Customer Reviews

The Winter of Frankie Machine

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

How can you not like Frankie Machine? As he says, "It's a lot of work being me," and that's quite true. However, that's what makes him so attractive - he's a persnickety cook who drives to five different stores to get the exact brand of ingredients he wants for a single dish. Only the best for him. He's a man who believes that "Quality of life is about the little things - doing them well, doing them right."

He's 63-years-old, owns a California bait shop, the O.B. Bait and Tackle. Everyone who knows him loves him. Life is good,. He has time for surfing with a pal, even if some refer to them as geezers, and he hopes to put his daughter, Jill, through medical school. But that is now. Then is something quite different.

When Frankie is ambushed he gets away in one piece, but the big question is why? In a series of flashbacks we learn that Frankie was once a hitman for the West Coast Mafia. He was an A-1 assassin, true to the mob code, and true to his word. He never was a squealer, so why aren't they leaving him alone? His memory is darn good and Frankie knows there are quite a few who have reason to want to be sure he is permanently silenced.

It's not long before some killings occur and for a while Frankie finds himself running from everyone - the mob and the cops.

Don Winslow has created a killer with a very human face, a plot that surprises, and a narrative often filled with humor. Frankie is a true gent and we can't help pulling for him. The Winter of Frankie Machine will be a movie next year starring Robert De Niro, and this reader will be first in line at the box office.

Highly recommended.

- Gail Cooke

If "The Power of the Dog" and "California Fire and Life" were not enough to prove the talent and versatility of Don Winslow, then this hard-hitting and intelligently plotted tale of life in the Southern California mob should put any doubts to rest. This is a no-nonsense epic of crime, of loyalties honored and trusts broken. Frankie Machine, like his creator, has serious chops. And if this isn't one of the best books of 2006, well, I guess then I'm reading from the wrong lists.

Frank Machianno is a 60-something small businessman in San Diego, a simple working guy balancing his bait shop business with three other part time jobs. A doting father to his pre-Med daughter. A loving boyfriend to a gorgeous former Vegas showgirl. A former US Marine sniper extraordinaire. A steadfast handyman for his ex, and still surfing after all these years. Everybody loves "Frank the bait guy."

And "Frankie Machine" is a retired hit man - a mafia button man of legend - a stone cold killer with principals: "I'd never kill a civilian - only other players."

But when the local mob boss and Detroit's Vince Vena lure Frankie into a trap, he begins a stroll down a bloody memory lane that crosses four decades and stretches between San Diego and Las Vegas while trying to figure which of several eligible candidates has waited till now to want him dead. And a colorful stroll it is, traveled by an eclectic mix of characters on both sides of the law, the shrewd and the stupid, friends true and traitorous, of relationships forged and broken. But most of all, it is a lane clogged with violence meted out by Frankie's steady hand, sometimes for vengeance, others "simply as business." But while Frankie may have been out of the life for several years, he's definitely not out of practice as he leaves a new trail of bodies behind while getting to the bottom of the mystery that wants his life.

Winslow is a terrific storyteller, keeping the action moving while alternating between black humor, raw brutality, and ultimately, an unexpectedly poignant climax. Winslow's cast is painstakingly rendered and infinitely believable - so much so that you'll be easily swept up with Frankie's charm, forgetting that he is, after all, a serial killer with few regrets. In the end, "everybody loves Frankie Machine." And trust me on this - you'll love Don Winslow's latest.

THE POWER OF THE DOG and THE WINTER OF FRANKIE MACHINE have secured Don Winslow's place among the world's great crime writers. The former is epic in its influences and urgings; the latter is less ambitious but no less effective. The novel is the most pliable of forms; in his new novel Winslow's model is autobiography rather than epic, but this personal story carries larger cultural freight because Frankie is a retired Mafia hit man. His story is more than a personal account; it is also the story of the west coast mob and its relation to its older, more powerful midwestern and eastern antecedents.

The writing is pitch perfect; I wouldn't change a word. The key to the story is the central character and he is delightful in both his canny complexity and his dependable, standup simplicity. The role will be a delicious one. If DeNiro somehow changes his mind, one can imagine Gene Hackman or some other contemporary master relishing the chance to bring Frankie to life on the big screen. The constituent parts are all there: a great story, a great character, and a great theme--the old mob vs. the new and the attendant reflections it invites on larger issues of time, history, loss, and the shrinking possibilities of survival and redemption.

The Elmore Leonard influences--which others have noted--are clear, but Winslow's work is in no way derivative. He's simply working the same turf in his own sweet way. If Winslow isn't on your list of must-read, must-buy-in-hardcover writers, he should be.

I hate to be a dissenting voice, since I am a HUGE Don Winslow fan, but "The Winter Of Frankie Machine" does not deserve rave reviews. I thought "Power Of The Dog" was a masterpiece, epic in scope, brilliantly conceived and compellingly written. It was the first Winslow novel for me and I proceeded immediately to read his three preceding books. I could see how he was getting better with each book. "The Winter Of Frankie Machine", however, was a disappointment. The "Mafia stuff" seemed canned and inauthentic. The scope of the book was anemic, compared to "Power Of The Dog". I got the feeling that, based on "Power Of The Dog", Winslow got a big advance for his next novel and
was under pressure to come up with something - - hence, "Frankie Machine". I hope he takes more time with his next book and comes up with something that matches "Power Of The Dog".

I looked forward to reading Don Winslow's THE WINTER OF FRANKIE MACHINE because of all the rave reviews he garnered for his previous books. Being a Winslow newbie, I didn't know what to expect, other than action, guns, crime, and Mafia bad guys. Since action, guns, crime, and Mafia bad guys are my cup of tea, I put the kettle on the stove and anticipated drinking in the smooth lemony taste of this Winslow offering.

The result? A book that was short on the present and long on the past. And I mean LONG on the past.

WINTER starts out slowly; so slowly, in fact, that it takes till page 40 for any kind of conflict to enter the picture. Until then, all we do is follow Frank Machianno around as he runs his errands and chats with friends. That's six chapters of what amounts to a fictional biography. Not very interesting, to say the least. But I hung in there, and sure enough, the action picked up and the book started cranking. Frank Machianno is one bad dude, lemme tell you. But just as the action heats up, Winslow crams in about two or three flashbacks to explain Frankie's past life in the Mafia. Then we come back to the present for a chapter or two, then it's back to the multiple flashbacks. We spend so much time in the past--where there's only a mild amount of action; most of the flashbacks show Frankie doing more errand-running--that it dulls the present action. Frankie Machine had a lot of history, and most of it was relevant, but Winslow takes the lazy route and simply dunks the reader's head into Frankie's backstory rather than trying to artfully weave it into the current narrative. In fiction terms, that's called info-dumping, and Winslow dumps all over the place in this book.

Other than Frankie, the most interesting characters are the Mafia thugs. The women in Frankie's life are as bland as dry toast, as are his cohorts and friends in the bait business. Winslow has a very conversational, neo-noir writing style, a cross between Lawrence Block's languid prose and Raymond Chandler's witty ripostes, all combined with the sparse detail of Hemingway. The result is an adequate enough style that gets the story across, peppered with some great one-liners and zingers.

The main story in THE WINTER OF FRANKIE MACHINE is intriguing and exciting, but in the end I can only recommend this book if you have tons of patience and don't mind pausing the main story for a lot of trips down memory lane. For a good, epic story with well-done flashbacks, I'd recommend DARKNESS, TAKE MY HAND by Dennis Lehane instead.

I read Dawn Patrol a few months back and found it to be a highly entertaining crime fiction novel. The Winter of Frankie Machine was equally entertaining. I'm a sucker for books and films about the mob, and The Winter of Frankie Machine has a vibe that reminds me a lot of Goodfellas.

Frank Machianno is a San Diego businessman who owns and manages a bait shop, a number of rental properties, and companies that supply linens and fish to local restaurants. His life has evolved into a comfortable routine. We soon learn that Frank the Bait Guy, is a semi retired mob hit-man known as Frankie Machine, and someone from his past wants him in the dirt. Frankie finds himself on the run after he thwarts an attempt on his life and must revisit his past through a series of flashbacks, to understand why someone wants him dead, after all these years.

This is a well-plotted novel that explores the nebulous lines between loyalty and betrayal in the world of organized crime. Winslow does an excellent job of drawing the reader into the world of those wise-guys who operate at the fringes of organized crime and gives the reader an inside look at the relationship between the Mickey Mouse Mafia and the real mob power on the East Coast and Mid West. Winslow's portrayal of the mob never rings false and the dialogue and situations feel completely authentic.

Frankie may be a hired killer with few regrets, but Winslow also makes him a charming and likable character. This is an entertaining, often humorous novel. Perhaps its greatest strength is how effectively Winslow explores the complexities of the 'game' of organized crime, where alliances are formed and broken, and survival is about strategy and the ability to predict your opponents next move. Winslow is a terrific storyteller, and an author I plan to keep an eye on (not to mention a healthy catalogue of previous work that I plan to dip into)

Highly recommended for fans of crime fiction.

On a side note: Apparently The Winter of Frankie Machine is slated to be filmed with Robert DeNiro in the lead role. I can't think of anyone better to play the part and look forward to the film if it ever makes it to the big screen.

For a long time now, ever since I picked up Winslow's first book about a decade ago, I have been a huge fan. With each new book, you can see an evolution of Winslow's writing style, but somehow he always seems to find a new way to seriously malign his efforts.

If you pick this book up and start reading it, the first hundred pages will leave you feeling that you have found one of those rare mystery/thriller genre novels that works on every cylinder. In fact, I found the construction of the first part of this story to have been so increadibly good, I was finding myself comparing `Frankie Machine' to the very best contemporary genre books I have come across. In essence, Winslow gives the reader a glimpse of 100% perfection and then systematically goes about dulling down the rest of the story.

Basically, and without giving away any key plot points, Winslow tells the story of Frankie Machine. We start off following his day to day movements and interactions from his morning rituals to how he manages his many small businesses. The way Winslow develops Machine here as a character is first rate. Then, as we are let in on some of Machines past, the story takes off. An attempted hit is made on Frankie and the rest of the story in essence concerns how he deals with this kink in his daily life.

What really disappointed me was that up to this point, the story was so mature and complicated, only once Winslow reached this point, he changes the entire structure of his story telling and fills most of the rest of this book with stale flash backs. At first, this is fine, but as the pages pass, you really start to see that Winslow is relying on one style of looking back at past events, and this becomes very repetitive. I started to feel that I was reading a pretty boring book on mafia history. Winslow's writing style went from perfection to a painful rigid style and I felt like I started to appreciate Machine as a character less and less the more I read of this past.

I truly feel that Winslow could have still turned this book into a classic. I kept thinking of how Murakami wrote of past events in such unique ways in his book `The Wind Up Bird Chronicles" and I kept wishing that Winslow would have used this effect in this work. I felt like the more Winslow had this need to tackle every minute of Machines past, the less the occurring conflict was of interest.

I can see why most of the reviews here are five stars. Winslow is a great prose artist. I am so overly disgusted with the last 3 quarters of the book my only recourse was to oblige him with a three star review. Recently I read `No Country for Old Men' by McCarthy. This is a book that finishes up the way I wish Machine had. I would suggest you try the McCarthy book before this. Or try Willerford's `SideSwipe'... sad to say.

When I was about a third of the way done with this book, I was already planning to give it 5 stars. I actually wish to give it 3.5 stars here. If the author had let the plot remain a little simpler, he would have retained my attention aand praise for this book but he adds too many plots, too many twists and they dont stay believable. Frankie Machine becomes too invincible, too unstoppable, too bulletproof. I wanted to remain sympathetic for this guy as he tries to run businesses, reconnect with his daughter, maintain his relationship with his ex-wife and stay in love with his current girlfriend but too many things are thrown into the soup here and I got lost and disinterested.
Too bad.

Frank Machianno is a retired Mafia hit man. He surfs and sells bait in San Diego. Divorced, he's got a girlfriend and a daughter he is trying to send through medical school. He wants to lead a quiet and peaceful life.

There's just one problem. You don't retire from the Mob. Frankie Machine has killed lots of people and he has seen too many things. He gets set up by some gangsters from Detroit. Bullets are flying.He goes underground and tries to remember what past crime has led to this present problem.

Don Winslow writes some slick and violent stuff. It cries out for the big screen. Don't worry, next year we 'll have the movie. Robert DeNiro will make the perfect Frankie Machine.

I listened to the audiobook and couldn't wait to get back in my car. If you like Elmore Leonard, you'll definitely like this book. I appreciate books that have clever, witty dialogue and this one is filled with it. The plot has twists/turns that are clever, as well. A very fun read/listen.