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A review by tbr_the_unconquered
Satori by Don Winslow
2.0
Random images can at times evoke powerful memories in us. A ray of sunlight striking a blade of grass in the morning mist can be viewed as just another occurrence in nature or as a nostalgic image for it all depends on perception. Satori is Japanese for random awakening or in simple English this means the sudden realization of seeing things as they are. Unlike its older brother Shibumi, the stress on Japanese culture is less here.
This book is an American child, it does not have the subtlety and nuances of its elder sibling. It opts for out and out action, sex, international intrigue...well the kind of thing that a Robert Ludlum or a Fredrick Forsyth might write. It's my thought that Don Winslow got the anatomy of Nicholai Hel right but not the soul of Trevanian's work. Trevanian wrote an intentional parody of the spy genre by creating outrageous stunts and situations carrying an unsmiling facade while giving us only the barest of winks. Winslow on the other hand takes the character of Hel too seriously and injects into his veins the same blood that would have run through a Jason Bourne. There is a lot more action in this book and Hel is not the arrogant and pompous ass that he is in Shibumi. The climax is nothing short of bollywood-ish and with it went out what little interest I had in this book.
Russell Peters while in India recently made this comment about Bollywood :
It's not that I'm not a fan. It's just that if you gave me the option between cutting my testicles off or making me watch one of those films, I'd be like 'Get those knives sharpened up, would you ? '
Some books tend to go that way too Mr. Peters !
This book is an American child, it does not have the subtlety and nuances of its elder sibling. It opts for out and out action, sex, international intrigue...well the kind of thing that a Robert Ludlum or a Fredrick Forsyth might write. It's my thought that Don Winslow got the anatomy of Nicholai Hel right but not the soul of Trevanian's work. Trevanian wrote an intentional parody of the spy genre by creating outrageous stunts and situations carrying an unsmiling facade while giving us only the barest of winks. Winslow on the other hand takes the character of Hel too seriously and injects into his veins the same blood that would have run through a Jason Bourne. There is a lot more action in this book and Hel is not the arrogant and pompous ass that he is in Shibumi. The climax is nothing short of bollywood-ish and with it went out what little interest I had in this book.
Russell Peters while in India recently made this comment about Bollywood :
It's not that I'm not a fan. It's just that if you gave me the option between cutting my testicles off or making me watch one of those films, I'd be like 'Get those knives sharpened up, would you ? '
Some books tend to go that way too Mr. Peters !