Savages

 Savages

By Don Winslow

Another Anthony Jeselnik recommendation. It was very different from the rest of his list. As one Reddit

reviewer wrote: It was one star and five stars simultaneously.

Why one star? Because so much of it seemed pretty god-awful. The main characters are one dimensional and don't really evolve or change through the novel. And the premise is ridiculous: A couple of California weed growers try to take on a Mexican cartel and (kind of) succeed. It's set in Orange County. One of the main characters, O (for Ophelia) is a sex-crazed stoner with unlimited funds and appetites. She is best friends-with-benefits of Chon, an ex-Seal who did several stints in Afghanistan, and Ben, the genius grower. They were happily making millions off their product when the cartel decides it wants to take some. The author also makes some weird stylistic choices, like every now and again moving into movie-script mode, changing "chapters" every page or so, using line breaks like a poet, and trying a bit too hard to make the book seem "hard boiled".

Why Five? Because I couldn't put it down. I ripped through it. The pacing and action is pretty much non-stop. I've read online that maybe some of his other books are better; perhaps I'll check out another one when I need something engrossing and quick.