The Savage Noble Death of Babs Dionne

★★★★★★★★☆☆ 8/10

304 pages

What’s it about?

This story takes place in Waterville, Maine- also known as little Canada. The main character is Babs Dionne. Babs is getting on in years, but she and her girlfriends rule the drug trade in this part of Maine. When a drug kingpin from the upper northeast decides he wants her territory- all hell breaks loose.

What did it make me think about?

Poverty

Should I read it?

This is a literary crime novel, but it is also a family drama. I mean, who wouldn't like a story about a mafia-type crime family run by elderly women? The story is intricate, but it moves at a slightly slower pace due to the numerous details and subplots. The last third is a page-turner, but the first half unfolds slowly. I ended up really enjoying it. If you are patient (and don’t mind violence), then you will want to read this one.

A passage I marked

“Everyone had more trouble than money when Babs was a girl, and everyone had more trouble than money now. People worked too hard for too little when Babs was a girl, and people worked too hard for too little now. Back then, beer and rotgut liquor flowed through the gutters; these days it was heroin. And so on. Poor was poor and remained so, and the rest was just calendar dates and details. “