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A review by spacemanchris
The Power of the Dog by Thomas Savage
4.0
[Phil] is also a high-tempered bully, a harping critic of all around him; he knows unerringly the cruel thing to say, relishes getting people’s goats. He is, in fact, a vicious bitch.
- Annie Proulx, Afteword
And he really is. He's such a terrible, loathsome character that it's not until close to the end where you realise why he's like that, and it elicits a small amount of sympathy.
This book reminds me a lot of Red Dead Redemption (stay with me here) in that it feels very much about the decline of the old west to some degree. A way of life that in a couple more decades simply won't exist as it once did.
The relationships between the characters are quite compelling, I was often left wondering the motivations for each character and it wasn't until the end where things suddenly clicked into place.
I found the undercurrent of homosexuality throughout a really interesting take, particularly considering the time period it was written. It's not overt and would be easy enough to miss but it's done in a pretty even-handed way for 1967.
I don't want to go into too much detail because I feel like the less you know the more impact the book has on the reader but it's a quick, easy read.
- Annie Proulx, Afteword
And he really is. He's such a terrible, loathsome character that it's not until close to the end where you realise why he's like that, and it elicits a small amount of sympathy.
This book reminds me a lot of Red Dead Redemption (stay with me here) in that it feels very much about the decline of the old west to some degree. A way of life that in a couple more decades simply won't exist as it once did.
The relationships between the characters are quite compelling, I was often left wondering the motivations for each character and it wasn't until the end where things suddenly clicked into place.
I found the undercurrent of homosexuality throughout a really interesting take, particularly considering the time period it was written. It's not overt and would be easy enough to miss but it's done in a pretty even-handed way for 1967.
I don't want to go into too much detail because I feel like the less you know the more impact the book has on the reader but it's a quick, easy read.