The Power of the Dog: NOW AN OSCAR AND BAFTA WINNING FILM STARRING BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH

This neglected modern American classic is one of the best books you will ever read. A psychological thriller masquerading as a Western, it is strong, sparse, and only for a brave and open minded reader with heart. The central character is one of the great monsters of American literature - and you cannot get him out of your head.This book, based on an incident in the author's life, is a privilege to read; I read it when it was first published, and it has stayed with me always.Rereading it again, with Jane Campion having announced that she begins filming her own adaptation at the end of 2019 year with her long time collaborator Elisabeth Moss as Rose and Benedict Cumberbatch as Phil, this promises to be a great adaptation of a great book. Perfect casting which will bring this wondrous novel to the wider public it has always deserved. And with an ending which makes you toss the book away in disbelief...to pick it up again immediately and read the last chapters with closer concentration and intensity than before. And how many books can do that?Could not recommend more highly!

This has to be one of the most atmospheric books I have read. Set in the 1920s, The Power of the Dog follows two brothers, George and Phil who run their family ranch. They have a close bond despite being very different in temperament and personality from each other.Tensions rise when George marries a widow and she and her teenage son come to live at the ranch and Phil does not react well to the change in dynamics. This sparks a story full of resentment, revenge, hostility, power struggles and an impending sense of devastation.I really love the writing in this book which evokes the tense atmosphere so well. The characters are well formed too and the complexities of Phil's character were so intriguing to unpick and frequently changed my perception of him throughout the course of the book.This was a powerful read and one of those books which I can imagine will reveal more layers of the plot on a reread too.

This book has been chosen for discussion at a book group I belong to. Not my usual taste but really enjoyable.It is set in the rural west of USA (Utah/California) and concerns two middle aged brothers, Phil and George, who run a huge and we assume profitable cattle ranch that they have taken over from their parents. It is clear that Phil is a highly educated but also very rough and ready rancher (I think of the character played by Jack Nicholson in Five Easy Pieces). George is much less clever but somehow more personable. Somehow, with the help of numerous seasonally employed hands they run their ranching business.Into the mix comes Rose Gordon the young and pretty widow of a local doctor who has committed suicide leaving her with a son. George meets and then marries Rose, who moves into George and Phil's ranch. The atmosphere becomes tense and malevolent. Rose and her son Peter seem to embody all the qualities that Phil despises and while not much is said, we do get to glimpse the inner workings of Rose and Phil's minds (but hardly anything of George). The tension clearly drives Rose (literally) to drink.I do find Phil a fascinating character. His racism, misogyny, anti-Semitism make him deeply unpleasant but it is clear that he is no-one's fool and his loyalty to his men is touching. His attempts to mould Rose's son Peter to make him less "sissy", his open admiration of the more masculine qualities in people and his mixture of indifference and hostility towards women seem to imply a great deal of latent homosexuality in his make up.The end is sudden and surprising but also fitting. Worth persevering with.

This book is a great read. Believable characters and extremely well-written. Looking to buy his further works.

I have just finished this unputdownable book, and can't get it out of my head. Will be a few days before I can start another book.I hadn't even heard of Thomas Savage before I read it either, he is easily there with the great American writers.You are in for a treat!