No hay bestia tan feroz, publicada por primera vez en 1973, supuso el debut literario de Edward Bunker, singular escritor norteamericano tan afamado por sus obras como por su poco común biografía. Inspirándose en el conocimiento del ambiente criminal de Los Ángeles que su propia experiencia le procuró, Bunker da vida en esta novela a Max Dembo, un ex-convicto en libertad vigilada después de ocho años en prisión. Su voluntad de llevar una existencia honesta, y de no volver a vivir entre rejas, chocará con un sinfín de obstáculos y se verá finalmente frustrada cuando, cansado y cargado de rencor, decida volver a la seguridad que ofrece, paradójicamente, el mundo del crimen. Sin romanticismo ni artificios, cruda y auténtica, No hay bestia tan feroz relata la rabiosa lucha por la supervivencia de un hombre acosado por los más inamovibles prejuicios sociales.

Étonnement fluide, étonnement pertinent, étonnement "attachant" et terriblement tragique. ( )

In my quest to escape from the safe little box the books I read normally fall within, I've challenged myself to pick up things that aren't usually me. Edward Bunker's No Beast So Fierce was my first attempt to do that. This is an autobiographical crime novel. It's written as the memoir of Max Dembo, a parolee from Folsom Prison who has just completed an eight-year term. Trust me when I say that this isn't the type of book I'd normally choose to read. Keep that in mind too, while you read this review. It's just the opinion of one reader who is exploring new territory.

Let's start with what I liked about this. Max Dembo is a pretty fascinating case. Imagine emerging from prison, only to find that you no longer fit in with the world as it is today. Max faces not only the issue of being a former convict, but also of being someone who hasn't been part of mainstream society for almost a decade. His clothes are wrong. His demeanor makes him stand out in a crowd. Even the way he talks isn't necessarily in style anymore. Here is a man who is finally free, and yet now has so much standing in the way of the new life he wants to build.

I can't tell you enough how riveting it was to watch Max face all this. Edward Bunker puts the life of a parolee in vivid black and white. It's no wonder that Max hates mainstream society. They treat him like a leper without even knowing him, simply because of where he's been. It took a lot for me to read through the parts of this where his simmering rage was directed at, well, people like me. People who don't know a thing about the system and how it creates people like him. If nothing else, this book opened my eyes to the huge divide between the former convicts and everyone else.

What I didn't like, and trust me I know it's just my own biases working against me, was that this was a really heavy book. It's obvious that it will be the instance you realize that Max isn't going to make it. Still, as he started the downhill slide, the thoughts and words that came onto the page were tough to swallow. Racism, sexism, it's all on the pages. I think what made it harder for me was that much of this book is very wordy. Bunker doesn't cut down Max's stream on consciousness for our benefit. It's all there, and sometimes it's a little overwhelming.

I'm not sure how much of this review actually makes sense, to be honest. I'm not even certain how I really feel about this book. I've given it three stars mainly because I liked it, but not enough to keep following Max. It's distinctly possible that it's because I never liked him in the least. The fact is, this is a well written book. It's true, and it's gritty. If that's for you? You'll probably enjoy it. ( )

There is a song by musician David Baerwald inspired by Edward Bunker called A Prisoner's Dream and in the song, Baerwald depicts that prisoners can also have hopes, wishes, and dreams while being caged from society. From listening to the song, it seems as if this song describes prison inmates in the most idealistic of fashion. It depicts prisoners as often being the product churned out by society and influences beyond their control and how they, too, maintain faith in humanity while trying to live and survive.

For those not familiar with now-deceased Edward Bunker, he was a long-time convict who found liberation through the written word. Forged by his institutional life, his writing was published in well-received novels, which led to films of his work and even acting roles.

The novel No Beast So Fierce portrays Max Dembo, a just released parole and child of the system as he tries to float through society and live like he thought he could, only to realize about the only thing he is good at is living a life of criminality.

Bunker's writing is poignant and raw. While Dembo is violent and mostly irredeemable and a creature of his environment, Bunker does not try to make him sympathetic.

No Beast So Fierce is a very good crime novel with very good writing and descriptions and it does not ask you to like Max Dembo, only to just see him.

No Beast So Fierce was also made into a movie called Straight Time with Dustin Hoffman.

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The extra long denouement was not to my liking, that prevented a 4 star rating. On the whole though, very entertaining. ( )