The Power of the Dog by Thomas Savage

Set in 1920s Montana, The Power of the Dog begins as a tale of two competitive brothers. Phil, educated and calculating; George, reliable and kind; the differences between these two successful ranch-owning brothers are exaggerated by the introduction of Rose, a widow, and her son Peter, who are soon swept away by George's kindness, and simultaneously steered into Phil's vicious path.

Beginning like a typical tale of the polarity of brothers, the book soon begins to reveal its complexity. Challenging the reader's perceptions from the beginning, Savage's unbridled novel hides its plot twist so cunningly in plain sight, like the landscape itself that resembles a running dog. The Power of the Dog reveals the tradition of western repression: of women in a man's world, of Indians in the white West, of homosexuality in a society built on the intense and intimate relationships of men.

First published in 1967, and now making its 21st century debut with the help of Vintage Classics, The Power of the Dog resurfaces to a new generation of readers, less likely to skirt around the homosexual undercurrent that drives this text to its ultimate twist of an ending. Piecing the novel together from his own private experiences, what Savage achieves in the pages of The Power of the Dog is an intense realness, unearthing the inner darkness of the American Dream.