Savages

Savages by Don Winslow

Savages was fun and smart and funny and highly entertaining. Don Winslow’s unique writing style put me inside all the characters’ heads and also put me smack in the middle of Orange County, California. It’s an area I know reasonably well, and Winslow captured it perfectly. Savages was a really good story. It was, however, limited.

At its core, Savages is the tragic tale of Ben and Chon and Ophelia. As with any love story, its success ultimately depends on how much the reader cares about the lovers. I cannot fault the author, but I did not care enough about Ben and Chon and Ophelia to emotionally invest in them. They are the type of people I don’t particularly like. It would be difficult for any author to get me to care about their love. I tried, but I couldn’t do it.

Still, I enjoyed the book enough to purchase the prequel, Kings of Cool.

C+