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The Rookies
A young cohort of rebels come together to revamp a police force on the brink of destruction.
196 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1972
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February 7, 2013
I don't know why I enjoy reading novelizations; most of them don't do justice to the movie/TV show they are based on, and the ones that do live up to their respective movie/TV show still lack something that I can't put into words. THE ROOKIES falls in that gray area were it both sucked while being enjoyable but was also plagued with horrible writing (and I mean to say it took itself too be literary at times) and two-dimensional characters.
But it is a police drama, and I am a sucker for police dramas. As the son of a retired US Marshal, I have always had a penchant for these type of stories. THE ROOKIES is a bit different, though. Written in 1972, during a time when citizens and police shared a tenuous relationship, and during a time when America was transitioning out of Vietnam, this book strives to have multiple story lines critiquing the state of America. Let's be honest for a moment. The author of this book (and the creator of this series) is nowhere near equipped enough to handle the subject matter. But that is okay. Allow me to tell you why. You see, this book is not trying to understand this time period. Nope. Not in any stretch of the imagination. What this book (and series) tried to do was depict a version of America that could be.
THE ROOKIES is really an experiment. The basis of the story is that a police commissioner is so fed up with the way the "old guard" polices that he is determined to recruit men who will enact change, become difference makers. His first batch of recruits include a hippy, a wildly overenthusiastic student activist, a Peace Corp volunteer, a college dropout, and an ex-soldier. Together, the commissioner believes, these men will bring a much needed perspective to policing. Again, it is 1972. America is kind of a shit factory during this time. (I can't say that I know this from experience as I was still seven years away from being conceived.) In a way, this is an idealist's love letter to America.
But, as mentioned above, this novelization doesn't have the depth (or space) to explore each of these men in enough detail, not to mention the girlfriends and wives of these men. So what we have is really a play in three acts. The first third of the novelization is all about how each man came about deciding how and why they wanted to be become a cop. Fairly interesting stuff, if not rushed. The second third of the novel focuses on the men as they train in the academy. Again, this was fairly interesting. Some of the stories told about male friendships and the bonds that are created between men in this part were well depicted, if not a bit too touchy-feely for my liking. But the final third of the novel is where the novelization went into the tank.
The final third of the novelization can best be summarized as looking at a painting that was created by Dali, Picasso, and Pollock. Most of it was strange; parts of it were just beads of paint thrown on the canvas. (I mean no disrespect for any of the painters mentioned as I believe they all overflowed with genius.) Allow me to elucidate my point. There are story lines dealing with illegal immigration, drug trafficking, blackmail, the loss of a child, unrequited love, kidnapping, Vietnam vets with no legs, ESP (yes, I'm serious), women's lib., father-son relationships, mother-son relationships, and pornography. Did you get all that? Mind you this all takes place within about 50 pages. Reading this third of the novelization was like watching two coked out ferrets chase each other.
But.........I dug this story. In a way it was brave. To be conceived in a world that maintained violence was the answer, that power was the only way to ensure success, that gender determined what could and could not be done, and then to buck the system and create a police unit that stressed nonviolence, charity, and understanding, was no small undertaking. Sure it was cutesy. Even a bit schmaltzy at times. But a great message was there.
But be warned: ethnic slurs abound in this book.
So, would I say read it? Short answer: yes. Long answer: yes, but good luck finding this book. It has long been out of print, and the only way I even came across this book was the gracious nature of the library ladies that give me random books every month.
RECOMMENDED (if you like what you read above)
But it is a police drama, and I am a sucker for police dramas. As the son of a retired US Marshal, I have always had a penchant for these type of stories. THE ROOKIES is a bit different, though. Written in 1972, during a time when citizens and police shared a tenuous relationship, and during a time when America was transitioning out of Vietnam, this book strives to have multiple story lines critiquing the state of America. Let's be honest for a moment. The author of this book (and the creator of this series) is nowhere near equipped enough to handle the subject matter. But that is okay. Allow me to tell you why. You see, this book is not trying to understand this time period. Nope. Not in any stretch of the imagination. What this book (and series) tried to do was depict a version of America that could be.
THE ROOKIES is really an experiment. The basis of the story is that a police commissioner is so fed up with the way the "old guard" polices that he is determined to recruit men who will enact change, become difference makers. His first batch of recruits include a hippy, a wildly overenthusiastic student activist, a Peace Corp volunteer, a college dropout, and an ex-soldier. Together, the commissioner believes, these men will bring a much needed perspective to policing. Again, it is 1972. America is kind of a shit factory during this time. (I can't say that I know this from experience as I was still seven years away from being conceived.) In a way, this is an idealist's love letter to America.
But, as mentioned above, this novelization doesn't have the depth (or space) to explore each of these men in enough detail, not to mention the girlfriends and wives of these men. So what we have is really a play in three acts. The first third of the novelization is all about how each man came about deciding how and why they wanted to be become a cop. Fairly interesting stuff, if not rushed. The second third of the novel focuses on the men as they train in the academy. Again, this was fairly interesting. Some of the stories told about male friendships and the bonds that are created between men in this part were well depicted, if not a bit too touchy-feely for my liking. But the final third of the novel is where the novelization went into the tank.
The final third of the novelization can best be summarized as looking at a painting that was created by Dali, Picasso, and Pollock. Most of it was strange; parts of it were just beads of paint thrown on the canvas. (I mean no disrespect for any of the painters mentioned as I believe they all overflowed with genius.) Allow me to elucidate my point. There are story lines dealing with illegal immigration, drug trafficking, blackmail, the loss of a child, unrequited love, kidnapping, Vietnam vets with no legs, ESP (yes, I'm serious), women's lib., father-son relationships, mother-son relationships, and pornography. Did you get all that? Mind you this all takes place within about 50 pages. Reading this third of the novelization was like watching two coked out ferrets chase each other.
But.........I dug this story. In a way it was brave. To be conceived in a world that maintained violence was the answer, that power was the only way to ensure success, that gender determined what could and could not be done, and then to buck the system and create a police unit that stressed nonviolence, charity, and understanding, was no small undertaking. Sure it was cutesy. Even a bit schmaltzy at times. But a great message was there.
But be warned: ethnic slurs abound in this book.
So, would I say read it? Short answer: yes. Long answer: yes, but good luck finding this book. It has long been out of print, and the only way I even came across this book was the gracious nature of the library ladies that give me random books every month.
RECOMMENDED (if you like what you read above)
Displaying 1 of 1 review