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epl's review against another edition
3.0
If you liked the action, characters, and the theatrical vibe of the gangs in the movie, the book is probably going to disappoint you somewhat. It is a much grittier, violent, and disturbing depiction of the gang culture in New York City in the 50’s or 60’s.
While you probably won’t like or relate to The Dominators, the Coney Island gang that the novel follows, the book raises plenty of questions and commentary on the social issues of the time. Chief among these are the “other-ness” of the disgruntled and maligned youth and the power dynamics within hand between the gangs that mainly hinges on the masculinity and toughness of the gangsters. The book is more about The Dominators, or the Family as they are sometimes called, and their state of mind as they journey home, rather than their fight through the city as depicted in the movie. In fact, they only really “rumble” with one gang and the leader who calls the summit, Ismael (Cyrus in the movie) is only mentioned in passing after the initial meet-up.
In the end, I found the character of Hinton to be the only actually interesting or even semi-developed character in the whole story. I wish there had been a clearer focus on him as the main character from the start. Also, Yurick’s writing is just not very good. It’s almost stream of conscious, but as it is told from a 3rd person POV, it results in a bunch of run-on sentences and meaningless sentence fragments that rarely add value to the text. Yurick also flips between real, quoted dialogue and simply describing conversation as if he is recounting what happened to someone after the fact.
While I like the movie a lot, the book is still good in it’s own way. But, Yurick’s writing style and the lack of depth for the majority of characters cap this at 3 stars for me.
While you probably won’t like or relate to The Dominators, the Coney Island gang that the novel follows, the book raises plenty of questions and commentary on the social issues of the time. Chief among these are the “other-ness” of the disgruntled and maligned youth and the power dynamics within hand between the gangs that mainly hinges on the masculinity and toughness of the gangsters. The book is more about The Dominators, or the Family as they are sometimes called, and their state of mind as they journey home, rather than their fight through the city as depicted in the movie. In fact, they only really “rumble” with one gang and the leader who calls the summit, Ismael (Cyrus in the movie) is only mentioned in passing after the initial meet-up.
In the end, I found the character of Hinton to be the only actually interesting or even semi-developed character in the whole story. I wish there had been a clearer focus on him as the main character from the start. Also, Yurick’s writing is just not very good. It’s almost stream of conscious, but as it is told from a 3rd person POV, it results in a bunch of run-on sentences and meaningless sentence fragments that rarely add value to the text. Yurick also flips between real, quoted dialogue and simply describing conversation as if he is recounting what happened to someone after the fact.
While I like the movie a lot, the book is still good in it’s own way. But, Yurick’s writing style and the lack of depth for the majority of characters cap this at 3 stars for me.
drewdietsch's review against another edition
4.0
Purposefully ugly and meditative, The Warriors belongs in conversation with other horrific looks into humanity via children such as Lord of the Flies and Let's Go Play at the Adams'. While the film has had the greater legacy thanks to its style and stripped down approach, the novel is a much more difficult and sobering examination of masculinity and how we ask children to grow up far too quickly.
missmelia's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.75
peteradamson's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
mschlat's review against another edition
2.0
This book is not that movie. Yes, the movie is based on the book, and there is quite a bit of overlap with the plot, but the tone and focus are very, very different. The movie The Warriors is an action movie with a "run the gauntlet" plot; the book The Warriors is a bracing depiction of gang life with much more graphic depiction of violence, especially sexual violence, than the movie. I wouldn't recommend reading this if you loved the movie unless you are prepared for a very different experience and some potentially triggering passages. Details to follow in the spoilers.
One of the more chilling lines in the film is when Swan tells Mercy "[m]aybe we ought to pull a train on you." The Warriors don't, but it's fairly clear that they wouldn't be morally bothered if they did. Mercy (for somewhat vague reasons) stays with the Warriors, has a heart to heart later with Swan, and is even shown some compassion by him in one of my favorite scenes (when they are seated on the subway across from the prom couples and Swan discourages Mercy from fixing herself up to look nice in comparison to them).
In the book, the analogue of Mercy is gangraped and abandoned by the crew after they kill a man who insulted them on the street.
Because Yurick's goal here is not to tell a tale of adventure, but to shine a light on what gangs are like, and that means showing the violence, despair, and uncertainty that these young men experience and then transmit to others. Yes, the gang (here called the Coney Island Dominators) needs to get home after a failed meetup of many of the city's youths, but there is no plot where they are framed, there is no DJ sending coded messages, there is no climactic ending where everything is resolved. The Dominators are in danger simply because they are in the territories of other gangs, and they act out of violence not just to save their lives, but because it's the most common way they deal with anything that disturbs them.
I found the gangrape particularly difficult to read, partly because the third person narration appears to waffle about the nature of the assault (there's some prose that says the victim is enjoying it even as her actions and words indicate otherwise) and partly because Yurick follows the scene with another where the Dominators are acting as playful normal young teenagers (as they toss a dirty piece of candy bar from one gang member to another). I'm guessing the juxtaposition is quite intentional.
There's another less disturbing account of sexual assault as well as a description of the Broadway area with copious use of derogatory terms for gay men, all of which is delivered in a prose style that I often found overwrought.
I think there's some merit to the work. It's clear Yurick wanted to offer a glimpse into this world, and he tries to give a fair bit of motivation why the gang members are who they are. I had also never heard of Youth Boards (a 1960's approach to juvenile delinquency) and was intrigued by the Dominators' relationship with their social worker. But, I really can't recommend reading this unless you are interested in gang fiction from this era.
Spoiler
One of the more chilling lines in the film is when Swan tells Mercy "[m]aybe we ought to pull a train on you." The Warriors don't, but it's fairly clear that they wouldn't be morally bothered if they did. Mercy (for somewhat vague reasons) stays with the Warriors, has a heart to heart later with Swan, and is even shown some compassion by him in one of my favorite scenes (when they are seated on the subway across from the prom couples and Swan discourages Mercy from fixing herself up to look nice in comparison to them).
In the book, the analogue of Mercy is gangraped and abandoned by the crew after they kill a man who insulted them on the street.
Because Yurick's goal here is not to tell a tale of adventure, but to shine a light on what gangs are like, and that means showing the violence, despair, and uncertainty that these young men experience and then transmit to others. Yes, the gang (here called the Coney Island Dominators) needs to get home after a failed meetup of many of the city's youths, but there is no plot where they are framed, there is no DJ sending coded messages, there is no climactic ending where everything is resolved. The Dominators are in danger simply because they are in the territories of other gangs, and they act out of violence not just to save their lives, but because it's the most common way they deal with anything that disturbs them.
I found the gangrape particularly difficult to read, partly because the third person narration appears to waffle about the nature of the assault (there's some prose that says the victim is enjoying it even as her actions and words indicate otherwise) and partly because Yurick follows the scene with another where the Dominators are acting as playful normal young teenagers (as they toss a dirty piece of candy bar from one gang member to another). I'm guessing the juxtaposition is quite intentional.
There's another less disturbing account of sexual assault as well as a description of the Broadway area with copious use of derogatory terms for gay men, all of which is delivered in a prose style that I often found overwrought.
I think there's some merit to the work. It's clear Yurick wanted to offer a glimpse into this world, and he tries to give a fair bit of motivation why the gang members are who they are. I had also never heard of Youth Boards (a 1960's approach to juvenile delinquency) and was intrigued by the Dominators' relationship with their social worker. But, I really can't recommend reading this unless you are interested in gang fiction from this era.
pirate_jesus's review against another edition
2.0
Poorly written. The movie is far superior. #readingrainbow
madison_hart's review against another edition
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
kyler_parr's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
connorreid1's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25