Power of the Dog, the a Novel [Hardcover]

Thomas Savage (Author), E. Annie Proulx (Afterword)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2001

First published in 1967, Thomas Savage's western novel about two brothers and the competition between them when one marries now includes an afterword by Annie Proulx.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

First published in 1967 to critical raves, Thomas Savage's The Power of the Dog now includes an afterword by Annie Proulx. It traces the tense relationship between two bachelor brothers, Phil and George Burbank, on a Montana ranch in the 1920s. When George marries a widow, Phil, a bullying, repressed homosexual, terrorizes his new sister-in-law. And when her teenage son comes to the ranch, things get even more complicated. This is just the first reissue of a long-out-of-print book by Savage, hailed as a true master of the western genre. I Heard My Sister Speak My Name is scheduled for this fall, retitled The Sheep Queen.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From Library Journal

Set in 1920s Montana, Savage's 1967 novel introduces the Burbank brothers, whose lives are permanently altered when one falls in love with a widow and brings the woman and her son to live on their isolated ranch. LJ's reviewer praised the novel, saying, Savage is a writer who can really write, and who never lets his style get in the way of his plot (LJ 2/15/67).
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: San Val (June 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1417707720
• ISBN-13: 978-1417707720
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #11,156,032 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping psychological study of Western machismo, January 4, 2004

By 

Ronald Scheer "rockysquirrel" (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Power of the Dog : A Novel (Paperback)

This is one heck of a novel. Set on a Montana ranch in 1924-25, it tells of a domestic drama involving two brothers and the tensions that quickly develop when one of them marries a widow with a teenage son. The driving emotional force in the novel (and the "dog" of the title) is the older, unmarried brother, a fascinating study in western machismo, who is both sharply intelligent and capable of merciless cruelty, all apparently masking a fiercely denied homosexuality. The opening scene of the novel, with a vivid description of castrating calves graphically characterizes him as cutting and brutal, while wounded both emotionally and sexually. Savage is breathtakingly insightful in his portrayal of this man, exploring his darkest thoughts and carefully observing his behavior. He gets so far beneath the skin of the character, exposing the ugliness beneath his roughly handsome exterior, it makes you uncomfortable.

The novel is wonderfully crafted. Savage shifts easily from the point of view of one character to another, maybe 10-12 of them altogether. And even the most minor characters -- the cook, a maid, an Indian, the brothers' parents -- come to life vividly. The story is told economically, and narrative threads are dovetailed neatly together. Suspense builds steadily, and key details are placed strategically, so that when the final scenes play out, the ending is both surprising and inevitable.

Meanwhile the story takes place in a richly detailed context of everyday life of cowboys and ranch hands -- meals in the ranch house, the idle hours of Sundays around the bunkhouse, the ordering of items from the Sears Roebuck catalogue, and the work of taking cattle to market, branding, and haying. Savage is intimately aware of this world and the minds and attitudes, hopes and fears of the unschooled men who inhabit it.

Though it takes place on the other side of the continent, I was reminded of another writer, Richard Yates, whose "Revolutionary Road" (1961) has something of the same mood, and the same interest in the emotionally isolated lives of characters who are bound by the constraints of time and place. Annie Proulx writes an informative afterword to the new edition of Savage's novel. It's worth mentioning that she takes up the theme of homosexuality in a Western setting in her "Brokeback Mountain," which is included in her terrific collection of Wyoming stories "Close Range."

I recommend "The Power of the Dog" to readers interested in Western fiction, Montana ranch life in the early 20th century, psychological studies, and domestic drama that focuses on the interplay of family members' strengths and weaknesses. As a companion, I recommend Ralph Beer's Montana ranch novel "The Blind Corral."

38 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tense, harsh, twisted, powerful, January 8, 2003

By 

Michael K. McKeon - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Power of the Dog : A Novel (Paperback)

This is an incredibly well crafted novel. A brilliant, complex tale of complicated, twisted but plausible characters, fraught with tension. Savage masterfully employs foreshadowing and understatement throughout the novel; it clearly requires a re-reading to appreciate them all, as well as its many metaphors. This tale is so powerful that in the first read you are compelled to proceed reading rather than to slowly savor it. After having finished it, I found myself repeatedly rereading the impeccable last 15 pages -- the perfection of the novel's end literally takes your breath away.

It is rare that one comes across a novel as well written as this: impressive, satisfying, masterful.

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible!, January 22, 2002

By 

Trail Runner "TV stinks" (California) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Power of the Dog : A Novel (Paperback)

Every once in a while you stumble across a book that stays on your mind long after you finish the last page. This is the type of book you want to recommend to everyone, but instead, you only tell your close friends. When people ask "Have you read anything good lately?" You respond without hesitating "The Power of the Dog," but don't bother to describe the book. It is just that good.

I rarely watch a movie twice, almost never read the same book over. This book is worthy of a second reading. I feel fortunate to stumble upon this incredible story by a genius author...