Savages, man. This
book made me feel kind of empty inside. Not that I didn’t enjoy it. Because I think
I did?
The story: Chon and Ben have a successful hydro-growing
operation in So Cal, where they manage to do business with very little violence.
Behold, the Good Guys. The Baja Cartel is expanding into Southern California
and wants to take over Chon and Ben’s growing operation, with excessive
violence if necessary. I present to you, the Bad Guys.
The female characters are a bit of a problem for me. We have exactly two of them: O, playing the part of Free Spirit, and
Elena, Tough Boss Lady. To me, they seem like stock characters
from some dude’s private fantasies (I’m looking at you, Don).
How to describe O? Tattooed manic pixie dream girl with an
insatiable sex drive and a shopping addiction and daddy issues and a natural knack
for machinery (“I'm an expert marksman even though I've never touched a gun before now!”).
 |
| And I LIKE wearing this schoolgirl outfit. |
I think I’m supposed to care that she might be
decapitated by a chainsaw and I just . . . don’t.
Elena is marginally more intriguing. As the last living
member of the cartel's ruling family, she has very little choice about taking over
leadership. And in the ultra-machismo Mexican drug culture, she
has to prove that she’s not weak. But she doesn’t relish the role she plays.
“She didn’t want to kill them, but she had to, and for this she blames herself. Because she allowed the first man who disrespected her to get away with it. And the second, and the third. . . . Men teach you how they must be treated.” (pp. 97, 99)
She victimizes to avoid being victimized, which is absolutely
a thing. But then this happens:
“In the U.S., Elena would be called a definite MILF.” (p. 101)
The leading men, Ben and Chon, are set up as exact
opposites.
“Ben is warm wood, Chon is cold metal.
Ben is caring, Chon indifferent. . . .
She loves them both.
What to do, what to do?” (p. 42)
I can understand how O is in love with both of them, especially since O is such a . . . special lady. But the fact that the men in question are OK
with this simultaneous loving is a little hard to swallow. (No pun intended. I
apologize.) O has no idea how they feel about her divided loyalties (and
doesn’t really care), so we never get insight into their thoughts on that
matter. But I think it would have been a better book if Ben and
Chon ran away together and ditched the blonde.
 |
| I rest my case. |
The writing style is what salvages it for me. It’s
machine-gun fast and cinematic, with small portions written in screenplay
format to heighten the effect. The anonymous narrator has a clear, strong voice that really represents Southern California. And in the process of writing this paragraph, I’ve almost talked myself into liking the book.
Maybe if the women weren’t blowup dolls. Maybe
then.
