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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
This one had popped up on my radar back when I started seeing trailers for the movie version. I never did see the movie but I've read two other books by this author (The Death and Life of Bobby Z, California Fire & Life) and really liked them. So I snagged this one out of the local library and ended up polishing it off in just three days. It's written in a very cool, slangy, breezy style... it's an effortless, summer read. I thought the characters were really cool and just thought the story and writing were a lot of fun. I gotta read more by this author.
Let me just say that I absolutely love this book. This is the fastest I've read a book in quite a while and it so absolutely amazing. The plot was something completely new to me since I tend to stick to YA books or something in the fantasy genre but I'm so glad I picked this up. The writing style was spectacular. I'm just in awe over how there's not real good guy/bad guy. The dynamic was set up beautifully and definitely got the point across that no one has clean hands in the world anymore, everyone has their reasons for doing the horrible things they're doing. The only downside was how quickly the ending happened. I felt like there needed to be at least a few more pages. But other than that I have no bad words to say about this book. A+, 5 stars. Definitely worth picking up.
Of course the movie pushed me to read this, I really didnt want to watch the movie before reading the book and I really really wanted to watch the movie so I had to get to it already.
"Chon refers to drugs as a rational response to reality and his chronic use of the chronic is a chronic response to chronic insanity"
"In a fucked-up world, you have to be fucked up, or you'll fall... off... the.. end--"
"Do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life
Okay what do we love : Sex, Volleyball, Beer, Dope"
"Ben is warm wood, Chon is cold metal,
Ben is caring, Chon is indifferent,
Ben makes love, Chon fucks,
She loves them both.
What to do, what to do?"
I gotta say both didnt disappoint :)
"Chon refers to drugs as a rational response to reality and his chronic use of the chronic is a chronic response to chronic insanity"
"In a fucked-up world, you have to be fucked up, or you'll fall... off... the.. end--"
"Do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life
Okay what do we love : Sex, Volleyball, Beer, Dope"
"Ben is warm wood, Chon is cold metal,
Ben is caring, Chon is indifferent,
Ben makes love, Chon fucks,
She loves them both.
What to do, what to do?"
I gotta say both didnt disappoint :)
My rating is wobbling around 2.5 and 3 stars. Very action movie-y, I can see why they made it into one. Violence, swearing, racism, power struggle/betrayal, sex, a love triangle (that isn't actually a love triangle). I won't lie, it was interesting as heck, but... I don't know. I just felt bummed out at the end. Or maybe numbed out, is a better phrase. It was nice that they died in each others arms (and that Ben and Chon didn't get all macho "I can't hold your hand") or whatever, but I really wasn't digging it.
Entertaining and fast-paced. I love Don Winslow. He always has interesting characters and his writing style shifts based on the story. I feel like many of his other books were stronger than this one, but I still enjoyed it.
Smart, snide, brutal and a page-turner. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
I first became interested in this novel due to the movie trailers. The story seemed interested, did some research, and found out it was based on a book. I decided to give it a read. And to be completely honest, it's my first ever "adult" book I've ever read. There's cussing, sex, violence, etc. But despite that, it doesn't last that long. Maybe one to three pages at most.
Ophelia, O for short, is a strong female characters. And what usually turns me off from a book is a weak female lead (or important/main female characters). O is a free spirit who is loyal to a fault. She enjoys sex and drugs but she also loves both Ben and Chon equally. She also loves her mother but never one of her mother's current beaus. She's never jealous of Chon with other older women or Ben away in a foreign country doing good for months at a time. Again, O is a free spirit.
Ben is basically the most human and the most identifiable person the reader can connect to when things start getting crazy. Ben is your peace loving guy. He may be growing enhanced weed but he's not doing it for the violence and money. He's kinda like O with being a free spirit. But Ben also uses his fiances to help other countries in need. Not only that, he goes there to put his money where his mouth is and help for months on end.
Chon is your hard core SEAL in between deployments. He doesn't attach to others easily. He's also very straight forward. But what keeps him with Ben and O is still a slight mystery but don't ever doubt that he is loyal to them both. There's Ben and O and then there's everyone else. That's Chon's view on the world.
If anything, this trio's strength and weakness is their loyalty and love (in that order) to each other.
Another point is that Don Winslow (the author) makes a point to show all sides of the (drug) war. He makes the "villians" human by showing and telling you what they think.
For example, Elena is the leader of the BC (Baja Cartel). She's also a woman (unheard of blasphemy in Mexico), a mother, and a widow. She only took the job to protect her children. Drug cartels are ruthless and will kill anyone to get their point across. Elena doesn't like killing but knows it's necessary and she has to watch. She loves her children more than anything and will do anything for them.
Lado is probably the worst in this book. And by worst I mean down right cruel and mean. Yeah, he has a wife and kids but he's not anything like a husband should be. He is having an affair with a hairdresser, he believes his wife should always have dinner ready for him whenever he decides to come home, and isn't really around for his children. He even goes so far as to rape his wife because she wants better for herself and kids and a divorce. Lado is the epitome of the drug war.
Esteban was probably my favorite. He's new to the BC. He's young and he knows he needs to provide for his new family. His fiance is pregnant and this is the only way he knows to pay for it. He's the most human out of all the characters. He likes O, not loves her or wants to leave his fiance for her. They're almost like BFFs despite the crazy and violence they've both seen and are currently experiencing.
The ending was not what I was expecting. When I realized I had 60 pages left, I started to worry.
This book is high-paced with solid characters. The writing style should get a rating on it's own. Very different from traditional writing but I loved it.
Ophelia, O for short, is a strong female characters. And what usually turns me off from a book is a weak female lead (or important/main female characters). O is a free spirit who is loyal to a fault. She enjoys sex and drugs but she also loves both Ben and Chon equally. She also loves her mother but never one of her mother's current beaus. She's never jealous of Chon with other older women or Ben away in a foreign country doing good for months at a time. Again, O is a free spirit.
Ben is basically the most human and the most identifiable person the reader can connect to when things start getting crazy. Ben is your peace loving guy. He may be growing enhanced weed but he's not doing it for the violence and money. He's kinda like O with being a free spirit. But Ben also uses his fiances to help other countries in need. Not only that, he goes there to put his money where his mouth is and help for months on end.
Chon is your hard core SEAL in between deployments. He doesn't attach to others easily. He's also very straight forward. But what keeps him with Ben and O is still a slight mystery but don't ever doubt that he is loyal to them both. There's Ben and O and then there's everyone else. That's Chon's view on the world.
If anything, this trio's strength and weakness is their loyalty and love (in that order) to each other.
Another point is that Don Winslow (the author) makes a point to show all sides of the (drug) war. He makes the "villians" human by showing and telling you what they think.
For example, Elena is the leader of the BC (Baja Cartel). She's also a woman (unheard of blasphemy in Mexico), a mother, and a widow. She only took the job to protect her children. Drug cartels are ruthless and will kill anyone to get their point across. Elena doesn't like killing but knows it's necessary and she has to watch. She loves her children more than anything and will do anything for them.
Lado is probably the worst in this book. And by worst I mean down right cruel and mean. Yeah, he has a wife and kids but he's not anything like a husband should be. He is having an affair with a hairdresser, he believes his wife should always have dinner ready for him whenever he decides to come home, and isn't really around for his children. He even goes so far as to rape his wife because she wants better for herself and kids and a divorce. Lado is the epitome of the drug war.
Esteban was probably my favorite. He's new to the BC. He's young and he knows he needs to provide for his new family. His fiance is pregnant and this is the only way he knows to pay for it. He's the most human out of all the characters. He likes O, not loves her or wants to leave his fiance for her. They're almost like BFFs despite the crazy and violence they've both seen and are currently experiencing.
The ending was not what I was expecting. When I realized I had 60 pages left, I started to worry.
This book is high-paced with solid characters. The writing style should get a rating on it's own. Very different from traditional writing but I loved it.
DNF - this is probably the most obnoxious book I have ever attempted to read. Absolutely not for me.
Quick read. Terribly engrossing and written in a style where you find yourself rooting for everyone.