Comments on: It’s a Savage World: Don Winslow’s SAVAGES & Carl Hiaasen’s STAR ISLAND

By: EIREGO

EIREGO — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 20:08:17 +0000

Just finished Winslow’s SAVAGES. It was a great read. My only regret is that I had to put it down to eat and go to the bathroom!

By: Natalie @ Coffee and a Book Chick

Natalie @ Coffee and a Book Chick — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 23:03:40 +0000

I tend to find all of Hiassen’s books hilarious but also sad to a certain extent because of the social commentary — he always makes sure to incorporate the true reality of it all even though he’s making such fun of it. When I read Skinny Dip, the story on the surface was all about a woman who was thrown over a cruise ship by her dumb biologist husband but who survived. She ended up doing what she could to drive him nuts, but the *real* story was about the destruction of the Everglades because of the drainage of chemicals from farms. It was really sad to read about the corruption that was slowly killing an amazing part of Florida’s history. I can’t wait to read another one of his books!

By: Pop Culture Nerd

Pop Culture Nerd — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 21:59:21 +0000

le0pard13---You wrote the book on kind and generous. Chris---Drug dealers and aimless, vacuous girls are usually at the bottom of my list of characters I care about. Winslow's ability to make me like the leads is why I'm such a big fan of his work. EIREGO---I agree it's not Hiaasen's fault some real celebs are even more ridiculous than his characters. Christine---Yes, that first chapter is attention-grabbing! Shell---If Winslow's name wasn't on the cover, I'd be thinking that exact same thing. But I've learned to ignore whatever/whomever his books are about, knowing he could make me love a story about lint. Naomi---OK, I'll put down the toolkit since you're loving it.

By: Naomi Johnson

Naomi Johnson — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 20:59:26 +0000

Don’t go all Chonny on me, I’m loving SAVAGES!

By: Shell Sherree

Shell Sherree — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 04:58:15 +0000

How did you know?! I was thinking, "Drug dealers? No thanks." {I don't watch Weeds either.} But I trust your reviews, PCN, so if I miraculously motor through the rest of my queue, I'll go for a walk on the wild side with Savages.

By: Christine

Christine — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 18:13:23 +0000

SAVAGES is sitting in my TBR que. When Brian started reading it, he laughed, handed it to me and said to read Chapter 1 real quick. Ha!! How can you not want to read on further after that? Love Don Winslow!

By: EIREGO

EIREGO — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 17:09:09 +0000

Always love whatever Winslow wants to get published. His style fits me to at “T”. Wish there were more writers like him out there. I picked Savages the other day and am already halfway through. It’s awesome.

As for the Carl Hiassen’s Star Island. I get exactly what you are saying. I picked it up and just felt like I was reading the latest edition of CNN’s Headline News rather than watching it. I wish these Lindsays/Kardashians/Britneys people would just go away, not invade the literary world by becoming part of books as well. I couldn’t read past chapter one. Not Hiassen’s fault for what passes for news in the media, but I wish he would have ignored this particular group when it came to picking his subject matter.

By: Chris

Chris — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 14:03:00 +0000

You nailed it with the comment about Winslow making us care about characters we otherwise wouldn’t. O, for example, is an archetype of modern America that I feel compelled by a knee-jerk reaction to not like at all, yet I loved her in this book. Same with a couple of the villains. Just a great book all the way around.

By: le0pard13

le0pard13 — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 13:57:15 +0000

Great reviews! You're so right about Don Winslow and SAVAGES, Elyse. That rhythmic style is very much in evidence in how he wrote the new book (and in its formatting on the page). It sounds very much like this and STAR ISLAND were a great pair to read together. Thanks for the book reviews, and, thank you very much for the shout-out. You're are kind and generous, as always.