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Dog Eat Dog
Carved from a lifetime of experience that runs the gamut from incarceration to liberation, Dog Eat Dog is the story of three men who are all out of prison and now have the task of adapting themselves to civilian life. The California three strikes law looms over them, but what the hell, they're going to do it, and they're going to do it their way.
Troy, an aloof mastermind, seeks an uncomplicated, clean life but cannot get away from his hatred for the system. Diesel is on the mob's payroll and his interest in his suburban home and his nagging wife is waning. The loose cannon of the trio, Mad Dog, is possessed by true demons within that simply lead him from the situation to the next.
One more hit, one more jackpot, and they'll all be satisfied. Troy constructs the perfect crime and they pull it off, but in the aftermath, they keep finding the law surrounding them wherever they go.
Troy, an aloof mastermind, seeks an uncomplicated, clean life but cannot get away from his hatred for the system. Diesel is on the mob's payroll and his interest in his suburban home and his nagging wife is waning. The loose cannon of the trio, Mad Dog, is possessed by true demons within that simply lead him from the situation to the next.
One more hit, one more jackpot, and they'll all be satisfied. Troy constructs the perfect crime and they pull it off, but in the aftermath, they keep finding the law surrounding them wherever they go.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1995
65 people are currently reading
1223 people want to read
About the author
Edward Bunker
19 books275 followersEdward Heward Bunker was an American author of crime fiction, a screenwriter, and an actor.
He wrote numerous books, some of which have been adapted into films.
Bunker was a bright but troublesome child, who spent much of his childhood in different foster homes and institutions.
He started on a criminal career at a very early age, and continued on this path throughout the years, returning to prison again and again.
He was convicted of bank robbery, drug dealing, extortion, armed robbery, and forgery.
A repeating pattern of convictions, paroles, releases and escapes, further crimes and new convictions continued until he was released yet again from prison in 1975, at which point he finally left his criminal days permanently behind and became a writer.
Bunker stayed out of jail thereafter, and instead focused on his career as a writer and actor.
He wrote numerous books, some of which have been adapted into films.
Bunker was a bright but troublesome child, who spent much of his childhood in different foster homes and institutions.
He started on a criminal career at a very early age, and continued on this path throughout the years, returning to prison again and again.
He was convicted of bank robbery, drug dealing, extortion, armed robbery, and forgery.
A repeating pattern of convictions, paroles, releases and escapes, further crimes and new convictions continued until he was released yet again from prison in 1975, at which point he finally left his criminal days permanently behind and became a writer.
Bunker stayed out of jail thereafter, and instead focused on his career as a writer and actor.
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November 3, 2024
SE NON C’È NESSUN DIO, ALLORA TUTTO È PERMESSO
I vecchi tram di Los Angeles.
Se non c'è nessun dio, allora tutto è permesso
Dice Ivan Karamazov.
E siccome dio non esiste…
Però, se un povero idiota senzatetto riesce a prendersi cura di un cane, io devo fare qualcosa per lui: in questo caso, un’elemosina di cinque dollari.
Willem Dafoe/Mad Dog e Nicholas Cage/Troy.
“Scrivi quello che conosci” è un’indicazione che Edward Bunker ha preso alla lettera: dopo essere entrato in riformatorio a soli undici anni (a cinque è stato abbandonato da madre e padre dopo il divorzio e messo in una casa d’accoglienza), liberato, incarcerato di nuovo, evaso, ripreso, liberato, rinchiuso – una trafila dentro e fuori dal carcere (incluso quello famigerato di San Quentin) è finalmente riuscito a farcela come scrittore e sceneggiatore, a costruirsi una carriera e una vita privata solide che lo tengono lontano dalle sbarre.
Tutti i suoi romanzi, i suoi racconti, le sue sceneggiature descrivono questo vita e questo mondo: il furto, la rapina, la reclusione, l’evasione, la fuga, la criminalità, il traffico di stupefacenti…
Da sinistra Christopher Matthew Cook/Diesel, Willem Dafoe/Mad Dog e Nicholas Cage/Troy. A destra il regista Paul Schrader che interpreta anche il ruolo di El Greco.
Si tiene lontano dall’hard boiled, usa scrittura più costruita, periodi più lunghi, uno stile più letterario che di genere. Negli anni di formazione carceraria ha letto Thomas Mann, Genet, Camus, Dreiser, Dos Passos, Sartre… scrittori ben lontani dalla letteratura di genere.
Cane mangia cane è riferito non solo alla follia schizzoide di uno dei tre protagonisti, Mad Dog McCain, non solo alla crudeltà del mondo criminale le cui leggi d’onore e amicizia valgono fin tanto che non si commette un errore: ma mi pare soprattutto al meccanismo sociale che spinge la società americana, quella California in particolar modo secondo Bunker, a rinchiudere chiunque per un’infrazione anche minima. E una volta dentro, in carceri sovraffollati, la violenza e la brutalità del sistema carcerario, trasformano un microbo in T.Rex, un insetto in condor. Chi esce dopo un’esperienza simile verrà respinto dalla società, e costretto a perseverare nella spirale criminale.
Schrader si diverte a imitare Tarantino, senza riuscirci, e a mettere in scena gli effetti della droga, come qui sul volto deformato di Willem Dafoe.
Bunker si dilunga sulla trasformazione del paese, in questo caso la California, sugli effetti del tempo, e del cambiamento economico. Un piccolo esempio:
Quando Troy era un ragazzo, i ricchi avevano la Cadillac e i poveri viaggiavano con la Ford. Adesso i ricchi giravano in limousine, e i poveri spingevano i carretti ricolmi di lattine riciclabili di Coca Cola.
Estende la sua analisi a quartieri e abitazioni, alle strade, i locali, le attività commerciali, i ghetti… Ed è una parte importante, e bella, del romanzo
Difficile provare empatia per un’obesa così vestita che viene fatta recitare come un’isterica.
Il film, invece, si perde tutto questo per strada, sbaglia il cast in modo colossale, non soltanto alzando l’età di tutti i protagonisti, ma scegliendoli proprio che più sbagliati non si potrebbe. Si perde gli inizi, il riformatorio dove i tre si sono conosciuti e hanno imparato a rispettarsi.
È un vero peccato perché Paul Schrader è cineasta raffinato e affascinante, perseguitato da colpa e redenzione. Qui sembra prendersi una vacanza, butta tutto in burletta, trasforma tutti e tre in tossici paranoici, si concede un cameo superfluo.
Un vero disastro, un’ottima occasione persa che peggio sarebbe difficile.
Il Pacific Dining Car sulla 6th a Santa Monica esiste dal 1921, un tempo infinito trattandosi di California, preistorico trattandosi di Los Angeles.
I vecchi tram di Los Angeles.
Se non c'è nessun dio, allora tutto è permesso
Dice Ivan Karamazov.
E siccome dio non esiste…
Però, se un povero idiota senzatetto riesce a prendersi cura di un cane, io devo fare qualcosa per lui: in questo caso, un’elemosina di cinque dollari.
Willem Dafoe/Mad Dog e Nicholas Cage/Troy.
“Scrivi quello che conosci” è un’indicazione che Edward Bunker ha preso alla lettera: dopo essere entrato in riformatorio a soli undici anni (a cinque è stato abbandonato da madre e padre dopo il divorzio e messo in una casa d’accoglienza), liberato, incarcerato di nuovo, evaso, ripreso, liberato, rinchiuso – una trafila dentro e fuori dal carcere (incluso quello famigerato di San Quentin) è finalmente riuscito a farcela come scrittore e sceneggiatore, a costruirsi una carriera e una vita privata solide che lo tengono lontano dalle sbarre.
Tutti i suoi romanzi, i suoi racconti, le sue sceneggiature descrivono questo vita e questo mondo: il furto, la rapina, la reclusione, l’evasione, la fuga, la criminalità, il traffico di stupefacenti…
Da sinistra Christopher Matthew Cook/Diesel, Willem Dafoe/Mad Dog e Nicholas Cage/Troy. A destra il regista Paul Schrader che interpreta anche il ruolo di El Greco.
Si tiene lontano dall’hard boiled, usa scrittura più costruita, periodi più lunghi, uno stile più letterario che di genere. Negli anni di formazione carceraria ha letto Thomas Mann, Genet, Camus, Dreiser, Dos Passos, Sartre… scrittori ben lontani dalla letteratura di genere.
Cane mangia cane è riferito non solo alla follia schizzoide di uno dei tre protagonisti, Mad Dog McCain, non solo alla crudeltà del mondo criminale le cui leggi d’onore e amicizia valgono fin tanto che non si commette un errore: ma mi pare soprattutto al meccanismo sociale che spinge la società americana, quella California in particolar modo secondo Bunker, a rinchiudere chiunque per un’infrazione anche minima. E una volta dentro, in carceri sovraffollati, la violenza e la brutalità del sistema carcerario, trasformano un microbo in T.Rex, un insetto in condor. Chi esce dopo un’esperienza simile verrà respinto dalla società, e costretto a perseverare nella spirale criminale.
Schrader si diverte a imitare Tarantino, senza riuscirci, e a mettere in scena gli effetti della droga, come qui sul volto deformato di Willem Dafoe.
Bunker si dilunga sulla trasformazione del paese, in questo caso la California, sugli effetti del tempo, e del cambiamento economico. Un piccolo esempio:
Quando Troy era un ragazzo, i ricchi avevano la Cadillac e i poveri viaggiavano con la Ford. Adesso i ricchi giravano in limousine, e i poveri spingevano i carretti ricolmi di lattine riciclabili di Coca Cola.
Estende la sua analisi a quartieri e abitazioni, alle strade, i locali, le attività commerciali, i ghetti… Ed è una parte importante, e bella, del romanzo
Difficile provare empatia per un’obesa così vestita che viene fatta recitare come un’isterica.
Il film, invece, si perde tutto questo per strada, sbaglia il cast in modo colossale, non soltanto alzando l’età di tutti i protagonisti, ma scegliendoli proprio che più sbagliati non si potrebbe. Si perde gli inizi, il riformatorio dove i tre si sono conosciuti e hanno imparato a rispettarsi.
È un vero peccato perché Paul Schrader è cineasta raffinato e affascinante, perseguitato da colpa e redenzione. Qui sembra prendersi una vacanza, butta tutto in burletta, trasforma tutti e tre in tossici paranoici, si concede un cameo superfluo.
Un vero disastro, un’ottima occasione persa che peggio sarebbe difficile.
Il Pacific Dining Car sulla 6th a Santa Monica esiste dal 1921, un tempo infinito trattandosi di California, preistorico trattandosi di Los Angeles.
September 21, 2020
Edward Bunker no está considerado un genio de la literatura, pero describe como nadie el mundo de la delincuencia y los bajos fondos.
Para mi, Bunker es un genio de la literatura.
No sé porqué no le puse 5 estrellas. Soy idiota.
Edward Bunker is not considered a literary genius, but he describes the world of crime and the underworld like no other.
For me, Bunker is a literary genius.
I don't know why I didn't give it 5 stars. I'm an idiot.
Para mi, Bunker es un genio de la literatura.
No sé porqué no le puse 5 estrellas. Soy idiota.
Edward Bunker is not considered a literary genius, but he describes the world of crime and the underworld like no other.
For me, Bunker is a literary genius.
I don't know why I didn't give it 5 stars. I'm an idiot.
June 16, 2022
Cómo nos gustan los relatos sobre los bajos fondos a las personas más o menos respetuosas de la ley. ¿Será que nos fascina lo que no nos atrevemos a hacer? ¿O será que a veces mitificamos a ciertos delincuentes como si Robin Hood fuera una figura más que plausible, y no una paja mental que encumbra a seres con motivos totalmente despreciables? Bueno, ya estoy divagando, mal empezamos. En cualquier caso, yo soy más de otro tipo de true crime, de asesinos en serie, a saber qué voy buscando yo ahí.
La cuestión es que con este libro de Edward Bunker me he tirado las primeras 150 páginas (la mitad) en plan Elvis: «A little less conversation, a little more action». Me ha dado la impresión de que tardaba demasiado en llegar a todo eso que ha hecho famoso a Bunker, esa información de primera mano sobre el sistema carcelario estadounidense o mexicano, qué se hace y qué no cuando se da un golpe, qué tipos de individuos pululan por esos ambientes. Y parece que para llegar a todo eso te tienes que tragar un relleno de opiniones personales, diálogos de esos que tiene la gente sobre conocidos comunes y que a ti plin, y una buena dosis de racismo, misoginia y homofobia que, por supuesto, no podían faltar en el cóctel. Todo esto, a estas alturas de mi vida, ya me da un poco de pereza. Me parece que he empezado a leer a Edward Bunker por donde no debía, y que No hay bestia más feroz habría sido mucho mejor elección.
La cuestión es que con este libro de Edward Bunker me he tirado las primeras 150 páginas (la mitad) en plan Elvis: «A little less conversation, a little more action». Me ha dado la impresión de que tardaba demasiado en llegar a todo eso que ha hecho famoso a Bunker, esa información de primera mano sobre el sistema carcelario estadounidense o mexicano, qué se hace y qué no cuando se da un golpe, qué tipos de individuos pululan por esos ambientes. Y parece que para llegar a todo eso te tienes que tragar un relleno de opiniones personales, diálogos de esos que tiene la gente sobre conocidos comunes y que a ti plin, y una buena dosis de racismo, misoginia y homofobia que, por supuesto, no podían faltar en el cóctel. Todo esto, a estas alturas de mi vida, ya me da un poco de pereza. Me parece que he empezado a leer a Edward Bunker por donde no debía, y que No hay bestia más feroz habría sido mucho mejor elección.
August 4, 2023
Edward Bunker girava tra le mie prossime letture da tempo, anzi direi da più di un decennio! Perchè iniziai a sentire dei suoi libri nel periodo in cui leggevo molti thriller/noir e così saltò fuori questo nome, a me fin a quel momento sconosciuto, mi aveva incuriosito, soprattutto per i titoli così "onomatopeici". A dire la verità non lo sono onomatopeici, almeno per come intendiamo le onomatopee, cioè parole senza un senso compiuto, ma che rieccheggiano un suono, che sia questo cacofonico, come il boato di una bomba, oppure rilassante come potrebbe essere il cinguettio di un uccellino. Ecco, per me, il titolo "Cane mangia cane" è di quanto più onomatopeico che possa esistere, soprattutto dopo aver concluso questa particolarissima lettura. Di solito non apprezzo per nulla i soliti detti umani con animali protagonisti, ma in questo caso ci calza a pennello, perchè? Bisogna leggere il libro per scoprirlo, altrimenti direi troppo sulla storia e non gioverebbe alla lettura.
L'autore ha avuto un passato nella criminalità di L.A. e in questo romanzo ne è l'esempio più lampante, le pagine proprio trasudano di delinquenza, come se fosse la normalità, come se fosse ciò che i protagonisti hanno sempre vissuto, senz'altra via. Ma Bunker ci racconta questa storia con un coinvolgimento tale da far sentire il lettore, almeno è quello che ho vissuto io, protagonista o ancora meglio far sentire a squarciagola cosa può fare il vivere nell'indigenza, nella precarietà, senza amore, senza considerazione e senza veri affetti familiari e non.
Nonostante tutto Bunker è riuscito, superando molti ostacoli, soprattutto l'indifferenza e zero possibilità di redenzione che la società gli ha buttato sulla biffa, di ricostruirsi una vita nella legalità, grazie alla letteratura, sua passione e salvezza.
«Sono convinto che chi non legge resta uno stupido. Anche se nella vita sa destreggiarsi, il fatto di non ingerire regolarmente parole scritte lo condanna ineluttabilmente all'ignoranza, indipendentemente dai suoi averi e dalle sue attività.»
(E. Bunker)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSvfK...
L'autore ha avuto un passato nella criminalità di L.A. e in questo romanzo ne è l'esempio più lampante, le pagine proprio trasudano di delinquenza, come se fosse la normalità, come se fosse ciò che i protagonisti hanno sempre vissuto, senz'altra via. Ma Bunker ci racconta questa storia con un coinvolgimento tale da far sentire il lettore, almeno è quello che ho vissuto io, protagonista o ancora meglio far sentire a squarciagola cosa può fare il vivere nell'indigenza, nella precarietà, senza amore, senza considerazione e senza veri affetti familiari e non.
Nonostante tutto Bunker è riuscito, superando molti ostacoli, soprattutto l'indifferenza e zero possibilità di redenzione che la società gli ha buttato sulla biffa, di ricostruirsi una vita nella legalità, grazie alla letteratura, sua passione e salvezza.
«Sono convinto che chi non legge resta uno stupido. Anche se nella vita sa destreggiarsi, il fatto di non ingerire regolarmente parole scritte lo condanna ineluttabilmente all'ignoranza, indipendentemente dai suoi averi e dalle sue attività.»
(E. Bunker)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSvfK...
August 14, 2023
The fronts of some American prisons looked as if they wanted to last like the Parthenon.
*
Justice, that was what he wanted. Then he realized what he was thinking and began to laugh. He didn't want justice. He wanted what he wanted, just like everyone else...and the rest was verbiage.
*
Like all of Ed Bunker's work, Dog Eat Dog (1996, his last novel proper) is about criminals. And like most of what I've read of his (and watched- including the movie Straight Time), it's specifically about guys who get out of prison and find there's no way back into society. Or who have already accepted that fact a long time before. The main characters here are Troy, who's pushing 40 after more than a decade behind bars in southern California, his ex-boxer friend Diesel who makes ends meet by doing odd jobs (like setting fire to certain fleets of trucks) for dangerous underworld types with names like Jimmy the Face, and a complete wildcard appropriately known as Mad Dog (sometimes just Dog). Unlike his two friends, however, Troy is from an educated background- he wasn't "supposed" to have been a criminal. He ends up in the underworld anyway, but still retains traces of his middle-class upbringing. He uses proper grammar, and he reads the newspaper for more than the sports section. He knows what the Supreme Court has ruled about when the cops can search your vehicle and knows where Sarajevo is (this is the 90s, after all), and so his friends trust him to be the brains of the operation; which, soon after Troy "raises" (underworld lingo for "gets out of prison"- I'd never heard that one, personally), turns out to involve ripping off drug-dealers (the kinds of victims "who can't cry copper") for large quantities of coke, and selling them to people Troy knows in the underworld like El Greco, The Greek, who probably isn't even Greek (almost everyone in this novel has a cool nickname). The set-pieces here- from the part where Troy and his crew impersonate traffic cops to a botched kidnapping- are highly entertaining, and the use of a character called Mad Dog McCain by itself might tip you off that the novel isn't exactly deadly somber in tone. But there's also a current of soulfulness and melancholy to the story, especially in the chapters that follow Troy immediately after he's been released, experiencing his hometown of LA and the details of the outside world again as if for the first time: the size and shape of money in a wallet, the feel of a bare carpet, the ability to close and lock a hotel door behind you. It's in some of these quieter scenes especially that I was reminded of the indisputable authenticity that Bunker, having spent the majority of his life prior to middle-age in prison, brings to stories like this. And through the microcosm of LA, Troy perceives that the country has changed as well. The skyline is more crowded, the homeless population has exploded, inequality has grown, both crime and punishment have become more vicious, and there are ominous tidings for the individual in the twenty-first century:
Troy thought of how the giants of the automobile and tire industries had destroyed the biggest public transportation system in the world- one that showed a profit every year of its existence. The money stolen from the public had not been returned; it was part of empire.In another chapter, when Troy and Diesel are driving through the night, they talk about (though don't necessarily mention by name) California's new Three Strikes law, the Biden crime bill, and Pelican Bay.
"How they gonna do it, Troy? I mean, damn, where they gonna put all them fools? How they gonna take 'em all to trial? It seems insane to me."But if I'm making the novel sound like a polemic, I'm doing it a disservice. I would guess that Bunker wrote a fair amount of it after working with Tarantino on Reservoir Dogs- and while I'm not sure that Tarantino has always rubbed off well on aspiring writers, he's a positive influence in this case. The dialogue is a lot funnier and snappier than I remember it being in Bunker's late 70s novel The Animal Factory (though the characters don't exactly pontificate about pop culture, either), and that sense of loose and profane amoral fun balances out some of the slight floridity and over-earnestness that I sometimes came across in Bunker's early stuff, qualities I'd always attributed to his being understandably self-conscious as a representative of the underclass (as he refers to it in this novel) writing primarily for- let's face it- relatively comfortable people who've only fantasized about the violent, dangerous criminal life that Bunker actually led. I almost wrote in the beginning of the first paragraph that Bunker's characters try and inevitably fail to reintegrate into the straight world, but part of the Tarantino-ness of this novel is that there's no trying, and no apologies. Troy and his crew are already well beyond that point, and Bunker makes it pretty easy to understand the mindset. Most of us don't have the familiarity and comfort with crime that Troy does. But when you consider his options as he sees them- $100,000 for one night of work vs., say, years of walking up-and-down a used-car lot and never saving nearly that much- you start to wonder what you yourself might be capable of, if you had the right friends and know-how and the same tolerance for physical danger. Bunker doesn't belabor that point, though- it would blunt the forward momentum, the manic energy and wild humor of the novel. Seeing Troy try would also bolster his moral case, cast him in a more sympathetic light; and while that case is there, Bunker refreshingly isn't interested in stacking the deck in its favor. If anything he does the opposite, allowing Troy to shrug off the knowledge that his buddy Mad Dog (as we learn pretty early on) has done some truly heinous things, and allowing us to see the increasing collateral damage of Troy's "simple" plan.
"It is insane. But they're scared."
And like all of Bunker's work, it's full of underworld lore and anecdote. How fast does an ex-con drive on I-5? How about the guy who got busted because he couldn't spell the Polish surname of the fake ID he was using? Even he had to laugh about that. Or how about the restaurant valet who found $300,000 in the trunk of a car he was parking, took it home with him, and never heard a word about it? Whoever's it was, whatever they did to get it, they just swallowed the loss. And what's up with Death Row Jeff? He's still on Death Row, right? It's true that the plot overall is a bit ramshackle, more like a series of loosely-connected events- but then I often enjoy that kind of thing, enjoyed at times simply imagining the stories behind the names:
While they waited for the coffee, Chepe asked for news of mutual friends in California prisons and elsewhere in the California underworld. Everybody asked about Big Joe first; then Harry Buckley, Bulldog, Paul Allen, Joe Cocko, Huero Flores, Shotgun, Charlie Jackass, and Preacher.It all somewhat eerily reminded me of my dad and his running friends, who always stand around (or more like lean tiredly against their respective cars) together after their runs and talk about people who sound like they're made up: "'Member Bill Rogers, ran Boston with us in '77? I saw him on the boardwalk on Tuesday, and he hadda get a hip replacement. He's gonna be out for a while." And that association is significant, I think, only insofar as it illustrates one of my main takeaways from reading Bunker's work- that whether you like to run half-marathons or rob banks comes down not to some intrinsic morality but to who you know, who you know comes down to circumstance, and circumstance is not just random chance but dictated in large part by class. Bunker makes no apologies for his characters except to suggest that they live within their horizons and do what they know how to do in order to make money and survive, just like the rest of us. I've tried to get across that the novel is tremendously entertaining, and doesn't read like the work of a bitter person. And yet implicit in everything Bunker ever wrote are uncomfortable ques...no, I won't finish the sentence that way because "raises uncomfortable questions" has become such a reviewer's cliche, and how uncomfortable do any of us really get when reading a fucking book...but let's say Bunker's work ends up causing you to wonder with renewed unease about a society that's supposed to be classless (even if we all know that's far from the case), and ostensibly believes in looking at the way social and economic circumstance shapes individual lives, but makes rehabilitation almost impossible, and maintains one of the highest incarceration rates of any country in the world.
That said, it's funny the way....
August 19, 2017
una crime story violenta e disperata, dove non c'è speranza o redenzione, che tiene il lettore incollato alla pagina senza fa cadere mai la tensione. e -tra le righe- una forte critica al sistema carcerario, che sembra fatto apposta per creare mostri, da far leggere ai tanti giustizialisti da bar. bunker è uno che sa di cosa parla per aver vissuto molte esperienze sulla sua pelle, ma è anche uno che sa come renderle sulla pagina. e alla fine del libro resta un'amarezza difficile da togliere...
August 13, 2014
Another powerful and persuasive semi-autobiographical novel of Bunker. The one to read, however, remains, No Beast So Fierce. After all the pretentiousness of American action/crime/thriller popular culture, Bunker is searingly authentic. Highly recommended.
February 3, 2018
Cane mangia cane è l'esempio lampante di come le aspettative possano rovinare parte dell'esperienza di lettura. Mi sarei aspettato (e avrei desiderato) una scrittura grezza, dallo stile asciutto fatto di descrizioni brevi e semplici, con i dialoghi e l'azione a farla da padrone. Invece ci si trova davanti a tutt'altro: scrittura molto elegante, descrizioni dettagliate e un focus importante sull'introspezione dei protagonisti.
Una volta preso atto dello stile di Bunker, il libro diventa interessante, forte di una trama sui generis. A questo proposito l'unico difetto oggettivo che mi sento di addossare al libro è un'eccessiva lentezza nelle prime 100 pagine, con la storia che fatica a carburare. Dopo, però, il libro sale di colpi, mostrando anche alcuni momenti di suspense molto forti.
Sicuramente leggerò altro di questo autore.
P.S. una spiegazione per il voto: una stella in meno per la mia (soggettiva) delusione determinata dallo stile di scrittura di Bunker; un'altra stella in meno per la lentezza delle prime 100 pagine.
Una volta preso atto dello stile di Bunker, il libro diventa interessante, forte di una trama sui generis. A questo proposito l'unico difetto oggettivo che mi sento di addossare al libro è un'eccessiva lentezza nelle prime 100 pagine, con la storia che fatica a carburare. Dopo, però, il libro sale di colpi, mostrando anche alcuni momenti di suspense molto forti.
Sicuramente leggerò altro di questo autore.
P.S. una spiegazione per il voto: una stella in meno per la mia (soggettiva) delusione determinata dallo stile di scrittura di Bunker; un'altra stella in meno per la lentezza delle prime 100 pagine.
January 9, 2023
You may know the author, Edward Bunker, from his role as Mr. Blue in “Reservoir Dogs” – he was an early casualty of the failed jewelry store robbery so if you blinked, you missed him – but his cinematic story started before that. He was a career criminal from a troubled background who spent much of his youth and early adult years behind bars in California prisons, including San Quentin, and ended up trapped because even when he wanted to go straight, no one would give him a job. This was the theme of probably his best novel, “No Beast So Fierce”, the rights of which were bought by Dustin Hoffman and made into the film “Straight Time” – a critical success but not much at the box office. However, he was then able to make it as an author, screenwriter, consultant and actor in small parts.
This is not his best book because although his strength in knowing the life as a small-time criminal shines, his awkwardness in sustained narratives, particularly pacing, shows. There are strong parts and weak parts in this book and it didn’t flow for me. The idea is nothing new, three long-time criminals are free and ready to give up their lives of crime forever – after one last big score. Thea character development is good and obviously he has no problem with the mind-set but a lot of this reads like a college or army reunion; they meet former fellow convicts and catch up on what others are doing. (“Do you remember…?”, “He passed away, cancer”, “What about…?”, “He’s doing okay, has a bar in…”, “Hey, remember the time when….?”) Interesting but there’s so much of this that it feels like filler. The action is a long time coming and the ending, and is well-developed, especially for each member of the group, but you have to wait. (Of course, there’s also a lot of famous name-dropping, just like Bunker did in real life; they mention Danny Trejo, for example, an ex-con who’s typecast as the typical Mexican thug in films and now has a Mexican cookbook; Google it and you’ll recognize him immediately!)
I enjoyed the book; I particularly enjoyed the authenticity and atmosphere of ex-cons meeting and trying to make it in the world outside, but it’s not a must-read. I’ll be going through his other books though because this one gave me reason to believe that there’s definitely something there.
This is not his best book because although his strength in knowing the life as a small-time criminal shines, his awkwardness in sustained narratives, particularly pacing, shows. There are strong parts and weak parts in this book and it didn’t flow for me. The idea is nothing new, three long-time criminals are free and ready to give up their lives of crime forever – after one last big score. Thea character development is good and obviously he has no problem with the mind-set but a lot of this reads like a college or army reunion; they meet former fellow convicts and catch up on what others are doing. (“Do you remember…?”, “He passed away, cancer”, “What about…?”, “He’s doing okay, has a bar in…”, “Hey, remember the time when….?”) Interesting but there’s so much of this that it feels like filler. The action is a long time coming and the ending, and is well-developed, especially for each member of the group, but you have to wait. (Of course, there’s also a lot of famous name-dropping, just like Bunker did in real life; they mention Danny Trejo, for example, an ex-con who’s typecast as the typical Mexican thug in films and now has a Mexican cookbook; Google it and you’ll recognize him immediately!)
I enjoyed the book; I particularly enjoyed the authenticity and atmosphere of ex-cons meeting and trying to make it in the world outside, but it’s not a must-read. I’ll be going through his other books though because this one gave me reason to believe that there’s definitely something there.
March 19, 2012
Dog Eat Dog by Edward Bunker
This is a great piece of Modern noir fiction
that is based in the reality of Ed Bunkers life
this book follows some hardened criminals as
they raise from long terms in prison and in the
lead hood Troy, we follow him as he leaves
prison with the certain intention of carrying on
where he left off no matter how much the world
has changed since he's been away.
It makes a big play of how the world can change
beyond belief if you spend say 10 to 20 years
behind bars. and Troy and his compadres Diesel
and Mad Dog are hell bent on living the bad life
to the full and have decided it is safest to on
rob those folks unable to reprt the crimes, so
they rip off drug dealers and fellow crimianls
and of course things go not quite according to
plan.
They sopend a good amount of time driving around
California and LA and gasping at how much the
place has changed since they were last free to
roam among the normal working stiffs.
While this book is very violent and dark it is
also very funny in places as we see just how
inept the always dim Mad Dog can be and while Ed
Bunker actually manages to get his caracters to
go to see Pulp Fiction at the cinema which of
course has a cameo from Ed Bunker in it which
was a nice touch.
The books messy Denoument seemed inevitable for
much of the story but I would never have guessed
how it all comes down or what proves to be the
undoing of the three old school pro criminals
the book centres around. Like the other Ed
Bunker novels I've read it was hard to put this
book down and stop reading it.
This is a great piece of Modern noir fiction
that is based in the reality of Ed Bunkers life
this book follows some hardened criminals as
they raise from long terms in prison and in the
lead hood Troy, we follow him as he leaves
prison with the certain intention of carrying on
where he left off no matter how much the world
has changed since he's been away.
It makes a big play of how the world can change
beyond belief if you spend say 10 to 20 years
behind bars. and Troy and his compadres Diesel
and Mad Dog are hell bent on living the bad life
to the full and have decided it is safest to on
rob those folks unable to reprt the crimes, so
they rip off drug dealers and fellow crimianls
and of course things go not quite according to
plan.
They sopend a good amount of time driving around
California and LA and gasping at how much the
place has changed since they were last free to
roam among the normal working stiffs.
While this book is very violent and dark it is
also very funny in places as we see just how
inept the always dim Mad Dog can be and while Ed
Bunker actually manages to get his caracters to
go to see Pulp Fiction at the cinema which of
course has a cameo from Ed Bunker in it which
was a nice touch.
The books messy Denoument seemed inevitable for
much of the story but I would never have guessed
how it all comes down or what proves to be the
undoing of the three old school pro criminals
the book centres around. Like the other Ed
Bunker novels I've read it was hard to put this
book down and stop reading it.
March 29, 2017
Es un muy buen libro. Un muy buen libro asquerosamente misógino.
La trama es brutal, los personajes (masculinos) una maravilla y la voz narrativa de Bunker es potente.
Me encantaría ponerle mas nota, pero me ha costado disfrutar de la historia cuando el único papel de las mujeres es ser tratadas como objetos sexuales a los que poder violar si a los protagonistas les viene en gana, o como "histéricas" estúpidas que solo son capaces de gritar y lloriquear. Mujeres a las que solo se las describe por su nombre y la forma de su culo. No he podido empatizar con los protagonistas si estos desprecian o ignoran continuamente a la mitad de la población.
Entiendo, y comparto, la crítica a el sistema penitenciario que hace Bunker y a la "construcción" del delincuente por parte de la misma sociedad que luego lo recluye y desprecia. Pero no he podido dejar de pensar que en ningún momento nombra cárceles de mujeres, o reformatorios femeninos, o mujeres que sufran, que sean PERSONAS.
La trama es brutal, los personajes (masculinos) una maravilla y la voz narrativa de Bunker es potente.
Me encantaría ponerle mas nota, pero me ha costado disfrutar de la historia cuando el único papel de las mujeres es ser tratadas como objetos sexuales a los que poder violar si a los protagonistas les viene en gana, o como "histéricas" estúpidas que solo son capaces de gritar y lloriquear. Mujeres a las que solo se las describe por su nombre y la forma de su culo. No he podido empatizar con los protagonistas si estos desprecian o ignoran continuamente a la mitad de la población.
Entiendo, y comparto, la crítica a el sistema penitenciario que hace Bunker y a la "construcción" del delincuente por parte de la misma sociedad que luego lo recluye y desprecia. Pero no he podido dejar de pensar que en ningún momento nombra cárceles de mujeres, o reformatorios femeninos, o mujeres que sufran, que sean PERSONAS.
January 16, 2018
Forse il primo vero noir che leggo, finora ho visto solo film del genere, ed è stato davvero interessante. Romanzo molto lucido che si limita a descrivere le avventure dei tre criminali Troy, Diesel e Mad Dog, senza aggiungere esagerazioni, senza colpi di scena assurdi e inverosimili. La storia di tre uomini che sin da giovanissimi cominciano ad entrare e uscire di prigione, un'analisi del sistema carcerario americano, la dimostrazione dell'impossibilità di rientrare nel giro della vita normale una volta usciti di prigione.
Romanzo meritevole, con un titolo molto adatto che trovo splendido: la negazione della locuzione latina Canis canem non est (il nostro Cane non mangia cane), che riesce a riassumere l'intera vicenda con sole tre parole.
Leggerò sicuramente altro di Bunker.
Romanzo meritevole, con un titolo molto adatto che trovo splendido: la negazione della locuzione latina Canis canem non est (il nostro Cane non mangia cane), che riesce a riassumere l'intera vicenda con sole tre parole.
Leggerò sicuramente altro di Bunker.
June 4, 2021
Me estreno con Edward Bunker (el criminal que se hizo escritor) y lo hago con Perro come perro, publicado por Sajalín en su gustosísima colección Al Margen.
¿Es esta una novela autobiográfica?
No, no es una novela autobiográfica. "Perro come perro" se publicó en 1995 y es de las novelas en las que Bunker decidió dejar de lado sus propias peripecias y empezó a contar historias que conocía por medio de otros. Este es un relato de acción que protagonizaron otros y al que Bunker dio forma.
Los protagonistas de esta historia son Troy, Mad Dog y Diesel; tres viejos colegas y socios, que se proponen darle el palo a unos traficantes, forrarse y vivir la vida. Cada uno de ellos tiene sus propias circunstancias personales (que si uno está casao, que si el otro está enganchao) y mentales (Mad Dog es un puto venao, Troy es muy listo); y tendrán que organizarse lo suficientemente bien como para ejecutar el plan a la perfección.
Novela muy recomendable para aquellos a quienes les molen las historias de criminales, especialmente las que van sobre atracos. También para los lectores de literatura realista con ambientes sucios y peña chunga. Si te lo pasas pipa leyendo este tipo de aventuras delictivas: te molará.
«Es increíble cómo construyen las cárceles. Después, las llenan a reventar de pobres infelices por casos de drogas insignificantes para luego convertirlos en maníacos allá dentro y soltarlos entre la gente normal. Es como si cultivaran chiflados en invernaderos».
Reseña completa (y mazo más info) en https://denmeunpapelillo.net/perro-co...
¿Es esta una novela autobiográfica?
No, no es una novela autobiográfica. "Perro come perro" se publicó en 1995 y es de las novelas en las que Bunker decidió dejar de lado sus propias peripecias y empezó a contar historias que conocía por medio de otros. Este es un relato de acción que protagonizaron otros y al que Bunker dio forma.
Los protagonistas de esta historia son Troy, Mad Dog y Diesel; tres viejos colegas y socios, que se proponen darle el palo a unos traficantes, forrarse y vivir la vida. Cada uno de ellos tiene sus propias circunstancias personales (que si uno está casao, que si el otro está enganchao) y mentales (Mad Dog es un puto venao, Troy es muy listo); y tendrán que organizarse lo suficientemente bien como para ejecutar el plan a la perfección.
Novela muy recomendable para aquellos a quienes les molen las historias de criminales, especialmente las que van sobre atracos. También para los lectores de literatura realista con ambientes sucios y peña chunga. Si te lo pasas pipa leyendo este tipo de aventuras delictivas: te molará.
«Es increíble cómo construyen las cárceles. Después, las llenan a reventar de pobres infelices por casos de drogas insignificantes para luego convertirlos en maníacos allá dentro y soltarlos entre la gente normal. Es como si cultivaran chiflados en invernaderos».
Reseña completa (y mazo más info) en https://denmeunpapelillo.net/perro-co...
June 18, 2016
Un libro muy duro en el que terminas apreciando a "los malos". Alguno de los hechos que narra los había leído ya en "En el patio" de Malcolm Braly, tal vez porque ambos autores conocían de primera mano las prisiones de Folsom y San Quintín. Pero, mientras que en el de Braly nos cuenta principalmente la vida dentro de esas cárceles, en la de Bunker nos cuenta la vida fuera de ellas. Y realmente no sabes cuál es más dura. Habla de los bajos fondos y de las cárceles de la frontera mejicana con muchos detalles, tantos que casi sientes la opresión que sienten los protagonistas y la desesperanza que les rodea cuando están fuera de las paredes de esas prisiones. En ocasiones la narración es lenta, pero el final termina siendo brutal. Los personajes están muy bien construidos, seguramente porque el autor tenía modelos en los que basarse, incluso en sí mismo. Curioso también el tema del honor y los escrúpulos, muy particulares eso sí, en la forma de actuar de cada personaje. La novela no tiene desperdicio en su conjunto.
En cuanto a curiosidades, me sorprendió descubrir que su autor era Mr. Blue en "Reservoir Dogs" y que había sido guionista de algunas películas.
En cuanto a curiosidades, me sorprendió descubrir que su autor era Mr. Blue en "Reservoir Dogs" y que había sido guionista de algunas películas.
December 14, 2016
Edward Bunker lived a life of crime from a young age through middle age. I reviewed his memoir, Education of a Felon, awhile back. He knows whereof he speaks in this novel of a trio of ex-cons back on the street getting back into the life. Most of the crime fiction I've read (admittedly a fairly small sampling) deals more with those trying to stop or solve the crimes. This book simply follows the criminals on a series of (let's call them) "capers." There's very little grey area here; this is a very dark, authentic look at those on the underside of society. Well-written (although the author's voice and opinions occasionally come through in the voice of his characters), grim, and violent, Bunker's novel never let me down. I particularly liked the ending **Spoiler Alert** where the surviving members of the trio are taken down through mistaken identity on a matter totally unrelated to their previous (rather serious) crimes. I know several of Bunker's books have been the basis of films; this would make a good one.
August 16, 2014
If you like crime fiction dark and realistic then look no further than Dog eat Dog by Edward Bunker. In the opening scene one of the novels anti-heroes (for there are no clear protagonists or antagonists - every character is as flawed as the next and out to get each other) Mad Dog main lines a heroic does of cocaine, freaks out, tries to steal his girlfriends credit card, she refuses, he steals her downers, takes them, and proceeds to slaughter both her and her young daughter. Puts them in the deep freeze, takes the credit card and hits the road.
What happens on the road? Read the book and find out.
A cozy mystery this is not and Bunker, who spent must of his adult life in prison or committing the crimes that put him there knows the streets and the criminals he writes about as well as any other crime author alive or dead. A must read for lovers of dark crime fiction.
What happens on the road? Read the book and find out.
A cozy mystery this is not and Bunker, who spent must of his adult life in prison or committing the crimes that put him there knows the streets and the criminals he writes about as well as any other crime author alive or dead. A must read for lovers of dark crime fiction.
February 16, 2011
Not Bunker's best. Seemed to lack the streamlined precision of his other works, so maybe it could've been better served by a strong editorial hand...or something. The action kinda meandered too much and was punctuated with bits of dialogue that came across as attempts for the author to voice his own opinions on current events via the mouths o' his characters. That being said, I got this from the library, and was thrilled to find a particular section--where the main character states his badass criminal's credo--circled with a bright pink highlighter. The word "wow!' was scrawled at the top of the page, also in pink. Imagine Eddie would've gotten a kick out of that.
December 2, 2024
Easy to read crime novel. Nothing super profound, a few spots that took me by surprise, overall a pretty alright book.
March 5, 2018
Tarinan päähenkilö on Troy Augustus Cameron, joka istuu vankilatuomionsa viimeisiä päiviä San Quentinissa Kaliforniassa. Tapahtumat sijoittuvat kirjan julkaisuaikaan (1996) Yhdysvaltojen länsirannikolle.
Perusasetelmaltaan Verikoirat (Dog eat Dog)on samantapainen kuin Julmin peto (No Fiercer beast). Siinäkin on roistokolmikko, jonka päähenkilön kautta tarkastellaan tapahtumia. Sen lisäksi joukkoon kuuluvat kaksi apuria. Ne ovat tässä romaanissa Diesel ja Maddog. Molemmat ovat Troyn ystäviä jo koulukotiajoilta ja myöhemmiltä vankilavuosilta.
Romaanin edetessä lukijaa viritetään oivallisesti tulevien rikosten tunnelmaan syventämällä apurien ja Troyn henkilökuvia. Dieselistä paljastetaan hänen nykyinen, ”herkempi” puolensa ja nyrkkeilijämenneisyys unohtamatta siihen liittyvää nyrkkisankarin ja kovanaaman roolia. Toinen apureista paljastuu patologiseksi tappajaksi, mielipuoleksi ja narkomaaniksi, mutta tarinan edetessä myös yhteiskunta saa osasyynsä hänen turmelemisestaan. Paikoin viipyilevissä takaumissa syvennetään rikollisen mielen kehittymistä kaikessa vastenmielisyydessään. Väkivalta on osin raakaa ja kuvottavaakin. Siinä ohessa kritisoidaan yhdysvaltalaista ”vankiloiden kalvinismia”.
Tarina etenee paikoin ”tunnelmoiden”, ja tähän liittyy erilaisten miljöiden tarkkanäköinen kuvaus: milloin ajellaan Los Angelesista Meksikon puolelle Tijuanan La Mesaan, milloin viihdytään ravintoloissa ja toplesssbaareissa tappamassa aikaa ja suunnittelemassa tulevia keikkoja.
Kirjasta välittyvä rikollisten maailmankuva on lohduton. He ovat yhteiskunnan ulkopuolella ja sen vihollisia ja ovat hyväksyneet osansa, joskin Diesel yrittää sopeutua siihen (mafiogangstatyyliin).
Lisäksi Troy halveksii amerikkalaista itsekeskeistä, omaneduntavoittelun maksimoivaa elämäntapaa ja kaksinaismoralismia, joka on sallittu kollektiivisesti, muttei yksilötasolla(!?) Näistä valinnoista johtuen ja ns. kolmen kerran säännön mukaan (kolmannesta tuomiosta elinkautinen) saa rikolliset toimimaan aggressiivisesti ja epätoivoisesti, mistä on vääjäämättömät seuraukset, jotka johtavat odotettavissa olevaan väkivaltaiseen loppuratkaisuun.
Perusasetelmaltaan Verikoirat (Dog eat Dog)on samantapainen kuin Julmin peto (No Fiercer beast). Siinäkin on roistokolmikko, jonka päähenkilön kautta tarkastellaan tapahtumia. Sen lisäksi joukkoon kuuluvat kaksi apuria. Ne ovat tässä romaanissa Diesel ja Maddog. Molemmat ovat Troyn ystäviä jo koulukotiajoilta ja myöhemmiltä vankilavuosilta.
Romaanin edetessä lukijaa viritetään oivallisesti tulevien rikosten tunnelmaan syventämällä apurien ja Troyn henkilökuvia. Dieselistä paljastetaan hänen nykyinen, ”herkempi” puolensa ja nyrkkeilijämenneisyys unohtamatta siihen liittyvää nyrkkisankarin ja kovanaaman roolia. Toinen apureista paljastuu patologiseksi tappajaksi, mielipuoleksi ja narkomaaniksi, mutta tarinan edetessä myös yhteiskunta saa osasyynsä hänen turmelemisestaan. Paikoin viipyilevissä takaumissa syvennetään rikollisen mielen kehittymistä kaikessa vastenmielisyydessään. Väkivalta on osin raakaa ja kuvottavaakin. Siinä ohessa kritisoidaan yhdysvaltalaista ”vankiloiden kalvinismia”.
Tarina etenee paikoin ”tunnelmoiden”, ja tähän liittyy erilaisten miljöiden tarkkanäköinen kuvaus: milloin ajellaan Los Angelesista Meksikon puolelle Tijuanan La Mesaan, milloin viihdytään ravintoloissa ja toplesssbaareissa tappamassa aikaa ja suunnittelemassa tulevia keikkoja.
Kirjasta välittyvä rikollisten maailmankuva on lohduton. He ovat yhteiskunnan ulkopuolella ja sen vihollisia ja ovat hyväksyneet osansa, joskin Diesel yrittää sopeutua siihen (mafiogangstatyyliin).
Lisäksi Troy halveksii amerikkalaista itsekeskeistä, omaneduntavoittelun maksimoivaa elämäntapaa ja kaksinaismoralismia, joka on sallittu kollektiivisesti, muttei yksilötasolla(!?) Näistä valinnoista johtuen ja ns. kolmen kerran säännön mukaan (kolmannesta tuomiosta elinkautinen) saa rikolliset toimimaan aggressiivisesti ja epätoivoisesti, mistä on vääjäämättömät seuraukset, jotka johtavat odotettavissa olevaan väkivaltaiseen loppuratkaisuun.
April 18, 2016
A visceral- hard hitting crime fiction novel; from a man who practically grew up in the California penal system (Mr. Bunker was a thief and drug dealer, who spent more than 20 years behind bars before being released for the last time in 1975) In this book, Mr. Bunker has no time for florid/pretty prose. He gets to the meat and potatoes from the get-go (No pussyfooting, just the way me likes)
The main protagonists are: Troy Cameron and his two amigos; Diesel Carson and Gerald ‘Mad Dog’ McCain, whom after being release from the poky; are on a freight train to mayhem. Their plan is to only hit other criminals such as pimps, and drug dealers, because what are they gonna do? Call the cops?
Their first hit goes somewhat smoothly, the second one, however becomes complicated because their assignment is to kidnap a child from a former associate of a powerful Mexican kingpin. Amid all of this there’s an elephant farting in the room, because one of the protagonist is nothing more than a drug-addled, blood thirsty, cold blooded killer, who has innocent blood on his hands—a passage in the book which I found upsetting—but that’s what great art does; it’s supposed to move you one way or another, but move you nonetheless.
Five out of Five Stars for this dark, violent and unsettling novel.
Edward Bunker, writer and actor, born December 31 1933; died July 19 2005 RIP.
The main protagonists are: Troy Cameron and his two amigos; Diesel Carson and Gerald ‘Mad Dog’ McCain, whom after being release from the poky; are on a freight train to mayhem. Their plan is to only hit other criminals such as pimps, and drug dealers, because what are they gonna do? Call the cops?
Their first hit goes somewhat smoothly, the second one, however becomes complicated because their assignment is to kidnap a child from a former associate of a powerful Mexican kingpin. Amid all of this there’s an elephant farting in the room, because one of the protagonist is nothing more than a drug-addled, blood thirsty, cold blooded killer, who has innocent blood on his hands—a passage in the book which I found upsetting—but that’s what great art does; it’s supposed to move you one way or another, but move you nonetheless.
Five out of Five Stars for this dark, violent and unsettling novel.
Edward Bunker, writer and actor, born December 31 1933; died July 19 2005 RIP.
May 11, 2016
My first Eddie Bunker, though I’ve heard about him for the last 20+ years, since seeing him as Mr. Blue in "Reservoir Dogs". Actually before then, back in the late 1970s, I saw “Straight Time” (based on his first book: “No Beast So Fierce”) -- I was told by a few ex-cons I knew in the Tenderloin SF CA back then (more like transitional cons, during one of their brief periods between confinements) that “Straight Time” was the best representation of the post-incarceration odyssey (I have also seen “Animal Factory”, based on another one of his books, but I can’t remember any of it). I enjoyed this book – the pace and the style of storytelling -- and I am looking forward to the upcoming movie.
October 11, 2011
Lo que más me gusta de Bunker es esa mezcla de precisión en los pequeños datos (armas, automóviles, lugares...) junto a una acción trepidante y concreta. Una mezcla entre la famosa persecución de Bullit y algunos diálogos aparentemente intrascendentes de The Wire
June 23, 2015
This is an entertaining, realistic, crime read for those evenings when you wanna have a little action and no fiddling about. It didn't fly me over the moon though, no big discoveries made here. A good book if you like crime novels.
December 9, 2019
Fantastico libro di Bunker. Una volta iniziato è difficile da mettere giù, poiché incredibilmente coinvolgente. Non per tutti però, in quanto molto crudo...cosa che personalmente ho apprezzato tantissimo.
December 14, 2022
Mai letto un libro del genere, che ti fa entrare nella mente e nel mondo dei criminali, che lo sono per scelta o per necessità, e mostra il loro punto di vista sulla società. Un libro che ti lascia tanto amaro in bocca e in cui non sai più decidere chi è il cattivo.
April 25, 2021
Cuarta novela de Edward Bunker, ex convicto que llegó a estar entre los delincuentes más buscados por el FBI y se reformó en prisión gracias a la literatura. Bunker sabe de lo que escribe en sus novelas, todas de temática criminal. En este caso tenemos a Troy Cameron, que está a punto de salir de prisión, y a dos socios, que se disponen a dar un nuevo golpe. Todo es de verdad en esta novela, donde no sólo la trama es buena, sino también las sensaciones que tiene un tipo que ha pasado doce años encerrado y ve cómo ha cambiado su ciudad en este tiempo. Está a la altura de su obra maestra, No hay bestia tan feroz. Y la edición de Sajalín es una maravilla.
December 10, 2024
4.75⭐ This novel touches on a lot of issues. The justice system, race relations, friendship, madness, the decline of L.A., religion, etc... but the brunt of it is the chaotic journey of three men who would rather die than go back to prison. Although it becomes a bit preachy at times, it is an extremely thrilling story.
June 14, 2022
3,5.
Llàstima la traducció, una mica fluixa i plena de catalanades.
Llàstima la traducció, una mica fluixa i plena de catalanades.
Want to read
December 30, 2013Dog Eat Dog is the tale of three unremorseful criminals with two felony convictions apiece and no more chances. Under California's `Three Strikes' law, one more conviction - even for shoplifting - carries a mandatory life sentence with no prospect of remission. But a law intended to deter career criminals has the opposite effect on these three. Combined they have spent a lifetime behind bars and have no idea, or intention, of leading a straight life under rules set by a system they have never belonged to. Troy, the gang's leader and the brains of the operation, is an unrepentant thief who is `irrevocably committed to being the criminal outsider. He had nothing vested in society. It had turned him out and expected him to be satisfied as a menial worker as the price for staying out of prison. Real freedom has choices attached; without money there is none'. And with that in mind, Troy and his partners, Diesel Carson and the truly rabid Mad Dog McCain, set about planning a last big heist which will set them up for life. But even a perfectly planned and flawlessly executed robbery is not enough to prevent a denouement which has a grim inevitability about it.
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