Moving up to down, side to side, in and out, and every which way, this story is more vast and colossal than a few simple sentences could ever hope to contain. It consumes five years to research and write, dwarfing other Don Winslow works- already exceptional in their own right – as the man follows the cardinal rule of exceptional authors: showing, instead of telling – the mark of a true writer.
This particular tale is set in the War on Drugs, is spread across three decades of time, and is told through the individual lives of the characters affected. It is a story where the integrity of governments is brought into question; and as impressively written as this is, it is not something for the immature of heart and mind.. The adult themes and situations preclude any potential reader not capable of processing graphic depictions of violence, sex, foul language and drug use, as these elements emotionally exhaust one ill prepared for them. To Winslow’s credit, he does place these factors in their proper context, never sensationalizing them as a means to draw readers in, rather establishing them as what they are: evil incarnate fought against by flawed human beings seeking redemption. And that is, essentially, what ‘The Power of the Dog’ is – a prayer for deliverance, coupled with a hope for something greater, from an evil that drags one’s soul down to the life of a dog..
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