Reviews with content warning for Animal cruelty - The Power of the Dog

The way this book's written is fascinating. A combination of literary and flowery exposition with the author's own twist on the stream of thought. The key about reading it and not being bored is immersing yourself in the words. You need to let them flow and breath. As a reader, you stand removed from the plot. It is cold, clinical. At times it is shocking, but in my opinion, that's mainly because it's written in such a sterile way. The fancy writig is a nice juxtaposition to that.

The causal bigotry in this book adds an interesting twist to it, especially since it's delivered in such a way as to seem the characters think of themselves as 'accepting' and 'open'. The characters seldom do any sort of introspection, so you are free to do it yourself without the author forcing any opinions on you, demeaning your intelligence as a reader.

The characters are very interesting themselves. All of them quirky and psychologically damaged in their own way. Most of all Phil and surprisingly, Peter. Supposedly, Phil is a sadist set on torturing his brother's wife. I don't see, to be honest. He acts like a child, yes. He has anger issues, yes. But sadistic? No, she is just very frail and sensitive if silence can unsettle her in such a profound way.

Phil is who I imagine the stereotypical white man from the U.S. to be, even now. Obsessed with being butch and appearing properly masculine. Intent on poiting out other people's failings and setting himself up as the obviously better one, because of course, he would never deign to demean himself like all those self-obsessed society-conscious idiots. Most of all, he is above all earthly pleasures. Not to mention his obsession with Bronco Henry. This all leads you to feel that underneath it all, there is a whisper of something else, tantalizing you. It's dispersed throughout the novel. An illicit affair, perhaps?

The biggest psychopath of them all is Peter, the son. He is so obsessed with his mother and creating a life for her just like the one he's assembled from cut out pictures in his scrapbook, that he murders a man for it.

Content Warnings

joshhornbeck's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark reflective medium-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

3.5

FIRST THOUGHTS:
The characters are richly drawn and so much is given in the layered subtext of the novel. I love the way the film explores misogyny, deconstructs traditional masculine codes, and even looks at homosexual desire - and written in a time when that was rare to find in a Western. The way the novel jumps between point of view is also really compelling, giving us insights into characters other than the white menu at its center. The language and sentence structure throughout is a bit too convoluted for my tastes - phrasings and sentences are organized in ways that often get themselves List before they reach the end. But the characters themselves are richly drawn.

Content Warnings

symonebooks's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark tense slow-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

4.25

Took time to sit with this book and see all the complexities and nuanced details

Content Warnings

irenecm's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Content Warnings

saldre's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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 a hidden literary gem. I didn't know this book existed until I watched the movie on Netflix. It's a beautifully written, complex psychological drama about 2 brothers on a Montana ranch in the 1920s. It's a thought provoking look at good versus evil, toxic masculinity, repressed homosexuality, and alcoholism. Don't miss out on this book! Also, make sure to read the afterward written by Annie Proulx. In the afterward, the reader learns that the author Thomas Savage took characters & situations from his own life and included it in this book.

Content Warnings

prm97's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional 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

Content Warnings

emily842752's review against another edition

Go to review page

Content Warnings

More...