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A review by tfitoby
The Winter of Frankie Machine by Don Winslow
4.0
I was concerned about reading a second book by Winslow after [b:Savages|8008928|Savages|Don Winslow|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347970189s/8008928.jpg|12548735] was so good, fearful that he just wouldn't live up to that book and the hype surrounding him, but this book confirms that I am a scaredy cat for no good reason. I wish I could've reviewed this when I finished it, my mind was filled with superlatives, interesting comparisons and a strong analysis, however since that plane journey I have read 3 more books and spent my days walking around Sydney so my ideas are not as fresh.
The title is a good indicator of the power and subtlety of this book, its double meaning highlighted as you take a ride with Frankie Machine, a 62 year old retired hitman, through his life of crime. Using this as a framing story is an enjoyable concept and provides you with the action you might expect from a book about post-Vietnam gangsters as well as a constant sense of nostalgia from a man approaching the end of his life.
And as I said before it is subtle with it, there's nothing worse than a book that waxes lyrical about times past and constantly makes the point that "things are about to change" or "life was so much better then, why don't we all just give up on enjoying the present," Frankie has fond memories but he accepts the changes and makes them work for him.
Don Winslow can really write, he makes what could be generic ideas in to something fresh and readable, his books are not really about the crime or the kills like most authors using the genre today but about the people and the effect the lifestyle has on them, he doesn't revel in the brutality yet he is aware that it exists. It's a great book by a great writer.
The title is a good indicator of the power and subtlety of this book, its double meaning highlighted as you take a ride with Frankie Machine, a 62 year old retired hitman, through his life of crime. Using this as a framing story is an enjoyable concept and provides you with the action you might expect from a book about post-Vietnam gangsters as well as a constant sense of nostalgia from a man approaching the end of his life.
And as I said before it is subtle with it, there's nothing worse than a book that waxes lyrical about times past and constantly makes the point that "things are about to change" or "life was so much better then, why don't we all just give up on enjoying the present," Frankie has fond memories but he accepts the changes and makes them work for him.
Don Winslow can really write, he makes what could be generic ideas in to something fresh and readable, his books are not really about the crime or the kills like most authors using the genre today but about the people and the effect the lifestyle has on them, he doesn't revel in the brutality yet he is aware that it exists. It's a great book by a great writer.