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lucindacreek's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Watched this after really enjoying the film. I think the film was perfect in terms of character arcs and pacing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, and Homophobia
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, and Colonisation
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, and Classism
itismebruna's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death
Moderate: Alcoholism, Homophobia, and Misogyny
rachel1106's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A dark Western about two very different brothers, with plot details about characters and the enviornment around them, as well as the enviornment that they create, that keeps one interested, engaged, and full of tense questions of what will happen. All main characters are worthy of discussion. The writing is superb.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Homophobia, Mental illness, Sexism, Suicide, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, and Classism
All is brief, there is mention of entrails and the resources of dead animals(hides, meat). You have to remember that this is a ranch. It's not a violent novel, but there are character thoughts of one thinking they're superior in the 1920s as a white man. Mild racism and sexism in those thoughts. Nothing too harsh, more so eye rolling. Author expresses these character flaws in a way that makes the reader aware that the character is the character, and it doesn't feel like the author is self imposing those thoughts into his character for the sake ofnecpressing himself, but telling a stoyr of the flaws to his character in the fictional world. It's not triggering. Suicide is apparent in this book, though. That's the most substantial element I would worry about when recommending. It's short, but unexpected, and the death is mentioned various times as it undoubtedly scars some other characters.paulabellman's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
1.0
I would have never read this book if In had know it was originally published in the early 60s. That explains the stiff dilogue.
I figured from the preview of the Netflix movie that there was gay overtones, whether repressed or acted upon. God knows in these days you can't have a western without the cowboys being gay.
Did being in the closet make Phil such a dick? Why is Rose so freaking weak? Tell that dude to F off and leave her alone. God, and George? Bruh grow a pair. The only one who was worth a dang in this entire story was Peter. He was the only one who was brave enough and clever enough to stand up to the bully. And that's what Phil was...a bully.
If I had to hear 1 more Phil POV of how he bested someone? No one was safe from his levels of mean. Not children, not Jews, not women, not even his own mother. I'm glad he was killed. He deserved every single bit of misery.
This auduobook was 8 hrs but it felt like I've been listening for 8 weeks. Thank God it's done.
I figured from the preview of the Netflix movie that there was gay overtones, whether repressed or acted upon. God knows in these days you can't have a western without the cowboys being gay.
Did being in the closet make Phil such a dick? Why is Rose so freaking weak? Tell that dude to F off and leave her alone. God, and George? Bruh grow a pair. The only one who was worth a dang in this entire story was Peter. He was the only one who was brave enough and clever enough to stand up to the bully. And that's what Phil was...a bully.
If I had to hear 1 more Phil POV of how he bested someone? No one was safe from his levels of mean. Not children, not Jews, not women, not even his own mother. I'm glad he was killed. He deserved every single bit of misery.
This auduobook was 8 hrs but it felt like I've been listening for 8 weeks. Thank God it's done.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death
gailcooksandreads's review against another edition
4.5
4.5 stars rounded up for this gorgeously-written, hidden gem of a classic novel that I never would have discovered had I not been seeking out books set in Montana for a 50-states challenge. I'm really looking forward to watching the movie adaptation on Netflix as it is also supposed to be excellent. It got a bit draggy in parts, hence the 4.5, but wowzers, I was floored at how good it is.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Homophobia, and Suicide
Moderate: Antisemitism
Minor: Murder
violetturtledove's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This was a great book, although for the most part i can't exactly say i enjoyed reading it. It's uncomfortable reading, the character of Phil is both intriguing and thoroughly hateable (in fact all of the characters are flawed and brilliantly observed). It's tense, and the narrative skips differently from one point of view or time to another (sometimes it goes from present to recollection, or jumps forward a month, without a clear indication in the text). This is a bit confusing, but also I think it keeps you hooked, wanting to know more.
Once you read the end you can suddenly look back at all the little hints and foreshadowing and then it hits you how clever the story really is
Once you read the end you can suddenly look back at all the little hints and foreshadowing and then it hits you how clever the story really is
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Bullying, and Suicide
Moderate: Alcoholism, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Colonisation
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Death, and Antisemitism
mia_merrill's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Suicide, and Alcohol
Moderate: Homophobia, Racism, Antisemitism, and Grief
Minor: Murder
booksthatburn's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
THE POWER OF THE DOG is about manhood and homophobia in the last gasps of the Old West, following a rich cattle rancher and his brother as one starts to have a life outside of their duo and the other tries to make him miserable enough to stay.
If you liked the 2021 film of the same name, adapted from this text, then you’ll probably like the book. The main changes are consolidations; placing some events as backstory instead of showing them as the book does, collapsing two side events into one, and to move Phil’s bigotry into fewer targets. The rest of this review contains minor spoilers, as it’s impossible to discuss what makes this so good without talking about some of what happens in it.
Phil is an odious person, a homophobic man who has based his hygiene and personal habits around as many opposites to his idea of a gay man in his era (clean, well-dressed, quiet, liking womanly things) that he possibly can. The end result is someone who bathes once a month (not at all in the winter), refuses to wear gloves (not even when castrating cattle and doing all the other bloody, messy work required to drive cattle and run a ranch), and uses his exceptionally sharp mind to whittle down the confidence of anyone who catches his ire (usually in language dripping with bigotry of whatever kind will sting the most). His closest relationship is with his brother George, a closeness which assumes George would never request distance and leaves Phil frustrated when George falls in love and marries a widow. He’s also enamored with his long-dead mentor in all things cowboy; Bronco Henry, talking up his wisdom and exploits to the ranch hands even two decades on from Bronco Henry’s death.
George meets and marries Rose, a widow whose husband killed himself early on in the book, years before the main story. Their son is strange, eventually assumed by Phil to be gay, called a sissy for his arrangements of paper flowers and way of dressing and walking. The boy’s quiet study of medical texts and dissections of animals hum along in the background, eventually he attends medical school with the help of his late father’s books. His actual sexuality is secondary to Phil’s perception of it, seeing the boy as weakness walking, the embodiment of everything Phil despises even as he eventually longs for connection again.
Phil’s homophobia is one of a pile of bigotries which he wields like barbs when he’s irritated or inconvenienced. He most common method of addressing his brother is “Fatso”, and when Rose starts drinking in an attempt to stomach living in the same house as him, he belittles her for it, taking it as proof that she’s just taking advantage of his brother. His every action drips condemnation, that if someone has chosen to do what Phil would not, then they must be weak or scheming and their choice is contemptible.
The audiobook narrator’s calm tone is perfect for this dryly delivered story which builds slowly, layers of time pooling to form the whole. The ending is quiet, managing to tie together everything in a single calm moment. It’s a resolution that feels like life, where one phase can unquestionably be over even as everything else continues on.
If you liked the 2021 film of the same name, adapted from this text, then you’ll probably like the book. The main changes are consolidations; placing some events as backstory instead of showing them as the book does, collapsing two side events into one, and to move Phil’s bigotry into fewer targets. The rest of this review contains minor spoilers, as it’s impossible to discuss what makes this so good without talking about some of what happens in it.
Phil is an odious person, a homophobic man who has based his hygiene and personal habits around as many opposites to his idea of a gay man in his era (clean, well-dressed, quiet, liking womanly things) that he possibly can. The end result is someone who bathes once a month (not at all in the winter), refuses to wear gloves (not even when castrating cattle and doing all the other bloody, messy work required to drive cattle and run a ranch), and uses his exceptionally sharp mind to whittle down the confidence of anyone who catches his ire (usually in language dripping with bigotry of whatever kind will sting the most). His closest relationship is with his brother George, a closeness which assumes George would never request distance and leaves Phil frustrated when George falls in love and marries a widow. He’s also enamored with his long-dead mentor in all things cowboy; Bronco Henry, talking up his wisdom and exploits to the ranch hands even two decades on from Bronco Henry’s death.
George meets and marries Rose, a widow whose husband killed himself early on in the book, years before the main story. Their son is strange, eventually assumed by Phil to be gay, called a sissy for his arrangements of paper flowers and way of dressing and walking. The boy’s quiet study of medical texts and dissections of animals hum along in the background, eventually he attends medical school with the help of his late father’s books. His actual sexuality is secondary to Phil’s perception of it, seeing the boy as weakness walking, the embodiment of everything Phil despises even as he eventually longs for connection again.
Phil’s homophobia is one of a pile of bigotries which he wields like barbs when he’s irritated or inconvenienced. He most common method of addressing his brother is “Fatso”, and when Rose starts drinking in an attempt to stomach living in the same house as him, he belittles her for it, taking it as proof that she’s just taking advantage of his brother. His every action drips condemnation, that if someone has chosen to do what Phil would not, then they must be weak or scheming and their choice is contemptible.
The audiobook narrator’s calm tone is perfect for this dryly delivered story which builds slowly, layers of time pooling to form the whole. The ending is quiet, managing to tie together everything in a single calm moment. It’s a resolution that feels like life, where one phase can unquestionably be over even as everything else continues on.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Racism, Xenophobia, and Alcohol
Moderate: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Death, Fatphobia, Gore, Homophobia, Suicide, Antisemitism, and Death of parent
Minor: Miscarriage, Violence, Murder, and Pregnancy
larseneiii's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Racism, Blood, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting, and Colonisation
felofhe's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Excrement, Antisemitism, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Adult/minor relationship