SAVAGES by Don Winslow has received some wonderful
pre-publication publicity due to its being tapped for film
adaptation by Oliver Stone even before the first tree was chopped
to lay the book to paper. Please do not wait for the movie to read
the book.

The plot and execution of the novel is simple enough, from its
cheerfully obscene opening words to its apocalyptic, nihilistic
ending. Two guys have made a fortune on the development and sale of
two new strains of marijuana. The Baja Cartel wants to take over
their business, handling distribution and sale while the two
entrepreneurs continue to grow and harvest. It’s a fairly
easy, connect-the-dots storyline.

The brilliance of SAVAGES and the genius of Winslow lies in the
story’s fleshed-out, true-to-life characters. The two brains
behind the primo weed are Ben and Chon. Ben is the brains of the
business, in terms of the development of the new marijuana strains
and the marketing of them. Chon is the enforcer, the ex-ops guy who
handles the wet work that goes with the territory that these kinds
of businesses drive through on a daily basis. Both are very good at
what they do. Closer than brothers, they share the affection of
Ophelia --- known as “O” for more than one reason ---
who is simultaneously their strength and weakness.

All goes well until a faction of the Baja Cartel approaches them
with a non-negotiable business deal that is more or less the
modern-day equivalent of indentured servitude. Chon responds in the
only way he can --- that cheerfully obscene, all-purpose greeting
and response and exclamation --- resulting in the Baja Cartel
ratcheting things up a notch or three by kidnapping O and
threatening to return her in pieces unless Ben and Chon respond to
the offer they shouldn’t refuse. That’s when things
really get interesting.

Winslow takes what appears to be an unfixable position and turns
it around a bit, playing on the foibles of the aforementioned
characters and a number of other ones who you’ll have to read
the book to meet, folks of a sort who you are familiar with in real
life whether you know it or not. Ben, Chon and O are of course the
most interesting. They are simple enough on the surface but defy
easy explanation or categorization. And along the way, Winslow
demonstrates with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer that anything
you do to resolve the drug problem will only make it worse in one
way or another. There really aren’t any good guys in SAVAGES,
not even Ben, who diverts a healthy part of his time and ill-gotten
gain to soft-hearted and, yes, soft-headed social projects. Chon?
He gets the fact that giving in to an enemy, even when it is
practical, will be interpreted as a sign of weakness. But he is
working for a drug dealer. O? Please. But the three of them are
sympathetic characters nonetheless, from first page to unfortunate
last.

Don Winslow is a dark, immensely talented puppy whose refusal to
lighten up has arguably cost him the extent of the popular acclaim
he truly deserves while adding to the richness and reality of his
art. While SAVAGES may not be the book that makes him a household
name, it will resonate brilliantly in the part of the house where
everyone is scared to go. And that's going to happen whether the
movie does or not.