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Final Spin
THE NATIONAL BESTSELLER
#1 New York Times bestselling author Jocko Willink’s fast-paced thriller Final Spin : a story of love, brotherhood, suffering, happiness, and sacrifice.
A story about life.
Johnny…
Shouldn’t be in a dead-end job.
Shouldn’t be in a dead-end bar.
Shouldn’t be in a dead-end life.
But he is.
It’s a hamster wheel existence. Stocking warehouse store shelves by day, drinking too much whiskey and beer by night. In between, Johnny lives in his childhood home, making sure his alcoholic mother hasn’t drunk herself to death, and looking after his idiosyncratic older brother Arty, whose world revolves around his laundromat job.
Rinse and repeat.
Then Johnny’s monotonous life takes a tumble. The laundromat where Arty works, and the one thing that gives him happiness, is about to be sold. Johnny doesn't want that to happen, so he takes measures into his own hands. Johnny, along with his friend, Goat, come up with a plan to get the money to buy the laundromat.
But things don’t always go as planned…
#1 New York Times bestselling author Jocko Willink’s fast-paced thriller Final Spin : a story of love, brotherhood, suffering, happiness, and sacrifice.
A story about life.
Johnny…
Shouldn’t be in a dead-end job.
Shouldn’t be in a dead-end bar.
Shouldn’t be in a dead-end life.
But he is.
It’s a hamster wheel existence. Stocking warehouse store shelves by day, drinking too much whiskey and beer by night. In between, Johnny lives in his childhood home, making sure his alcoholic mother hasn’t drunk herself to death, and looking after his idiosyncratic older brother Arty, whose world revolves around his laundromat job.
Rinse and repeat.
Then Johnny’s monotonous life takes a tumble. The laundromat where Arty works, and the one thing that gives him happiness, is about to be sold. Johnny doesn't want that to happen, so he takes measures into his own hands. Johnny, along with his friend, Goat, come up with a plan to get the money to buy the laundromat.
But things don’t always go as planned…
224 pages, Hardcover
First published November 9, 2021
86 people are currently reading
4311 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 284 reviews
September 17, 2021
This was a short, quick read - I read it in a day. The writing was simple, clear and concise. Honestly it kind of read like a children's book. It was a good story about a young man, Johnny, in a dead-end job with a brother who had a disability, Arty. Arty was known as the Cleaner and worked at a local laundromat. Cleaning clothes is something that Arty absolutely loves - it's his whole life. When the owner of the laundromat tells Johnny he is going to have to sell the laundromat, Johnny knows he has to do something so that Arty can stay there doing what he loves. That's when the trouble begins.
The simple language was compelling and the story was entertaining. Overall, I enjoyed it.
Thanks to St. Martin's Press through Netgalley for an advance copy. This book will be published on November 9, 2021.
The simple language was compelling and the story was entertaining. Overall, I enjoyed it.
Thanks to St. Martin's Press through Netgalley for an advance copy. This book will be published on November 9, 2021.
October 12, 2021
This book was so utterly terrible. Although it took me an hour of my time to read, I would do anything to have that hour of my time back and forget about this book completely. The main characters are so one dimensional. The same dialogue occurs multiple times.
and why are
random sentences and some dialogue
written
like
this?
and why are some things
repeated
repeated
repeated
Explain this to me, because it added absolutely nothing to the story and irritated the shit out of me.
Maybe in some way this novel was trying to be "artsy" and different but there's got to be some thought behind that. Without added value, that style of writing just irritates the reader.
Oh, yes I was so angry by how terrible this was I forgot to mention anything of the plot, so here goes nothing:
-20s year old man has a mentally challenged brother who likes doing laundry
-laundromat will get sold
-only logical solution is to steal money from grocery store where main character works and buy laundromat for brother and run away to mexico
-somehow gets best friend on board
-even if they both go to jail #yolo
-predictable ending
-also some love interest, Jessica, who is so beautiful and who is so one dimensional and also so beautiful
I wish I could throw this into my fireplace but since it was read on my kindle, the "delete this title" is as much satisfaction as I can get.
Also, I meant to add this to my spooky read-a-thon but nothing about this was spooky or thriller-esque, just terrible.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advance reading copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
and why are
random sentences and some dialogue
written
like
this?
and why are some things
repeated
repeated
repeated
Explain this to me, because it added absolutely nothing to the story and irritated the shit out of me.
Maybe in some way this novel was trying to be "artsy" and different but there's got to be some thought behind that. Without added value, that style of writing just irritates the reader.
Oh, yes I was so angry by how terrible this was I forgot to mention anything of the plot, so here goes nothing:
-20s year old man has a mentally challenged brother who likes doing laundry
-laundromat will get sold
-only logical solution is to steal money from grocery store where main character works and buy laundromat for brother and run away to mexico
-somehow gets best friend on board
-even if they both go to jail #yolo
-predictable ending
-also some love interest, Jessica, who is so beautiful and who is so one dimensional and also so beautiful
I wish I could throw this into my fireplace but since it was read on my kindle, the "delete this title" is as much satisfaction as I can get.
Also, I meant to add this to my spooky read-a-thon but nothing about this was spooky or thriller-esque, just terrible.
Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advance reading copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.
September 20, 2021
Johnny and his buddy Goat hate their lives and decide to rob the store they work at for "the big score". There is a little more motivation than that-- particularly the future of Arty, Johnny's dependent brother. The plot and characters are bare bones and there are very few surprises lying in wait. "Final Spin" is short and easily read in a few hours, especially because you know you are not missing any important plot points. I am reluctant to give this only 2 stars... it is not offensive in any way... but it feels like reading a sketch or outline of a fuller novel in development.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing the Advance Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing the Advance Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.
January 1, 2024
What a different story! I don’t know how to describe this book, but I do know that I liked it. It was a quick and easy read - it’s not quite a novella, but it is short.
Johnny and Arty are brothers living in a small town, with nowhere to go. Johnny is a stock boy for a grocery store and Arty works for the local laundromat. Everyone tells Johnny that he’s too smart and handsome to stay in town, but he doesn’t want to leave his brother.
Arty has special needs, and cleaning is his life … specifically, cleaning clothes. His work at the laundromat is like science to him, and he takes it very seriously. It’s really all he has, but the owners need to sell and they don’t know how to tell him.
Johnny decides he’s going to get the money to buy the laundromat, one way or another. That place is his brother’s life, and he wouldn’t do well without it. If Johnny ends up in jail, he figures at least his brother will be happy, and jail has to be better than the hell that is stacking boxes.
Though the book was short, the characters were decently developed and even brought out a few feels. This is more than a crime/thriller; it’s also about brotherly bonds and the desperation of living in a dead-end town. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised. Four stars for a very interesting story.
(Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Jocko Willink and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.)
Johnny and Arty are brothers living in a small town, with nowhere to go. Johnny is a stock boy for a grocery store and Arty works for the local laundromat. Everyone tells Johnny that he’s too smart and handsome to stay in town, but he doesn’t want to leave his brother.
Arty has special needs, and cleaning is his life … specifically, cleaning clothes. His work at the laundromat is like science to him, and he takes it very seriously. It’s really all he has, but the owners need to sell and they don’t know how to tell him.
Johnny decides he’s going to get the money to buy the laundromat, one way or another. That place is his brother’s life, and he wouldn’t do well without it. If Johnny ends up in jail, he figures at least his brother will be happy, and jail has to be better than the hell that is stacking boxes.
Though the book was short, the characters were decently developed and even brought out a few feels. This is more than a crime/thriller; it’s also about brotherly bonds and the desperation of living in a dead-end town. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised. Four stars for a very interesting story.
(Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Jocko Willink and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.)
November 23, 2021
Horrendous.
So, I think this is a passion project of sorts for Jocko Willink. I recall him talking about the book in aSmeared Snot Cleared Hot podcast episode. It seems like at that time (April 2020) he had been working on it for awhile. And all I can give him is some too late advice:
I guess I should give Jocko some points for creativity and some points for stepping outside his usual style (i.e. books meant to deliver cutting-edge concepts such as taking EXTREME OWNERSHIP that he sells to middle managers) but I imagine he is the type of guy to sneer at that kind of bull, so I will acknowledge that he tried. And failed. This is just such a bad book. Not even the good kind of bad, just plain bad.
For those who were confused at the pattern and rhythm of words Jocko was using, it is a style called free verse. It is exactly what it sounds like. It is poetry that does not rhyme or have a regular meter. It can be used very effectively, when you have someone talented structuring the words and patterns. Examples come to mind like Crank, Long Way Down, and Glimpse. Free verse are typically (but not always) geared toward children and young adults, though adult readers are more than welcome to dive in. (Which makes me wonder, was this book meant for young adults or strictly for adults? IDK.)
But I too was confused on why Jocko would break prose to insert a seemingly random poem and then keep going. I feel like any good book needs to have a certain rhythm, a certain cadence. If you are going to "break it," you gotta do so in a way that makes sense within the overall structure or narration. His insertions felt totally random.
I struggled to get through this relatively short book. The chapters are not that long and the plot moves along at a crisp place, but I struggled to get invested. All the characters (with the exception of Arty, but even then only barely) are one-note. Like I guess there are technically motivations at work, but nothing clicked into place.
Young Jocko Johnny is a handsome man (get used to reading that description) in his early 20s, dark haired and did I mention he is quite handsome who works at a dead-end job (a dead-end job with lousy security, given he can walk off with booze and big bottles of detergent at the end of every shift). He looks mainly after his brother, Arty. Arty is "some level of autism" (Jocko's words not mine) and works at a laundromat. He is really happy with his job and Johnny is more than happy to take advantage of his brother; in exchange for laundry cleaning material (which the laundromat owners should have in abundance, but what do I know) Arty regularly cleans his clothes.
So while Johnny works at a crappy job, it seems that Arty is doing okay for himself.
But oh no! The owners - a Dutch married couple - decide to sell the laundromat in order to move back to their homeland so the owner can help his brother with a failing restaurant. And even though the owners really appreciate Arty, they cannot bear to tell this nice young man that the store is closing and could Johnny do it for them, pretty please?
This then kicks off the "plot" in which Johnny decides to try to rob the warehouse he works and uh, yeah. It goes off as well as one could expect.
Oh, and I think there is one black guy in the entire novel and uh... guess what happens to him? Poor Goat. Wait, is Goat supposed to be the stand in for Echo Charles? Huh...
The ending is rather grim and gross. (Again, poor Goat.) I think Jocko had the most fun writing the ending section because it is so over the top and crazy. But it also feels like it was the most polished too? But the ending made me laugh out loud. Like, Jocko. I don't think the preggers girlfriend and the autistic guy are gunna be happy when the father of her child/brother died in a very violent, bloody way.
In the video I linked above, Jocko reveals the inspiration for Arty - when he was working at Wendy's, one of his co-workers was (in his words) an autistic woman in her mid-50s who looked after the salad bar and worked really hard on her job. He feels like she was exploited for her work and treated unkindly by the other Wendy's workers. I think this is the only autistic person Jocko has ever met in his life. Autism has a wide spectrum, ranging from the fully functional to the very severe (i.e. need serious looking after). I think Arty falls on the side leaning toward the fully functional. I get the sense Jocko was trying to be sensitive in writing this character and not to demean him. But Arty is given zero agency in the book. He is fortunate enough to have people "care" for him and look after him, but he does nothing substantial. By all means, include neurodiverse people in more media, but make them more than a plot device or reason for being.
I honestly wonder what the lesson (or lessons) of this book were. That handsome, young men don't deserve to work in retail? That autistic people have it kind of good, actually? That the Dutch are kind of skittish when it comes to delivering bad news? Is this book about achieving happiness? Is this book about how capitalism slowly crushes and suffocates us all and really if you think about it there should be more structures and safety nets in place to look after everyone so we don't have to resort to violent actions for some basic security? What!?!?
I will give a tepid nod to Jocko for recognizing the soul-crushing feeling of working at a retail job where your manager is actively incompetent and petty. As someone who had to work retail for many years, I can attest to this feeling. Jocko used to work in the fast food industry (namely Wendy's) when he was much younger so he knows very well what it is like to work really, really hard for such a crap pay.
However, he gets many, many things about retail wrong. Two characters mutter in very clunky exposition about how they only get paid $6.75 an hour, whereas the current federal minimum wage is $7.25. Also, stock-boys do more than just stock boxes! Like, I assume Jocko is familiar with the concept of a fork-lift? He knows that trash exists and someone has to sweep it? Little details like this make me irritated and its just like... was there no editor or fact checker in the process to catch this stuff? No one who could look up job descriptions from warehouse and retail stores and make sure they were getting basic information correct? Guess not!
So, I think this is a passion project of sorts for Jocko Willink. I recall him talking about the book in a
I guess I should give Jocko some points for creativity and some points for stepping outside his usual style (i.e. books meant to deliver cutting-edge concepts such as taking EXTREME OWNERSHIP that he sells to middle managers) but I imagine he is the type of guy to sneer at that kind of bull, so I will acknowledge that he tried. And failed. This is just such a bad book. Not even the good kind of bad, just plain bad.
For those who were confused at the pattern and rhythm of words Jocko was using, it is a style called free verse. It is exactly what it sounds like. It is poetry that does not rhyme or have a regular meter. It can be used very effectively, when you have someone talented structuring the words and patterns. Examples come to mind like Crank, Long Way Down, and Glimpse. Free verse are typically (but not always) geared toward children and young adults, though adult readers are more than welcome to dive in. (Which makes me wonder, was this book meant for young adults or strictly for adults? IDK.)
But I too was confused on why Jocko would break prose to insert a seemingly random poem and then keep going. I feel like any good book needs to have a certain rhythm, a certain cadence. If you are going to "break it," you gotta do so in a way that makes sense within the overall structure or narration. His insertions felt totally random.
I struggled to get through this relatively short book. The chapters are not that long and the plot moves along at a crisp place, but I struggled to get invested. All the characters (with the exception of Arty, but even then only barely) are one-note. Like I guess there are technically motivations at work, but nothing clicked into place.
So while Johnny works at a crappy job, it seems that Arty is doing okay for himself.
But oh no! The owners - a Dutch married couple - decide to sell the laundromat in order to move back to their homeland so the owner can help his brother with a failing restaurant. And even though the owners really appreciate Arty, they cannot bear to tell this nice young man that the store is closing and could Johnny do it for them, pretty please?
This then kicks off the "plot" in which Johnny decides to try to rob the warehouse he works and uh, yeah. It goes off as well as one could expect.
Oh, and I think there is one black guy in the entire novel and uh... guess what happens to him? Poor Goat. Wait, is Goat supposed to be the stand in for Echo Charles? Huh...
The ending is rather grim and gross. (Again, poor Goat.) I think Jocko had the most fun writing the ending section because it is so over the top and crazy. But it also feels like it was the most polished too? But the ending made me laugh out loud. Like, Jocko. I don't think the preggers girlfriend and the autistic guy are gunna be happy when the father of her child/brother died in a very violent, bloody way.
In the video I linked above, Jocko reveals the inspiration for Arty - when he was working at Wendy's, one of his co-workers was (in his words) an autistic woman in her mid-50s who looked after the salad bar and worked really hard on her job. He feels like she was exploited for her work and treated unkindly by the other Wendy's workers. I think this is the only autistic person Jocko has ever met in his life. Autism has a wide spectrum, ranging from the fully functional to the very severe (i.e. need serious looking after). I think Arty falls on the side leaning toward the fully functional. I get the sense Jocko was trying to be sensitive in writing this character and not to demean him. But Arty is given zero agency in the book. He is fortunate enough to have people "care" for him and look after him, but he does nothing substantial. By all means, include neurodiverse people in more media, but make them more than a plot device or reason for being.
I honestly wonder what the lesson (or lessons) of this book were. That handsome, young men don't deserve to work in retail? That autistic people have it kind of good, actually? That the Dutch are kind of skittish when it comes to delivering bad news? Is this book about achieving happiness? Is this book about how capitalism slowly crushes and suffocates us all and really if you think about it there should be more structures and safety nets in place to look after everyone so we don't have to resort to violent actions for some basic security? What!?!?
I will give a tepid nod to Jocko for recognizing the soul-crushing feeling of working at a retail job where your manager is actively incompetent and petty. As someone who had to work retail for many years, I can attest to this feeling. Jocko used to work in the fast food industry (namely Wendy's) when he was much younger so he knows very well what it is like to work really, really hard for such a crap pay.
However, he gets many, many things about retail wrong. Two characters mutter in very clunky exposition about how they only get paid $6.75 an hour, whereas the current federal minimum wage is $7.25. Also, stock-boys do more than just stock boxes! Like, I assume Jocko is familiar with the concept of a fork-lift? He knows that trash exists and someone has to sweep it? Little details like this make me irritated and its just like... was there no editor or fact checker in the process to catch this stuff? No one who could look up job descriptions from warehouse and retail stores and make sure they were getting basic information correct? Guess not!
January 9, 2022
I'm a huge fan of Jocko's books and podcast, so when I saw he wrote a Fiction book, I jumped at the chance to read it. This was quite a simple read, almost like a children's book, with the exception of the content. This is written in a poetic style to begin each chapter, again it's quite simple. However, the simplicity does not detract from the story in the least. The plot is quite fast-paced and once you get a knack for the writing, it's easy to be swept away with the characters. The latter half of the story made it impossible to put down. I couldn't wait to see what would become of Johnny, a man who made a string of bad choices to help benefit those he loved. The outcome truly tugs on one's heartstrings! I hope Jocko continues to write more adult fiction in the future.
March 21, 2022
Awfully glad I picked this book up at the library on a whim the other day. It packed a hell of a lot of information and emotional wallop into a very succinct story, one that can easily be read in one sitting.
Would’ve given it five stars were it not for the actual design of the book, in particular, the font in which it was set. T H E C O M P L E T E L Y I R R I T A T I N G & O F F P U T T I N G F O N T.
Also, this is yet again another book in which the author and/or his editor/s chose to eschew the comma before the word too. And, yes, yet again, it’s what I think of as a post-pandemic book, so let me rail on one more time about how natural disasters (compounded by human idiocy) should not/do not have to mean The Death Of Grammar As We Know It.
Those two nits picked, here’s a tip of the hat to Jocko Willink, who certainly doesn’t need any more accolades—especially from the likes of me—after the incredible careers he’s had and continues to have. I just think I would be remiss in not calling him out by name and saying that I highly recommend Final Spin. Hmm……wonder what the members of my two wildly disparate book clubs would think of it? Guess we’ll find out!
PS
This was one of those books where I had to keep my right arm over the right page of the open book so as to keep myself from accidentally reading ahead and spoiling things for Me. Myself. & I.
Also? This was one of those times where I wished I didn’t/couldn’t read so fast, because I was really, really enjoying the story and the way it was written and wanted it to last longer.
PPS
Well, yes, of course this needs to be a movie or a streaming series.
Would’ve given it five stars were it not for the actual design of the book, in particular, the font in which it was set. T H E C O M P L E T E L Y I R R I T A T I N G & O F F P U T T I N G F O N T.
Also, this is yet again another book in which the author and/or his editor/s chose to eschew the comma before the word too. And, yes, yet again, it’s what I think of as a post-pandemic book, so let me rail on one more time about how natural disasters (compounded by human idiocy) should not/do not have to mean The Death Of Grammar As We Know It.
Those two nits picked, here’s a tip of the hat to Jocko Willink, who certainly doesn’t need any more accolades—especially from the likes of me—after the incredible careers he’s had and continues to have. I just think I would be remiss in not calling him out by name and saying that I highly recommend Final Spin. Hmm……wonder what the members of my two wildly disparate book clubs would think of it? Guess we’ll find out!
PS
This was one of those books where I had to keep my right arm over the right page of the open book so as to keep myself from accidentally reading ahead and spoiling things for Me. Myself. & I.
Also? This was one of those times where I wished I didn’t/couldn’t read so fast, because I was really, really enjoying the story and the way it was written and wanted it to last longer.
PPS
Well, yes, of course this needs to be a movie or a streaming series.
July 21, 2021
Never read, never even heard of the author and with a name like Jocko I’m sure I’d remember, but the book sounded appealing. And sure enough…
Final Spin is technically a crime novel, but it’s certainly not a typical one. Which is to say it can just as easily and accurately be described as a proper character driven dramatic literature. It features a 23 year old protagonist who, despite having both good looks and good brains, haven’t done much with either. Instead, he lives with his alcoholic mother (absent in any way that has meaning from his life and this novel) and his older brother (a spectrumish 29 years old obsessed with cleaning clothes), stacks the shelves in a local supermart and spends time with his gf and his bff.
And then a catalyst…his brother’s place of employment, a laundromat owned by a Dutch couple is going up for sale, the owners desperately need 40K and a plan forms. A plan to rob the supermart with his best friend, buy the laundromat and take off for Mexico.
It’s an admirable plan in a way that its motivations are pure, a man who has failed to get places at life is determined to at least maintain and preserve the sole joy and happy place of his brother’s life, but it’s a rushed plan, the kind where all things that can go wrong do.
So it’s that kind of a novel. And a very compelling one at that.
There’s an interesting narrative structure here that the author utilizes, it’s somewhere between a poem and a play both stylistically and in its sparseness, dialogue driven composition, but it’s surprisingly effective, and dynamic (which makes it a step up on most poems and plays) and the sparsity of text takes away nothing you need. I suppose, that’s minimalism at its finest. Plus it makes for an exceptionally quick read for the page count.
All in all, an enjoyable read and a great introduction to a new author. One I would certainly read more of, given a chance. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.
This and more at https://advancetheplot.weebly.com/
Final Spin is technically a crime novel, but it’s certainly not a typical one. Which is to say it can just as easily and accurately be described as a proper character driven dramatic literature. It features a 23 year old protagonist who, despite having both good looks and good brains, haven’t done much with either. Instead, he lives with his alcoholic mother (absent in any way that has meaning from his life and this novel) and his older brother (a spectrumish 29 years old obsessed with cleaning clothes), stacks the shelves in a local supermart and spends time with his gf and his bff.
And then a catalyst…his brother’s place of employment, a laundromat owned by a Dutch couple is going up for sale, the owners desperately need 40K and a plan forms. A plan to rob the supermart with his best friend, buy the laundromat and take off for Mexico.
It’s an admirable plan in a way that its motivations are pure, a man who has failed to get places at life is determined to at least maintain and preserve the sole joy and happy place of his brother’s life, but it’s a rushed plan, the kind where all things that can go wrong do.
So it’s that kind of a novel. And a very compelling one at that.
There’s an interesting narrative structure here that the author utilizes, it’s somewhere between a poem and a play both stylistically and in its sparseness, dialogue driven composition, but it’s surprisingly effective, and dynamic (which makes it a step up on most poems and plays) and the sparsity of text takes away nothing you need. I suppose, that’s minimalism at its finest. Plus it makes for an exceptionally quick read for the page count.
All in all, an enjoyable read and a great introduction to a new author. One I would certainly read more of, given a chance. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.
This and more at https://advancetheplot.weebly.com/
October 19, 2021
“Nothing is ever as good as you think it is going to be, Arty.” Like this book? Ha! Sorry that was just too easy.
But in all seriousness. Torn. I’m so torn. (I’m considering writing this whole review
the way the book
is written.
Or would that annoy
everyone who read it?)
Okay, but really, I am torn by this review. But I listen to the audio AND read the ebook at the same time. And the audiobook has a fantastic interview with the author at the end, that honestly I wish was at the beginning so I could have enjoyed the book better. And I wish it was included in the physical book too, because again, readers would appreciate some of the thing about the book
So
Much
More.
He explains where the idea came from, who just so happens to be the person the book is dedicated to. And he talks about who he wrote the book in a way that usually only poetry is written, in some fragments, but not only in fragments, in page and line placement (just as my review is above). And I think if I had understood some of that, it would have better prepared me to take it all in.
Because just going straight into the book, I was so thoroughly confused. This is the author of Extreme Ownership and Way of the Warrior Kid. This is a Navy Seal guy. Why the heck is he writing a book about a loser guy, with a dead end job, who takes NO ownership of his life and turns criminal and sees no way out and self-sabotages everything in his life. Like sure the guy is going to find his way out and learn his lesson. But there is really little to no redeeming points for this guy. Not really, IMO.
But then again, maybe that’s the message the author is trying to get across. This is the mindset of too many. Anyway, it just wasn’t at all what I expected.
But after the author’s interview in the audiobook, I couldn’t help but bump the stars up to 3 from my original 2. And while I had little to no interest in reading any future fiction he wrote for about 3/4 of the way through the book…..now i probably will.
The author reads the audio, and in fact I preferred it. He did a great job. No overacting or trying to do female voices awkwardly. Just real human emotion and storytelling. I actually with more narrators we’re like this.
I also greatly appreciate the length of the book. Nice and to the point. Some of the writing style (besides the prose) reminded me of some John Grisham. To the point. No fluff. Just story and character. I can appreciate that style.
But in all seriousness. Torn. I’m so torn. (I’m considering writing this whole review
the way the book
is written.
Or would that annoy
everyone who read it?)
Okay, but really, I am torn by this review. But I listen to the audio AND read the ebook at the same time. And the audiobook has a fantastic interview with the author at the end, that honestly I wish was at the beginning so I could have enjoyed the book better. And I wish it was included in the physical book too, because again, readers would appreciate some of the thing about the book
So
Much
More.
He explains where the idea came from, who just so happens to be the person the book is dedicated to. And he talks about who he wrote the book in a way that usually only poetry is written, in some fragments, but not only in fragments, in page and line placement (just as my review is above). And I think if I had understood some of that, it would have better prepared me to take it all in.
Because just going straight into the book, I was so thoroughly confused. This is the author of Extreme Ownership and Way of the Warrior Kid. This is a Navy Seal guy. Why the heck is he writing a book about a loser guy, with a dead end job, who takes NO ownership of his life and turns criminal and sees no way out and self-sabotages everything in his life. Like sure the guy is going to find his way out and learn his lesson. But there is really little to no redeeming points for this guy. Not really, IMO.
But then again, maybe that’s the message the author is trying to get across. This is the mindset of too many. Anyway, it just wasn’t at all what I expected.
But after the author’s interview in the audiobook, I couldn’t help but bump the stars up to 3 from my original 2. And while I had little to no interest in reading any future fiction he wrote for about 3/4 of the way through the book…..now i probably will.
The author reads the audio, and in fact I preferred it. He did a great job. No overacting or trying to do female voices awkwardly. Just real human emotion and storytelling. I actually with more narrators we’re like this.
I also greatly appreciate the length of the book. Nice and to the point. Some of the writing style (besides the prose) reminded me of some John Grisham. To the point. No fluff. Just story and character. I can appreciate that style.
November 16, 2021
The book is OK to me. Not bad, but not good either. Just perfectly adequate.
The strong part of the book is the story. It flows from point A to point B without any meandering. It gets straight to the point, and that makes it entertaining and easy to read (I read this in two days).
The main downside to the book would definitely be the prose. Jocko is very concise and clear when he writes, and that worked great for Extreme Ownership (the only other book of his that I've read,) but for a novel there has to be a little more flair in the prose.
There's specifically two categories that highlights my point: dialogue and scenery.
For the dialogue it typically goes a little like this:
"Something something," person A verb adjective.
"Something else," person B verb adjective.
And so on
With scenery it is like this:
Place.
Item 1.
Item 1 description.
Item 2.
Item 2 description.
All in all, if you want a quick and easy read, go for it. If you want beautiful writing, go find something else.
The strong part of the book is the story. It flows from point A to point B without any meandering. It gets straight to the point, and that makes it entertaining and easy to read (I read this in two days).
The main downside to the book would definitely be the prose. Jocko is very concise and clear when he writes, and that worked great for Extreme Ownership (the only other book of his that I've read,) but for a novel there has to be a little more flair in the prose.
There's specifically two categories that highlights my point: dialogue and scenery.
For the dialogue it typically goes a little like this:
"Something something," person A verb adjective.
"Something else," person B verb adjective.
And so on
With scenery it is like this:
Place.
Item 1.
Item 1 description.
Item 2.
Item 2 description.
All in all, if you want a quick and easy read, go for it. If you want beautiful writing, go find something else.
June 13, 2022
My kids have enjoyed Jocko Willink's other books, both fiction and non, so I really jumped at the chance to read this one early. I'm glad I did. While this is nothing like his other fiction, which is aimed at children and middle schoolers, you can still hear his voice throughout.
I did think it was an interesting direction for the author to take though.
His writing style is still the same in the sense that he's clear, concise, to the point. But he tried something new here.
The book is about a young man named Johnny who cares for his brother who has Downs Syndrome. His brother really enjoys his job at the laundromat. When the laundromat is about to be sold, Johnny and his friend work up a plan to help save it, in a Breaking Bad sort of way, and to save his brother's main source of happiness. His job.
This story is interesting and gripping. The writing style has a bit of stream of consciousness, and it's got his typical two line sentences scattered about.
If you go in knowing that it's a quick read and the format is different from his other books, you should be fine.
***ARC courtesy of the publisher Macmillan
I did think it was an interesting direction for the author to take though.
His writing style is still the same in the sense that he's clear, concise, to the point. But he tried something new here.
The book is about a young man named Johnny who cares for his brother who has Downs Syndrome. His brother really enjoys his job at the laundromat. When the laundromat is about to be sold, Johnny and his friend work up a plan to help save it, in a Breaking Bad sort of way, and to save his brother's main source of happiness. His job.
This story is interesting and gripping. The writing style has a bit of stream of consciousness, and it's got his typical two line sentences scattered about.
If you go in knowing that it's a quick read and the format is different from his other books, you should be fine.
***ARC courtesy of the publisher Macmillan
September 19, 2021
This review is based on an ARC of Final Spin which I received courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher (St. Martin's Press).
‘OH MY GOD’ good!!! Final Spin is an explosive, sparking thriller full of style, tension, and clever twists! With unique voice and inventive formatting, Jocko Willink whips out an unforgettable sibling story with a well-formed cast of characters and a shocking outcome.
The pacing, the tension-- both pack punches in just the right moments to leave you gasping for more! The plot is elusive, truly unpredictable. I've never read a thriller that's left me as genuinely surprised as Final Spin!
By 25% in I had declared that I'd read anything by this author, and I stand by that.
Mark your calendars, folks! Final Spin comes out November 9, and it's a book you won't want to miss!
‘OH MY GOD’ good!!! Final Spin is an explosive, sparking thriller full of style, tension, and clever twists! With unique voice and inventive formatting, Jocko Willink whips out an unforgettable sibling story with a well-formed cast of characters and a shocking outcome.
The pacing, the tension-- both pack punches in just the right moments to leave you gasping for more! The plot is elusive, truly unpredictable. I've never read a thriller that's left me as genuinely surprised as Final Spin!
By 25% in I had declared that I'd read anything by this author, and I stand by that.
Mark your calendars, folks! Final Spin comes out November 9, and it's a book you won't want to miss!
November 24, 2021
Short story about what happens when you are making wrong decisions. Very well written. If you are into Jocko You'll like it.
July 21, 2021
Jocko Willink is a badass. Navy SEAL who has written best sellers like Way of the Warrior and Extreme Leadership. This book is different and may be his first foray into fiction.
It's an easy book to read and relatively short. I read it in one night.
Johnny lives a dead end life, working at a dead end job, hanging at the bar at night. His brother is on the spectrum and is obsessed with doing laundry. Johnny takes care of him because their mother is a drunk who isn't in the picture.
Johnny decides to make some changes and, though he's very good hearted, everything doesn't go as planned.
This book is really well written and completely engrossing. A good person who continually did wrong. The book is a look on life, love, luck, family and hope. All packed neatly into a good story.
I need to read Jockos other books.
#netgalley #finalrinse
It's an easy book to read and relatively short. I read it in one night.
Johnny lives a dead end life, working at a dead end job, hanging at the bar at night. His brother is on the spectrum and is obsessed with doing laundry. Johnny takes care of him because their mother is a drunk who isn't in the picture.
Johnny decides to make some changes and, though he's very good hearted, everything doesn't go as planned.
This book is really well written and completely engrossing. A good person who continually did wrong. The book is a look on life, love, luck, family and hope. All packed neatly into a good story.
I need to read Jockos other books.
#netgalley #finalrinse
May 26, 2022
DNF at 20%
My God, this might be the worst book I've ever tried to read. I picked it up from the library on a whim and in hindsight, it was a terrible decision. This book reads like a teenage boy wrote it and just reeks of toxic masculinity. The main character Johnny is completely insufferable and actually describes himself as "pretty damn handsome for an unkempt young man"
In chapter two, Johnny assaults someone outside a bar in a show of machismo that made me want to puke and his brother, Arty, is called the R-word and characterized as "possible to tell from looking at his face that something isn't quite right." Uhm, what the fuck?
It's clear that Johnny has no self awareness, and when the very first line of the novel is "How did I end up here? I'm smart. I'm funny. I look pretty damn handsome if I do say so myself." you just know that there's not going to be any personal responsibility taken for anything that happens in this book.
I wish I could unread what I just read because spending even just that small amount of time in Johnny's POV made me feel like I need a shower. It's honestly so bad, it's almost comical.
My God, this might be the worst book I've ever tried to read. I picked it up from the library on a whim and in hindsight, it was a terrible decision. This book reads like a teenage boy wrote it and just reeks of toxic masculinity. The main character Johnny is completely insufferable and actually describes himself as "pretty damn handsome for an unkempt young man"
In chapter two, Johnny assaults someone outside a bar in a show of machismo that made me want to puke and his brother, Arty, is called the R-word and characterized as "possible to tell from looking at his face that something isn't quite right." Uhm, what the fuck?
It's clear that Johnny has no self awareness, and when the very first line of the novel is "How did I end up here? I'm smart. I'm funny. I look pretty damn handsome if I do say so myself." you just know that there's not going to be any personal responsibility taken for anything that happens in this book.
I wish I could unread what I just read because spending even just that small amount of time in Johnny's POV made me feel like I need a shower. It's honestly so bad, it's almost comical.
April 2, 2022
This novella has a whole lot packed into its short pages. I was able to read this is a few hours. It was funny, sad, hopeful, action packed, and I loved it.
Johnny works stocking shelves at the Maxi-Mart for minimum wage. He friend Arty works with him and these two are clowns. They don't want to promote and they don't want to stay there. There's a mayo reference that had me loling.
Johnny's brother works at the laundromat and he is special needs. So when the owner wants to sell Johnny can't have that. So him and Arty devise a plan.
I can't tell you more but it was very good and broke my heart a bit. Loss of a star for that open ending. I want to know! Some really like that and I guess maybe I'm better off not knowing.
Thank you to St Martens Press for my gifted arc copy won in a Goodreads Giveaway. Really enjoyed this one!
Johnny works stocking shelves at the Maxi-Mart for minimum wage. He friend Arty works with him and these two are clowns. They don't want to promote and they don't want to stay there. There's a mayo reference that had me loling.
Johnny's brother works at the laundromat and he is special needs. So when the owner wants to sell Johnny can't have that. So him and Arty devise a plan.
I can't tell you more but it was very good and broke my heart a bit. Loss of a star for that open ending. I want to know! Some really like that and I guess maybe I'm better off not knowing.
Thank you to St Martens Press for my gifted arc copy won in a Goodreads Giveaway. Really enjoyed this one!
January 26, 2024
FINAL SPIN
Jocko Willink
OMG, what a bad group of books this time. This book lacked pretty much everything. It had very little plot, the characters were barely there, and nothing really happened.
Johnny and Goat decide to rob their boss's store because they hate their lives. Well, news flash, lots of people hate their lives and their bosses... so nothing to see here.
These are really stupid and selfish people.
I had to really struggle to give the second star but I just reviewed a book at one star and wondered if I was making this a habit or if the books were really that bad. Books were bad, in fact, both were terrible. I gave the second star based on the character's name, GOAT!
2 stars
Happy Reading!
Jocko Willink
OMG, what a bad group of books this time. This book lacked pretty much everything. It had very little plot, the characters were barely there, and nothing really happened.
Johnny and Goat decide to rob their boss's store because they hate their lives. Well, news flash, lots of people hate their lives and their bosses... so nothing to see here.
These are really stupid and selfish people.
I had to really struggle to give the second star but I just reviewed a book at one star and wondered if I was making this a habit or if the books were really that bad. Books were bad, in fact, both were terrible. I gave the second star based on the character's name, GOAT!
2 stars
Happy Reading!
Read
September 26, 2022I wish the characters were better developed so we cared more about them. I wish Willink didn't feel the need to start chapters with a weird prose-poetry gimmick. I wish there was more here.
This novella has good bones and provided enough for a decent book club discussion, but we all felt it was lacking depth.
This novella has good bones and provided enough for a decent book club discussion, but we all felt it was lacking depth.
July 16, 2025
Full review at www.NerdyNerdyBookBook.com
March 22, 2023
Disclaimer: I received this book, free of charge, in exchange for an honest review.
First off, pay no attention to the no frills, boring cover, this book packs a punch.
Two young men, working at a dead-end job, come up with, to them, a brilliant get rich quick scheme.
Unfortunately, it backfires in their faces, in a bloody and horrendous way.
This is a quick and easy read, and the pages flew by.
My only complaint is that I wish it would have gone on for at least fifty more pages.
Maybe there will be a sequel...sometimes wishes do come true...right?
First off, pay no attention to the no frills, boring cover, this book packs a punch.
Two young men, working at a dead-end job, come up with, to them, a brilliant get rich quick scheme.
Unfortunately, it backfires in their faces, in a bloody and horrendous way.
This is a quick and easy read, and the pages flew by.
My only complaint is that I wish it would have gone on for at least fifty more pages.
Maybe there will be a sequel...sometimes wishes do come true...right?
February 5, 2022
This is pure Jocko philosophy in the vehicle of fiction, and I mean that in the best way possible. What I’m taking away from it is that you get out of life what you put into it, and you can absolutely fuck it up beyond repair if you make poor choices.
Johnny is existing. He clearly yearns for something better but does nothing to change it. Instead, he stocks shelves at a big box store, drinks with his friends, bangs his girlfriend, and takes care of his brother Arty. Arty is really living life. It’s his own unique way, which is a bit different from how most people probably live, but it’s working for him and he is living what I gather is his perfect life. When Johnny finds out Arty’s life is going to be upended, he convinces his friend Goat to join him in a crime in the hopes that the outcome will help Johnny ensure Arty stays safe and happy.
The writing is concise and the plot moves along at a good pace, but not at the expense of character development. Johnny’s emotional journey is clear and compelling and ties the theme(s) and plot together nicely.
Johnny’s character is probably familiar to all of us. He’s the guy who lets life happen to him. He wants it to be different, but he makes zero effort to change it. When he sees a problem, he immediately looks for the easiest solution. There was absolutely more than one option to help save Arty’s laundromat. They all would have been hard, but none of them would have been as hard as the consequences Johnny ultimately faced for his decisions.
Overall enjoyable read.
Johnny is existing. He clearly yearns for something better but does nothing to change it. Instead, he stocks shelves at a big box store, drinks with his friends, bangs his girlfriend, and takes care of his brother Arty. Arty is really living life. It’s his own unique way, which is a bit different from how most people probably live, but it’s working for him and he is living what I gather is his perfect life. When Johnny finds out Arty’s life is going to be upended, he convinces his friend Goat to join him in a crime in the hopes that the outcome will help Johnny ensure Arty stays safe and happy.
The writing is concise and the plot moves along at a good pace, but not at the expense of character development. Johnny’s emotional journey is clear and compelling and ties the theme(s) and plot together nicely.
Johnny’s character is probably familiar to all of us. He’s the guy who lets life happen to him. He wants it to be different, but he makes zero effort to change it. When he sees a problem, he immediately looks for the easiest solution. There was absolutely more than one option to help save Arty’s laundromat. They all would have been hard, but none of them would have been as hard as the consequences Johnny ultimately faced for his decisions.
Overall enjoyable read.
May 19, 2022
This one surprised me! A really solid work of fiction with deep characters. Full disclosure I listened to this one on Audible, this is a situation where hearing it in The author’s voice is better than print.
April 30, 2023
Quick, punchy, and to the point. A great, fast-paced read! While this can be read in one sitting, you will have to take a moment or two to un-pack some surprising turns in events.
December 20, 2021
I wasn't familiar with Jocko Willink before reading his first novel, Final Spin, yet a quick trip to his Twitter page, which I now follow, is all you need to know about Final Spin.
There's a picture of a gym rack that is loaded with an ungodly amount of weight (6 plates?). The word "Freedom" appears, emblazoned either on the wall behind the apparatus or a part thereof; but it is there. Yet, it does not overwhelm and appears to be simply shadow and light.
The caption reads "Aftermath. Faced Hostilities from The Rack this morning.
GAVE HOSTILITIES BACK."
This is the type of compact, in-your-face, haiku writing motivation contained in Final Spin.
At once stimulating without being hyperbolic, dramatic without the melodrama, Final Spin takes you on a ride on which you've probably been so you know how it ends, but you want to get back on precisely because you know how it ends.
How did I end up here? I'm smart. I'm funny.
But here I am.
Nowhere.
Johnny is frustrated. He's a stockboy stuck or so he thinks, in a dead-end job with little future, along with his partner in crime (colloquial), Goat.
The only thing that moves Johnny; the only thing he cares about, is his brother, Arty, also known as Cleaner. Cleaner, autistic, savant, works at a laundromat and it appears there are two things Cleaner loves - Johnny and the art of laundry.
But it is in the lacking from which Final Spin derives its motivation.
The lack of love. The lack of hope. The lack of money.
The plot is so simple, yet throughout, Willink wonders how did we become so complex that duty, and loyalty no longer have meaning; that we forgot true sacrifice always comes with a price.
When read in this manner and viewed through a somewhat existential lens, the simple becomes complex. That the choices we make will continue to define us and either enlighten us or bury us.
There's a picture of a gym rack that is loaded with an ungodly amount of weight (6 plates?). The word "Freedom" appears, emblazoned either on the wall behind the apparatus or a part thereof; but it is there. Yet, it does not overwhelm and appears to be simply shadow and light.
The caption reads "Aftermath. Faced Hostilities from The Rack this morning.
GAVE HOSTILITIES BACK."
This is the type of compact, in-your-face, haiku writing motivation contained in Final Spin.
At once stimulating without being hyperbolic, dramatic without the melodrama, Final Spin takes you on a ride on which you've probably been so you know how it ends, but you want to get back on precisely because you know how it ends.
How did I end up here? I'm smart. I'm funny.
But here I am.
Nowhere.
Johnny is frustrated. He's a stockboy stuck or so he thinks, in a dead-end job with little future, along with his partner in crime (colloquial), Goat.
The only thing that moves Johnny; the only thing he cares about, is his brother, Arty, also known as Cleaner. Cleaner, autistic, savant, works at a laundromat and it appears there are two things Cleaner loves - Johnny and the art of laundry.
But it is in the lacking from which Final Spin derives its motivation.
The lack of love. The lack of hope. The lack of money.
The plot is so simple, yet throughout, Willink wonders how did we become so complex that duty, and loyalty no longer have meaning; that we forgot true sacrifice always comes with a price.
When read in this manner and viewed through a somewhat existential lens, the simple becomes complex. That the choices we make will continue to define us and either enlighten us or bury us.
February 17, 2022
In FINAL SPIN, Johnny is working in a dead-end job stocking groceries at a supermarket in Southern California. He takes care of his neurodiverse brother, Arty, who is obsessed with laundry. When Johnny learns that the laundromat where Arty works is being sold, he comes up with a plan to save it with his friend Goat.
I saw this book in the bookstore and I was intrigued by it. I borrowed it from the library and was immediately sucked in. The book has a unique structure of short cascading sentences, almost like poems. The beginning of each chapter has a reflection in italics. The book is short and a very fast read. The plot is full of action and compelling. I liked the relationship between Johnny and Arty a lot. However, the book lacked emotion. It felt cold and distant the entire time I was reading. The ending was predictable. I didn’t feel like the novel had a message that I connected with. Overall, it was a fairly enjoyable read, fast-paced, and interesting.
I saw this book in the bookstore and I was intrigued by it. I borrowed it from the library and was immediately sucked in. The book has a unique structure of short cascading sentences, almost like poems. The beginning of each chapter has a reflection in italics. The book is short and a very fast read. The plot is full of action and compelling. I liked the relationship between Johnny and Arty a lot. However, the book lacked emotion. It felt cold and distant the entire time I was reading. The ending was predictable. I didn’t feel like the novel had a message that I connected with. Overall, it was a fairly enjoyable read, fast-paced, and interesting.
November 8, 2021
Final Spin is the story of two best friends, Johnny and Goat, who decide to rob their employer. Johnny wants to use his share of the money to purchase the laundry mat his “peculiar” brother works at. You see Arty loves laundry like others love their pets—or even children.
I can guarantee that you will love Final Spin—or hate it. The prose is off kilter. It reads like a middle school novel with some stage directions thrown in. I spent a lot of time trying to determine the reason. Do both Arty and Johnny have “peculiarities” that the third-person narrator is trying to emulate? Is the author enamored of James Joyce or perhaps Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.? Ultimately, it doesn’t matter. You just have to get used to it.
If you are looking for a completely different type of slice-of-life fiction, this book will definitely meet that need. 4 stars!
Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.
I can guarantee that you will love Final Spin—or hate it. The prose is off kilter. It reads like a middle school novel with some stage directions thrown in. I spent a lot of time trying to determine the reason. Do both Arty and Johnny have “peculiarities” that the third-person narrator is trying to emulate? Is the author enamored of James Joyce or perhaps Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.? Ultimately, it doesn’t matter. You just have to get used to it.
If you are looking for a completely different type of slice-of-life fiction, this book will definitely meet that need. 4 stars!
Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.
November 4, 2021
I have never read anything by this author. I don't know if this is his regular writing format or not. The very abrupt sentences, lots of spacing and different fonts took a few chapters to get used to, but also made for some very fast reading. The story was short but kept my interest. Thanks, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the chance to read this book.
December 27, 2021
This was a good debut novel, by Mr. Willink, and a topic that was extremely grounded, and surprising. Reason being, Mr. Willink, is a retired Navy Seal and martial art instructor, and other business entities. So, him writing a middle America story, was very beautiful. The format though, is a bit jarring, but I liked it. This story will make you weep towards the end.
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September 4, 2021READ THIS WHOLE REVIEW AT BEST THRILLER BOOKS
"it took time to allow the rhythm of the story to sink in, but once it did, I was hooked. It was an interesting read, chalked with lots of action."
"it took time to allow the rhythm of the story to sink in, but once it did, I was hooked. It was an interesting read, chalked with lots of action."
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