Title: Broken
Author: Don Winslow
Publisher: HarperCollins (2020), short story collection
We last dusted off the joint post shelves just a quick 4 years ago, and the credit once again goes to Michael for his excellent suggestion.
For those that are new to what was once a monthly series, this is when Michael reviews a film adaptation from a book which gets a review here.
For those that are new to what was once a monthly series, this is when Michael reviews a film adaptation from a book which gets a review here.
Click here for Michael's film review of Crime 101
So I guess this is technically not a book review as I'll only be reviewing the short story which has recently been adapted, however, this is a fun callback to our very first joint post which was also a short story. I haven't read Don Winslow in ages so I took a quick trip over to his website to browse titles and see how out of date I am... which is pretty well out of date these days. This is the first short story of his that I have read, but my LibraryThing records tell me I've previously read four of his novels (Satori, The Gentleman's Hour, The Dawn Patrol, and The Power of the Dog) the most recent of which was published in 2011. (Side note: I really thought I had read The Cartel but apparently I just own it but never actually read it??)
Crime 101 is a fun, breezy romp that put me more in mind of Dawn Patrol/Gentleman's Hour than, say, The Power of the Dog. I think there's a read of this story that is not breezy or rompy but the snappy style holds you at arm's length from the characters, and even a little bit the stakes, so the seriousness of any given situation never hits quite as hard as it could. I assume that's on purpose, who wants to get gut punched by a jewel thief?
That's what we're dealing with here. Davis, a jewel thief, has the chance at one last job to get his goal bank balance (classic! I love it!) and San Diego cop Lou is convinced a string of robberies on the 101 is all one guy but no one else subscribes to his theory (another classic! I still love it!). The Pacific Coast Highway is another character in this story so I hope you like imagining the wind in your hair (though now I think about it, I'm not sure Davis ever did drive a convertible).
Davis prides himself on his ethical thieving, he's never hurt anyone and he'll even return your phone so you're not inconvenienced by losing all your family photos. Lou is going through a divorce (I'm not going to talk about the wife character, let's leave it at that I found her beneath Winslow's skill) and enjoying his temporary beach rental while pursuing his thief theory at work. They both have Crime 101 rules and I enjoyed the recurring motif, especially how it would overlap between their opposing characters. I would have liked a bit more individuality in their POV styles as it was easy to lose track of whose perspective you were in. Though I could be convinced that was also on purpose due to story structure choices, even if it's not my preference.
Because this is a short story, it's hard to get too far into describing stuff before you're in spoilers territory. I'm going to keep it vague but do skip this paragraph if you're even mild-spoilers averse. I really liked the Complicating Factor (though I did wonder if he'd still get work after making that choice) even if our ultimate villain did end up being a bit over the top. That was another aspect that made this more rompy than serious to me. A bombastic villain in this dynamic is hard to accept as a real threat. It was great to see the overlapping-opposites motif physically inhabit the story's conclusion. I wasn't all that surprised by any of the character decisions but I still found that satisfying.
There are six short stories in total in this collection and if the others are similar to Crime 101 I'd say it's a good one to get from the library, not sure I'd give it the "buy" recommendation. It was a good time but not as absorbing as other Winslow work I have read.
Crime 101 is a fun, breezy romp that put me more in mind of Dawn Patrol/Gentleman's Hour than, say, The Power of the Dog. I think there's a read of this story that is not breezy or rompy but the snappy style holds you at arm's length from the characters, and even a little bit the stakes, so the seriousness of any given situation never hits quite as hard as it could. I assume that's on purpose, who wants to get gut punched by a jewel thief?
That's what we're dealing with here. Davis, a jewel thief, has the chance at one last job to get his goal bank balance (classic! I love it!) and San Diego cop Lou is convinced a string of robberies on the 101 is all one guy but no one else subscribes to his theory (another classic! I still love it!). The Pacific Coast Highway is another character in this story so I hope you like imagining the wind in your hair (though now I think about it, I'm not sure Davis ever did drive a convertible).
Davis prides himself on his ethical thieving, he's never hurt anyone and he'll even return your phone so you're not inconvenienced by losing all your family photos. Lou is going through a divorce (I'm not going to talk about the wife character, let's leave it at that I found her beneath Winslow's skill) and enjoying his temporary beach rental while pursuing his thief theory at work. They both have Crime 101 rules and I enjoyed the recurring motif, especially how it would overlap between their opposing characters. I would have liked a bit more individuality in their POV styles as it was easy to lose track of whose perspective you were in. Though I could be convinced that was also on purpose due to story structure choices, even if it's not my preference.
Because this is a short story, it's hard to get too far into describing stuff before you're in spoilers territory. I'm going to keep it vague but do skip this paragraph if you're even mild-spoilers averse. I really liked the Complicating Factor (though I did wonder if he'd still get work after making that choice) even if our ultimate villain did end up being a bit over the top. That was another aspect that made this more rompy than serious to me. A bombastic villain in this dynamic is hard to accept as a real threat. It was great to see the overlapping-opposites motif physically inhabit the story's conclusion. I wasn't all that surprised by any of the character decisions but I still found that satisfying.
There are six short stories in total in this collection and if the others are similar to Crime 101 I'd say it's a good one to get from the library, not sure I'd give it the "buy" recommendation. It was a good time but not as absorbing as other Winslow work I have read.
Now about that movie... Don't forget to check out Michael's post.
rating: 3 of 5 stars
Click here for an index of the joint post series
.
rating: 3 of 5 stars
Click here for an index of the joint post series
.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.