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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
Started the book for a book club. I got to a point where I needed to look at the trigger warnings list. I then took a break for a few days to decide this book isn't for me. Wish I looked into the trigger warning list before starting.
I love crime novels and stories of friendship, so I was a big fan of this movie when it came out in 2003. I have several books by Dennis Lehane, but this was my first to actually read. It will not be my last.
Mystic River is a well-crafted murder mystery that is dark and gritty. Taking place in the blue-collar neighborhoods of Boston, it's an exploration of crime and violence, and how a traumatic childhood event can affect your future.
The story is multi-layered and full of complex, damaged characters who find themselves in tragic situations. While it has tender moments of compassion, it can also be stressful at times. It covers lots of emo and topics – love, family, loyalty, loss, rage, camaraderie, trauma, redemption and faith.
I highly recommend this well-written, gripping story.
Mystic River is a well-crafted murder mystery that is dark and gritty. Taking place in the blue-collar neighborhoods of Boston, it's an exploration of crime and violence, and how a traumatic childhood event can affect your future.
The story is multi-layered and full of complex, damaged characters who find themselves in tragic situations. While it has tender moments of compassion, it can also be stressful at times. It covers lots of emo and topics – love, family, loyalty, loss, rage, camaraderie, trauma, redemption and faith.
I highly recommend this well-written, gripping story.
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
A very well written mystery. Nothing was incredibly shocking and no huge twist, but the detail put into the storylines of characters made this book great. Some information was omitted, but it seems the author did this on purpose to make you wonder… You still are unsure who did it until the end and I like that you get the insight into so many of the “why’s”.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Minor: Racial slurs, Racism
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4.0⭐ Cynical Crime Thriller That Breaks Your Heart Over And Over
Dennis Lehane is not a man of happy endings and silver linings.
Mystic River is a gripping read, but it comes to devastate.
My personal lamentation against these themes is that there really isn’t much place in the world for the Dave Boyles, but there could be. Nobody wants to hear someone’s trauma because nobody fucking knows what to do or say after they hear it. I include myself in that. We hold it in our hands, palming it from right hand to left hand, looking for a place to set it back down because it hurts so goddamn much. And it’s not even ours. This is just what it is to hear the trauma.
We have to look at the person who can never put it down, the person who has to lug it over their shoulders and walk around with it, living and performing with it, constantly.
But if enough people take a piece and hold it for a while, and can still see the person for themselves, not for the things they carry, then the weight lightens.
Dave deserved a better friend, to say the least.
Dave also should’ve processed things instead of attempting normality and taking walks down the wrong streets at night.
Beautiful, haunting thriller by an immaculate scribe. Great work again, Lehane.
I watched the film after, and it was damn near a perfect cannon. Well written, well acted.
-
Dennis Lehane is not a man of happy endings and silver linings.
Mystic River is a gripping read, but it comes to devastate.
My personal lamentation against these themes is that there really isn’t much place in the world for the Dave Boyles, but there could be. Nobody wants to hear someone’s trauma because nobody fucking knows what to do or say after they hear it. I include myself in that. We hold it in our hands, palming it from right hand to left hand, looking for a place to set it back down because it hurts so goddamn much. And it’s not even ours. This is just what it is to hear the trauma.
We have to look at the person who can never put it down, the person who has to lug it over their shoulders and walk around with it, living and performing with it, constantly.
But if enough people take a piece and hold it for a while, and can still see the person for themselves, not for the things they carry, then the weight lightens.
Dave deserved a better friend, to say the least.
Dave also should’ve processed things instead of attempting normality and taking walks down the wrong streets at night.
Beautiful, haunting thriller by an immaculate scribe. Great work again, Lehane.
I watched the film after, and it was damn near a perfect cannon. Well written, well acted.
-
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes