben and Chon attempt to find a way out. But then “O,” the woman in their life, gets kidnapped and things really start to get crazy.

The Highly stylized narrative worked for me too. One word chapters could be viewed as tacky and a sign of a bad writer trying too hard but there is substance to Mr. Winslow’s style. It works. The narrator also succeeds in portraying the smug, hipster attitude required of the story. The fast pace and quirky stops and pauses are done perfectly.

You have to stay with this story as it develops. At first, I was put off by the life style and characters of the southern California setting. But the story develops and the players take shape. You gotta love an ending like this one.

I love most Don Winslow's novels. I tried this one and put it down because I couldn't get into it at first. The reason is the author was trying to be "hip" with his use of language and writing style. For example he has many short chapters with some having only one word in them.

A year after ordering it I tried it again and this time hung in there till the words and story grew on me. Eventually I was hooked and had another great ride on one of Mr. Winslow's fun thrillers with lovable characters.

good stuff in a pulp fiction kind of way. reminds me of elmore leonard but a little lighter.

I too read great reviews about this book, but it was much more like an episode of crime drama that a novel. The character development wasn't very good. They were shallow, had unbelievable motivations and were frankly unlikeable. When characters are like this, I don't get invested. I don't really care what happens to them. It did learn a lot about marijuana and drug trafficking, which was interesting but the details didn't move the plot along. I did like the authors style and the edge in the dialogue. For entertainment value, I gave it three stars but I won't be running to get more of Winslow's work based on this book.

Drugs, Southern California, a Mexican drug cartel and 3 friends are the core of this story. It was made into a movie last year directed by Oliver Stone. When I first thought about getting this book I noticed a prequel "The Kings of Cool" had come out after this one but decided to start with the other. This one completes the story. The author, Don Winslow, has a very interesting writing style and kept your interest. I have a feeling a lot of the gruesome stuff in this book happens in real life if you believe the drug cartel stores you hear about in the news. I do know I would hate to get caught up in this lifestyle, your life isn't worth a plug nickel if you do. I will say both books were entertaining.

First things first, this is not a book for the faint-hearted or the easily offended. I listened to it on audio when I was walking my dogs and there were times when I felt myself blushing from what I was listening to … ON MY HEADPHONES! I kept thinking “If people only knew what I was listening to now, they’d be shocked.” This is some hard-core, graphic writing … and hearing it read out loud makes it seem even more so. (By the way, Michael Kramer has the perfect voice for the material … with a kind of WTF/seen it all, done it all attitude.) The basic story deals with a love triangle between two pot dealers and their girl and what happens when they run awry of a Mexican drug cartel and the girl gets kidnapped. The writing—despite its bluntness and graphic descriptions—was good and often very funny. But this is by no means a “feel good” book. And if people in SoCal are really like the characters in this book, then I’m staying the hell away.

This book has been really well reviewed and I was anxious to hear it. I typically enjoy Winslow, but someone has convinced him he is a lot more clever than he is. Predictable plot with characters that you could care less about - but the worst part is Winslow's insistence on trying to make clever barbs about people, places and events that fall flat and after awhile just become annoying. Check out Winslow if you haven't, but skip this one.