The Given Day

De: Dennis Lehane

Narrado por: Michael Boatman

From Dennis Lehane, New York Times bestselling author of Mystic River and Shutter Island, comes the paperback edition of The Given Day, 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 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 at the end of World War I.

©2008 Dennis Lehane; (P)2008 HarperCollins Publishers

Excellent story and history lesson

Excellent story and history lesson. Engrossing characters.

Much more than simply a crime novel...

This was my third Dennis Lehane novel and I have to say - the man can write a story. “The given day” is the beginning of a trilogy (regrettably I’ve read the second episode before this one) that has the ambition to complement a rather classic plot of gangsters/mafia/political corruption with a socio-economic picture of post World-War I Boston. The characters are well drawn and the writing is crisp and evocative even when Lehane deviates the attention from the main story and start describing the hard life of immigrants and ethnic minorities, rampant racism, pro and ante union factions, anarchists and urban terrorists. The lives of the two main characters (Danny and Luther) –so distant one from the other by race and background - interject and cross each other at times, but remain distant, as society has given them a different role. This is a story about coming to the crossroads, and making choices that define who you are.
The only criticism to this book is that toward the end (say two/third into the story) Lehane starts rambling and the momentum of the plot seems to fade away; the books sounds at times overwritten and the impression of sharp elegance that one had got thorough most of the book is a bit tainted.
Overall a great reading !

Wanted To like It More

Being from Boston I thought I would enjoy all the historical settings and stories. Very depressing and only a little bit interesting.

Epic!

What a great story! Well written, wonderful characters, and beautiful language. The performance was incredible!

Follett and Archer fans will love this!

I really enjoyed this book even though it’s long and it took me a while to finish it. I wouldn’t exactly call it a thrill a minute page turner, but I found it kept my interest. The characters were interesting and well written. It basically tells the story of some fictional characters during an actual period in American history. I found the writing style here quite similar to
Ken Follett and Jeffrey Archer. If you are a fan of Follett and/or Archer, give this a try!