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Loading... The Given Day: A Novel (original 2008; edition 2009)by Dennis Lehane
Work InformationThe Given Day by Dennis Lehane (2008)
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Historical novel of Boston after WWII when times are tense and racism is rampant and everyone is afraid of anyone who appears to come from around Russia. It follows Danny Coughlin, policeman, who finds himself leading the policmen to join the AFL and go on strike. It also follow Luther Laurence a black man from Ohio who moves to Tulsa and gets caught up in a mob. He ends up killing the mob leader and running to Boston. He and Danny become good friends. A very good read. Loved this. Loved the story, didn’t want to out it down. Wanted to know how it ended, but didn’t want to hurry. One thing I especially liked was how the author handled the transition between Danny’s story and Luther. There was generally 3-4 chapters of each, which really developed the narrative for that character, and THEN you switch. And then it was great when they actually met one another - in Danny’s family home, and Luther is the houseman. They are so good together - so different and yet both so strong and smart (after they grow up of course). For a story about Boston (and Tulsa) - the police force and unionization, suspected anarchists from Eastern Europe and Russia, awful race relations, a flu pandemic, plenty of violence - from about 1917-1921, you don’t really expect characters that develop, but they are there and they do. Makes it so much more interesting to read. And an added bonus - the chapters from Babe Ruth’s perspective. Just one more person’s view of the dumpster fire.
The robust historical background of strike and riot and fear of revolution, combined with a corny story in which everyone gets their prescribed comeuppance or reward, turns into an odd cross between Don DeLillo and Harold Robbins. What happens when a city's police force goes on strike? Is bloody mayhem in the streets guaranteed, or will common sense and civilised behaviour prevail? The city in question is Boston in 1919, the police strike really happened and the answers are in The Given Day, a superb new historical novel by the Boston-born writer Dennis Lehane. The Given Day is an audacious novel, more ambitious than anything Lehane -- the author of Mystic River and Gone, Baby, Gone -- has previously attempted ... which is saying something. The 700-page book isn't perfect but its flaws are easily forgiven, especially when Lehane is going to such unusual lengths to develop his characters and his plot. “The Given Day” may not be the Âecstatic “yes” its scope implies — it’s too long, and peopled by too many cartoonish villains — but it does represent a huge leap forward for Lehane. Meticulously researched and rich in period detail, it pulls the reader so rapidly through its complex and interesting story that it's easy to lose sight of its shortcomings. Belongs to SeriesJoe Coughlin (1) Is contained inAwardsDistinctionsNotable Lists
Fiction.
Literature.
Thriller.
Historical Fiction.
HTML: "Gut-wrenching force...A majestic, fiery epic. The Given Day is a huge, impassioned, intensively researched book that brings history alive." - The New York Times Dennis Lehane, the New York Times bestselling author of Live by Nightâ??now a Warner Bros. movie starring Ben Affleckâ??offers an unflinching family epic that captures the political unrest of a nation caught between a well-patterned past and an unpredictable future. This beautifully written novel of American history tells the story of two familiesâ??one black, one whiteâ??swept up in a maelstrom of revolutionaries and anarchists, immigrants and ward bosses, Brahmins and ordinary citizens, all engaged in a battle for survival and power at the end of World No library descriptions found. |
LibraryThing Early Reviewers AlumDennis Lehane's book The Given Day was available from LibraryThing Early Reviewers. Current DiscussionsNonePopular covers
Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.54Literature English (North America) American fiction 20th Century 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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