The Given Day

By: Dennis Lehane

Narrated by: Michael Boatman

Length: 23 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

Set in Boston at the end of the First World War, New York Times best-selling author Dennis Lehane's long-awaited eighth novel unflinchingly captures the political and social unrest of a nation caught at the crossroads between past and future.

Filled with a cast of unforgettable characters more richly drawn than any Lehane has ever created, The Given Day tells the story of two families: one black, one white, 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.

Beat cop Danny Coughlin, the son of one of the city's most beloved and powerful police captains, joins a burgeoning union movement and the hunt for violent radicals. Luther Laurence, on the run after a deadly confrontation with a crime boss in Tulsa, works for the Coughlin family and tries desperately to find his way home to his pregnant wife.

Here, too, are some of the most influential figures of the era: Babe Ruth; Eugene O'Neill; leftist activist Jack Reed; NAACP founder W. E. B. DuBois; Mitchell Palmer, Woodrow Wilson's ruthless Red-chasing attorney general; cunning Massachusetts governor Calvin Coolidge; and an ambitious young Department of Justice lawyer named John Hoover.

Coursing through some of the pivotal events of the time, including the Spanish Influenza pandemic and culminating in the Boston Police Strike of 1919, The Given Day explores the crippling violence and irrepressible exuberance of a country at war with, and in the thrall of, itself. As Danny, Luther, and those around them struggle to define themselves in increasingly turbulent times, they gradually find family in one another and, together, ride a rising storm of hardship, deprivation, and hope that will change all their lives.

©2008 Dennis Lehane (P)2008 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"[An] engrossing epic....A vision of redemption and a triumph of the human spirit." ( Publishers Weekly)

Long Yawn

Excellent historical background but the plotline was a long uninspiring yawn and I didn't care enough about any characters to finish the last chapter.

Quite the slog

After Mystic River, I was really looking forward to this.

But I was disappointed. I never got engaged with the actual characters. They always seemed to remain 2 dimensional. They never became real to me.
Then the untold ending of all the surviving protagonists heading to the historical race massacre in Tulsa???

The narration wasn't bad, but the musical interludes???? Pointless and very disrupting.
Meh...………………...

LOVED IT!!

AWESOME NARRATION!!!
Did not want the story to end. Story contained, drama, comedy and lots. of suspense

Worth a listen for sure!!

This was a pleasant surprise. Very well written and narration was amazing. I didn't want it to end and now must get the second part to see what happens next!

Exhausting Read

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I can take violence and I can take vulgarity but the amount used in this book was exhausting.

If you’ve listened to books by Dennis Lehane before, how does this one compare?

Far from my favorite. In fact, my least favorite.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

Handled the Irish accents pretty well although after a bit, they all began to sound the same.

Did The Given Day inspire you to do anything?

Yes, it inspired me to listen to the third part at warp speed and skip sections altogether. I did do some research as I was reading to learn more about some of the events referenced and found out more about how wretched people can be to one another.

Amazingly addictive

What did you love best about The Given Day?

When I first heard the story began with a "baseball" theme, I thought, uh oh, bad decision on my part. But after the first 10 minutes I was hooked. I loved all the characters in their own right, even the "evil" ones because they are so very real! Personally, I enjoy stories where prejudice and cruelty are overcome by love and empathy, so this story hit every mark for me. I will listen to this again and again over the years and may purchase the book to really absorb the story.

What other book might you compare The Given Day to and why?

So many books, it's tough to think of just one. The first that comes to mind is Great Expectations.

Which scene was your favorite?

The sections with Nora and her open friendship with Luther. Also, I love the last chapter, wrapping up all main characters so beautifully.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Both, but not to an extreme level. It was a feel good book that spoke to me.

Any additional comments?

Everybody would get something out of this book. I researched some of the history of the Boston Riots and the BPD Strike. Very accurate.

overrated novel but outstanding performance

Mr Boatman did a great job. the book is good enough, though little bit overrated.

Excellent book and narration

I love Dennis Lehane and this book didn’t disappoint. It was smart, fun and still very relevant. The narrator was one of the very best I’ve ever heard. He took this already great book to a new level.

Great Historical Fiction

Is isn't very often that I listen to a very lengthy book and it holds up without bogging down. This story has broad appeal, bridging the masculine/feminine divide adeptly. My husband and I listened to it together and were both duly entertained! THE GIVEN DAY takes place at the end of WWI when the country is undergoing a transformation, for better and worse. Several stories are at work here. Dennis Lehane is a master of the material, telling of an Irish legacy, Boston and it's finest Blue. The story of the Irish immigrant is great because it differs so little from that of the Italian, or the Jewish, and so on. Impossible to tell of this time and place without revealing the issues of utter racism. Unimaginably recent, slavery was abolished but the black people of the age are treated as second class citizens. A fierce tete-a-tete ensues between a crooked, evil cop and a young black man trying to follow the right path, often a nebulas one. A feminine perspective is provided through a feisty woman who is accused of lying about her past, although admission of such would have resulted in no chance at life beyond poverty, life in the slums. The overall message in the book is especially poignant, a parallel established between the early 20th century and current America.

Historically interesting, NOT engaging fiction.

This book just never engaged me; interesting historical information on the ethnic, racial & social structure of post WWI, primarily Boston, but the characters & dialogue get lost in the author's effort to educate.
I read fiction to be entertained, and if I'm fortunate enough to learn something in the process, excellent. But this book sacrifices entertainment for facts.
Lots of history, but no soul.