Saturday, January 07, 2006

'The Power of the Dog' (Don Winslow)

Save my soul from the sword,
My love from the power of the dog. (Psalm 22)

Ian Rankin positions Don Winslow as a writer “so good you almost want to keep him to yourself”. But much as it pains me to disagree with Rankin, I don’t want to keep Don Winslow to myself. His The Power of the Dog, a blistering fictional indictment of America's war on drugs, just didn’t grab me. It might grab you, if you like this sort of thing.

Know at the outset that this is a book in which graphic detail illustrates the gruesome torture visited on victims of the drug war. Know that horrific, almost clinical, images often detract from the plot. And if that doesn’t bother you, read on.

Art Keller is a half-Anglo, Half-Mexican DEA agent who sometimes breaks the rules, handling much of his business outside the purview of government agencies. Adan Barrera is a political untouchable; a sleek charmer who calmly ravages a country's economy in pursuit of profit.

Between them, there’s thirty years of double-crossing, duplicity and the desperate need for vengeance. There’s also a line-up of the usual suspects in any story about illegal drugs – Italian mobsters, Irish mobsters, assorted hitmen, beautiful hookers, corrupt cops and politicians.

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