Book Review (OT): Green Sun (inner city police, veteran)

Green Sun, by Kent Anderson (Hatchette, 2018, 339 pages, $29.95), third in the trilogy: Sympathy for the Devil and Night Dogs* were the first two, respectively.

A Different Kind of Cop Story

A different kind of cop story, Green Sun is the third in a fictionalized trilogy, based loosely on author Kent Anderson’s past careers – Anderson, a Viet Nam veteran who then taught English at a university, joined the Portland, OR, police department and finally, the (East) Oakland PD. The trilogy mirrors his life so the reader wonders what is real and what is fiction. But, no matter.

Comparisons 

                                       

Considering Redeployment and its surprising success**,

I suspect that Green Sun, though ‘different,’ will be as successful. Never sure if it’s fiction or not, you will soon be hooked on Green Sun’s writing style - calming yet suspenseful and with linearity though oh-so-so slow in getting to the plot, reminiscent of Sue Grafton though with less action and more character development as you come to like Hanson, the older rookie in the police department. Anderson will reveal to you the entire scene – with smells as well as sights, with feelings and even tastes.

You hope Hanson stays honorable but you are not sure you can identify with him, even though he knows just what to say and can talk the bad guys down: in addition, his shooting aim is right on, thanks to having been a Marine – these characteristics separate him from other officers and cause a rift as does Hanson’s turning his eyes from infractions of stupid laws.

The Protagonist

Our ‘hero’ is a modern-day complex man, forged by war where everything is black and white so, of course he gravitates to police departments but finds the OPD more complex than the military, as many veterans do. His sense of duty and fairness is tinged with a (slight) lack of respect and he sees good in the bad guys so he is hated, feared, yet nevertheless placed on a pedestal by fellow police officers – yet he is a loner. He walks a tightrope and lives a risky life, vulnerable to both sides.

Discussions

Readers of every ilk will find much to discuss, debate, and explore, especially if they come from different backgrounds – the military (both those experiencing combat and those not), the police, management, anyone living in inner-city Baltimore or Washington DC, anyone feeling they are slightly outside the box.

Readers who have such experience will relate their experiences and those to whom the book is foreign will ask what parts could be reality.

I foresee arguments in book clubs and I would perhaps recommend a social worker be present – or at least a librarian – to bring out similar feelings evoked and experiences shared by all.

*

**Redeployment by Phil Klay, 2015, winner of the 2014 National Book Award for Fiction, the Chautauqua Prize, and the John Leonard First Book Prize.