A big novel in every way, packed with action, in a time of huge social upheaval, for this is Boston 1918-1919. With strikes, poverty, racism, corruption, anarchist bombs, riots on the streets and the arrival of the world flu pandemic, the book builds to the most violent part of a violent book, the police strike. It’s terrific.
Comparison: R J Ellory, Nelson DeMille, Mario Puzo.
It's 1918. Boston. A city in turmoil as soldiers return home from World War One, bringing with them an epidemic of Spanish influenza. Danny Coughlin is the son of one of Boston's most powerful police captains. An undercover cop, he is hunting for revolutionaries and anarchists who, in the aftermath of war, are pledged to overthrow the city's ruling classes. But Danny soon finds his ideals compromised as, drawn into the conflict, his family starts to question where his loyalties really lie. Luther Lawrence is on the run. Having survived a murderous confrontation with a crime boss, he lands a job in the Coughlin household. But it isn't long before his dangerous past and his tenuous present are on a life-threatening collision course. As the city goes into meltdown, Danny and Luther must confront the storm of violence that threatens to engulf them if each is to survive...
'Wrenchingly suspenseful...A majestic, fiery epic [with] a rich, intricate story.' New York Times
'The Given Day stands in the great tradition of the American novel, setting an enthralling personal story against a great sweep of history. The result is epic, romantic and intelligent. I loved it. This is a sprawling, enthralling novel... every sentence is a treat, every image vivid...an extraordinary freshness and vitality.' Sunday Telegraph
'The acclaimed author of Mystic River has produced a contender for the Big American Novel... not only a powerful, beautifully written novel, but the best kind of history lesson.' The Daily Mail
'Although Lehane is keen to offer a complete historical portrait of Boston after the First World War, he does not stint on characters and plot either. It is an accomplished balancing act. The Daily Express This is a book with Big Ambition written all over it: a thick, doorstopping, compulsively readable epic.' The Times
ISBN: 9780552775588
Publication date: 05/12/2009
Publisher: Black Swan an imprint of Transworld Publishers Ltd
Format: Paperback
| ISBN: | 9780552775588 |
| Publication date: | 5th December 2009 |
| Author: | Dennis Lehane |
| Publisher: | Black Swan an imprint of Transworld Publishers Ltd |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Pagination: | 736 pages |
| Genres: | Crime / Mystery, eBook Favourites, Historical Fiction, Thriller / Suspense, |
| Categories: | Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945), |
Dennis Lehane was born and raised in Dorchester, Massachusetts. He has written eight novels, A Drink Before the War, Darkness, Take My Hand, Sacred, Gone Baby Gone, Prayers For Rain, Mystic River, Sutter Island, The Given Day and a short story collection, Coronado. Mystic River and Gone Baby Gone have both been made into oscar nominated films. Before becoming a full-time writer, Mr Lehane worked as a counsellor with mentally handicapped and abused children, waited tables, parked cars, drove limos, worked in bookstores, and loaded tractor-trailers. His one regret is that no one ever gave him a ...
More About Dennis Lehane
