BOOK REVIEW: Power and love amid a drug war in Maine
By Michelle Beckwith
“The Savage, Noble Death of Babs Dionne,” by Ron Currie
This literary thriller with adult themes (and language) is the latest from Waterville, Maine, author Ron Currie. It’s a featured title for this year’s Maine Public Book Club, but the glowing endorsements from Stephen King and Richard Russo convinced me to pick up the first in this new series. Book two is slated for a summer release.
Babs Dionne comes from a long line of fierce French Canadian feminists and is the current head of a crime syndicate controlling drugs into what is known as “Little Canada” in Waterville. Just as readers become familiar with past transgressions, and the implications for the future, a drug kingpin from the north lands to disrupt the already chaotic rural landscape. In the shadow of a paper mill that both feeds and destroys, power is generated from an underlying love of family and community along with a distorted sense of survival. Babs' two daughters, one center stage and one in the wings, are integral to the plot and a few well drawn side characters round out a compelling cast.
The lengthy setup at times had me questioning my choice, but the novel’s second half starts with a bang and doesn’t let go until the final pages. From the battlefields of Afghanistan to 9/11 Manhattan, the settings branch out from central Maine with surprising connections. Generational violence is at the heart of the story, but Currie never ventures into gratuitous stereotyping, and proves his connection to an authentic Maine experience as he showcases the precarious balancing of scores to settle and ties that bind.
This may be a refreshing new author for Paul Doiron fans out there, who are looking for something different, and still rooted in our neck of the woods. Give it a try.
“Your ancestors breathe through you. Sometimes, they call for vengeance.”
—Michelle Beckwith reviews books of various genres and especially enjoys titles set in Maine. Her reviews from the past five years are posted on her Instagram page @bookshelfbybeckwith. She and her husband Jeff live in Blue Hill.
