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I suspect that I'm in the minority when it comes to this new book by Don Winslow. It's going Hollywood and I bet it will be a big seller. But I don't understand why this hugely talented author created Frankie Machine and what his point was in doing so. I first discovered Winslow in the tour de force THE DEATH AND LIFE OF BOBBY Z which I found on a remainder table. I read it, thought "where has this guy been?" and tracked down everything I could that Winslow had written – at that time discovering all the Neal Carey books. Winslow's a former private investigator, an excellent author. I liked CALIFORNIA FIRE AND LIFE but wasn't thrilled – I saw the ending coming for a long time. And THE POWER OF THE DOG? I thought there were too many bodies and too much blood. It was depressing, violent and I read it all, although I admitted to having trouble toward the end when it all seemed too much. THE WINTER OF FRANKIE MACHINE is a seductive book; Winslow writes with immense skill, and within pages, no, paragraphs, I was caught up in the story. This is the real thing – real talent, real skill. But I resented the time I spent reading this book because I didn't want to like the protagonist, and for some reason I did. Winslow didn't write him cutely, he didn't make excuses for him, but I found myself liking the guy and he's not a good man. OK, now that he's retired from his life as a Mafia killer, he looks out for people. He still fixes the things his ex-wife breaks, and he is reconciled with his daughter. He dates a nice woman and treats her well. But the man is a killer. The book relates the Frankie Machianno tale, how he grew from being a driver for a local mob guy to a hit man. He killed people. That's what he does. And in this story, although those days are behind him, he gets asked for a favor and it turns ugly quickly. The meeting he attends turns into a bloodbath when he's attacked and he kills two people. OK, he "had" to so he wasn't killed. And then Frankie Machine goes on the run. The puzzle here is who wants the guy dead and why; after all, he hasn't done anything lately and while corruption and the mob and politics are as they always are in San Diego, Frankie's no longer part of it. But not surprisingly, this isn't the sort of life you get to put behind you. And because he is now legit, he has people to protect. Winslow makes no excuses for how Machianno turns out. He did not have to become a mobster's killer. He didn't have to live the life he did. He had choices, options. He went into the Marines – sure they taught him how to shoot but everyone who ends up in sniper training doesn't come out of it an assassin. So I don't get it. Machianno is a murderous human being. He has killed a lot of people over the years, often betraying them; often they were his boss, or his friend. He expresses no sorrow, shows no remorse, never seems to blink at the idea that he's the one to end the life of someone he admires. Somehow in fact this becomes some sort of 'reason' to kill someone; in one situation, he chooses to be the man to kill someone because "he's my friend". Huh? What kind of 'friendship' dictates that you're the one to put two bullets into someone? He murders a friend and then goes surfing. There are too many "yeah, of course" moments for me in this book. Frankie starts out married and tries to be faithful, but of course, he ends up sleeping with hookers in Las Vegas. His wife is a whiny nag who, of course, doesn't want to know what he does for a living but complains when he has to work on New Year's Eve. Frankie gets involved with men who break every law there is; who run prostitutes and sell drugs, are loan sharks and money launderers. He goes to meetings where people are shot to death and he drives other guys to meetings with politicians. At one point, Richard Nixon shows up; another time, a senator's son is given women and drugs so he will be in debt to the mob forever. Of course. I don't want to see the Frankie Machiannos of the world made into likeable guys. I cannot quite understand how this guy became someone to root for, but I stopped at least five or six ties while reading this book to remind myself that I was hoping the guy would survive. And I am not sure why. I didn't like the man. He does not turn into a good person as he gets older; he still kills people without compunction, without hesitation. And Winslow makes him a little too good at a few too many things; a guy in his sixties, as we're led to understand, doesn't walk away from a car wreck with cracked ribs and more and still manage to hijack a car and escape. The flap copy (which I tend not to read but this book puzzled me so much that I started looking for clues to its meaning) calls it "fierce and funny". Funny? I found nothing funny in this tale of a man who kills for a living. It's about power and guns, about using people and hate. Men partner up with other men but when someone's back is turned, they're "the fat Jew" and "the moolie". There's no loyalty (there are several times in the book where stories are told of which guy when to prison and which one wore the wire), there's no warmth and I didn't spot the humor. It was there in BOBBY Z; if it's there in these recent works, I missed it. The characters here are made for the movie Goodfellas and to appeal to readers (and movie-goers) who loved The Godfather and still find those stories hugely fascinating and believable and who find some sort of glamour in organized crime and mobsters. I have no particular interest in the mob or the Mafia. I don't find that subculture fascinating and turning these guys into people you're supposed to root for just feels dead wrong. But I kept reading this book even after I realized "I hate this guy". One of the new 'trends' in mystery seems to be the rediscovery of noir fiction; what that tends to bring with it is a very violent, fast-moving story where lots of people end up dead. There's no morality, there are no specific lessons to be learned, nothing is really redeemed. It's a cold and brutal place; and there I was, reading until all hours of the night. I wanted to know what happened to Frankie Machianno, but I didn't care. You explain that and you'll understand THE WINTER OF FRANKIE MACHINE.
Reviewed by Andi Shechter, October 2006
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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