Customer Reviews

No Beast So Fierce

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I first read this book in 1976 and stole it from the prison library when I was released. Someone along the line in turn borrowed it from me. I've been searching libraries and book stores for a copy ever since. I've read and re-read all of Bunker's other fiction. This is his best, in my opinion. If you've only seen the movie, "Straight Time", you have no sense of the grit and immediacy of the book. Nothing's for show and you're under the surface scum of the streets of L.A.. I titled this a masterpiece of crime, but like any true masterpiece it transcends the genre is simply,a masterpiece.

This is an incredible book about criminals and their twisted philosophies. Bunker writes with brutal honesty. I found better psychological insights in these pages than a handful of sociologists could blabber out of their book training. This book came from the REAL DEAL! It doesn't glamorize anything-it just is what it is. Not to filibuster here, but with the ongoing debates about capital punishment and crime in general, this book should berequired reading for anyso-called "experts" on the subject. Bunker's words make a lot of sense and help you to understand a criminal's mind a little better.

A crime-novel from a man who knows the inside of the criminal mind. This book is interesting both as a social study and as a suspense novel. Bunker does not keep his punches, and he writes with brutal honesty. The story of Max Dembo(the main character), is both exiting and sad, as Max tries to become a straight citizen, but soon realize that he is "born to loose". A great book, no matter how you look at it. This should be something they make the kids read in highschools.

Written while awaiting parole, Bunker's experience lends his characters an uncannily authentic feel. It brings to mind films like 'Heat' - the robbery that goes wrong. Bunker's brilliance is making his lead character ugly yet engaging. Unfortunately, none of his subsequent books are quite as gripping as this. Beware of the film of the book, 'Straight Time', Dustin Hoffman is horribly miscast

I like to read crime story a lot. But 'No Beast So Fierce' is a bit difference from the others - it was written by an ex-con. If you collect the best material of every crime novel that you have ever read & put it together, you will get 'No Beast So Fierce'

I knew Mr. Bunker in 1973 and had an autographed copy of this book (since been lost). This book very accurately describes and depicts the often brutal and violent realities in prison, and the thinking of the men and women incarcerated there. I also agree with Mr. Bunker's assessment of the mindset and philosophies, in general, of law enforcement and correctional agencies and personnel (i.e. most prison environments are dehumaninizing and not oriented towards "rehabilitation" or developing personal empathy and insights that will lead to positive changes). However, I also believe very strongly (and know from my own personal experience that it's usually a con- venient rationalization to blame external circumstances or experiences for leading to criminal behavior). There is no behavior without a thought, and it's the criminal thinking that is distorted (for whatever reason)...but it's the thinking... coupled with empathy (and other factors)...that also holds the potential for meaningful change...and breaking the cycle of recidivism. This book gives the "uninitiated" a very real look into what is usually incomprehensible to the vast majority of people in our society...and perhaps a clue as to how to make a difference.

No Beast So Fierce is a unique novel. The author is Edward Bunker, who was once the youngest person ever incarcerated at San Quentin. Later, he sold his blood to raise the money to submit his manuscripts. The novel takes you to the underworld of prison and mean streets where criminals spend their lives. It is a trip straight to hell, but you cannot stop turning the pages.

The plot concerns Max Dembo, who narrates the story. Max is a recidivist in his early-thirties, who is getting out of prison after serving eight years. Max goes to Los Angeles and tells the reader that he has every intention of going straight. Almost immediately, however, he is drawn back into the only world that he has ever known.

The book has a few minor flaws. In particular, I thought that the ending was just a bit flat. Bunker doesn't build to a "true" climax. (Free advice - don't waste time with the movie version of No Beast - "Straight Time," starring Dustin Hoffman. It cannot hold a candle to the book).

To say that a novel offers its readers escapism - in many cases - is to damn with faint praise. No Beast So Fierce does offer you an escape to a world that you probably didn't know existed. But it is also a serious book that explains just how difficult it is for "ex-cons" to enter "straight" society.

I don't know of another writer quite like Bunker. I give this novel my highest recommendation. (Another excellent Bunker novel is Little Boy Blue, about a boy's descent into the juvenile justice system).

Make no mistake about it, "No Beast So Fierce" is the greatest crime novel ever written. With that being said, this book won't be palatable to all tastes. It doesn't contain pat answers, one-dimensional characters, or simplistic battles between good and evil. Instead, it depicts the messiness of the human condition as it truly exists: good and bad, right and wrong, hero and criminal are all found within a single individual in this work.

Told from the first-person point of view, "No Beast So Fierce" follows its narrator Max Dembo upon his release from San Quentin after serving eight years for kiting checks. When he arrives back in his hometown of Los Angeles, Dembo has every intention of getting a job and living a virtuous life. The irony of the book, however, is that Dembo's attempts at reformation are thwarted at every turn by the same system which condemns his former criminality. Edward Bunker does a brilliant job of illuminating how the predicaments and prejudices facing ex-cons actually contribute to a crime-ridden society with a shamefully high recidivism rate. As Dembo laments at one point in the novel, "I cursed especially a situation where crime was my only exit."

The bottom line: Not only is "No Beast So Fierce" a searing critique of social hypocrisy, bureaucratic sadism, and our fallible justice system, it's also a humanist work which confronts difficult questions about the complexity of modern life. Fearless, fast-paced, and written with unequivocal eloquence, "No Beast So Fierce" is as much a classic today as it was when it was published almost forty years ago.

I was familiar with Edward Bunker from reading a previous book, "Education of a Felon", and wanted to explore some of his other works. No Beast So Fierce was a good read. Not too long, not too short. A good look into the mind and lifestyle of a criminal struggling with release from a lengthy incarceration, and the transition to "freedom", with the ankle chain of parole still firmly attached. It is worth noting that parole & probation are better than prison, but still present a host of problems and restrictions that make adjusting back to society even more difficult. Its supposed to help you transition, not impede your progress as so many PO's do. The book shows the struggles of trying to go straight, but being caught between a rock and hard place, of not having any "real world" skills, where your only "skills" are only valued in a underground society, in the criminal subculture, and in prison. The character Max Dembo, analyzes all these things and more, as he goes on one last adventure after giving up on "square" life, and accepting himself for what he is, even embracing it. Truly an excellent book. I'll be getting the rest of his books as well.

I enjoyed the book a lot. The author was able to write about what he knew and it told throughout the novel.

Bunker has the ability to take any glamour out of the story and bring the gritty realism that one needs to read about. This is no fluff piece about the excitement of being a criminal.

I would say that the novel fell away as it proceeded after the robbery that went sour. I think it was at this point that the author started writing fiction rather than personal experiences.

Bearing that in mind, this is still an important piece of litertature and highly recommended.