STORIES: Don Winslow

One of the greatest living writers. An absolute genius, able to change his stylistic register and use the "crime story" to describe historical realities through sweeping ensemble epics (the trilogy on the Mexican drug trade), or to let you feel the light breeze of "surf, cocktails and beautiful women" California (L’ora dei gentiluomini, L’inverno di Frankie Machine, California Fire & Life), yet also able to take you to places of the spirit, particularly Zen and Taoist ones, with novels such as Satori and China Girl.

For those who love more "serious" literature, Winslow is the author of a trilogy on the Mexican drug trade: Il potere del cane, Il Cartello, Il Confine. A raw, realistic trilogy that, through imaginary characters, recounts a reality of criminal geopolitics, right down to the deep reasons why it cannot be defeated. If you venture into this trilogy, I recommend leaving some time between one book and the next to catch your breath and free yourself from a story that is suffocating in itself. Besides the trilogy mentioned, other immense books belong to this strand, such as Corruzione, which leaves a sort of boulder on your heart. But the Winslow I prefer is the one who invents fascinating, impossible characters. If I may suggest where to start, begin with these "lighter" novels: L’inverno di Frankie Machine, L’ora dei gentiluomini, but above all the trilogy dedicated to a fantastic character, Neal Carey: London Underground, China Girl, Nevada Connection.

The novels featuring Neal Carey have become so much a part of my mental imagery that I have followed him on his travels from Europe to Asia, all the way to the ghost town of Austin in Nevada (not the larger, more famous capital of Texas). To reach it you drive along Route 50, surrounded by a mountainous desert of incredible colours, and once you arrive in Austin you cannot help but be captivated by the Ghost Town atmosphere of places like the oldest, most run-down pub in America, and by the improbable characters who populate it, whom Winslow describes perfectly, as always, but whom I strongly advise you to see in person.

m.m.

STORIES is a column dedicated to great stories from the past that can inspire your present.