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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
My chief reservation lies in the portrayal of women though. They exist largely as archetypes (seductress, saint, innocent, mother) serving as emotional conduits or catalysts for male pain, but with little narrative agency. They embody the men’s interior fractures without possessing equivalent complexity of their own. While this suits the story’s tragic scaffolding, it restricts dynamism and individuality.
The novel is also conspicuously white. While I understand it centres on Boston’s white working-class (specifically, its Irish-American enclaves) the treatment sometimes borders on romanticising that identity, including its latent racial biases. There’s a subtle but troubling aestheticisation of white male violence that feels typical of many white male authors, particularly in how both women and ethnic minorities are positioned in the narrative.
For all its craft and thematic heft, I’m uncertain how well Mystic River will age, especially when viewed through a more contemporary, intersectional lens. But still, it's a well-written book and I enjoyed it immensely.
(Jag lyssnade på ljudboken vilket måste ha påverkat effekten av de sista kapitlen.)
Since the beginning of the year, I’ve been yearning for a book that would blow my socks off—something that would make the hairs on my body stand on end. Mystic River did just that. Words cannot express how immersed I was in this novel. From the moment I read the first page, I couldn't stop reading or thinking about it. By far, this is the best-written book I have ever read. What Dennis Lehane accomplished here should be considered a masterclass in storytelling.
Lehane didn’t just write a book—he breathed life into it. His characters feel sculpted, shaped with the same care a master artist gives to their work. The setting is equally phenomenal. Boston is more than just a backdrop; it’s a city that has become a shadow of its former self. Gentrification has pushed out old friends, families, and neighbors, replacing them with an unfamiliar wave of wealth and change. The sense of loss is palpable.
The story follows Jimmy, Sean, and Dave from their childhood to the devastating moment their paths collide once again. Their journeys are so deeply human and tragic that their actions—no matter how unforgivable—sometimes feel justified. The characters are flawed, complex, and painfully real. There are no clear-cut heroes or villains, only people shaped by their pasts, making choices that feel like they were always destined to happen..
Lehane’s writing is top-notch. He doesn’t just describe events—he makes you feel them. The suffocating guilt, the paranoia, the simmering rage—it all drips from the pages. But this isn’t just a crime novel. It’s a story about the irreversible damage of the past, the weight of childhood trauma, and the idea that some wounds never heal, no matter how much time passes. The book doesn’t wrap things up neatly—it, leaves you with a lingering sense of dread and sadness, a realization that some things can never be undone.
Історія про трьох друзів з дитинства та подію, що знову звела їхні долі разом.
Цю книгу було надзвичайно цікаво читати завдяки постійному інтересу до розповіді, який підживлювався новими фактами та хронологічними оповідями упродовж усіх сторінок. Саме тому книга читалася з неослабним ентузіазмом від початку до кінця.
Тема району дитинства, його історії та еволюції наперед мала б визначати майбутнє персонажів, але при переході до наших днів все розгортається не так, як я очікував. Це виявилося приємною несподіванкою, адже саме в таких моментах книга по-справжньому грає з читачем, руйнуючи його прогнози та стереотипи.
Лінія персонажів розроблена бездоганно — їхня мотивація зрозуміла, труднощі відчутні, а вчинки логічно випливають із ситуацій, у які вони потрапляють. Адже хороша історія не може існувати без добре прописаних персонажів, а тут історія дійсно вражає, і все відчувається органічно поєднаним.
Автор майстерно балансує між минулим і сучасністю, показуючи, як дитячі травми та дружба формують дорослих людей. Особливо вдало передано атмосферу того району, який став не просто декорацією, а повноцінним персонажем оповіді.
Можливо, детективи та трилери є моїми улюбленими жанрами, через що я можу бути недостатньо об'єктивним, але ця книга справді вразила мене. Вона демонструє, що якісна література може бути одночасно захоплюючою та глибокою. Тому з впевненістю рекомендую її до читання всім, хто цінує добре розказану історію з несподіваними поворотами.
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This is a story about three childhood friends and an event that brought them together again.
This book was extremely interesting to read thanks to the constant interest in the story, which was fueled by new facts and chronological narratives throughout the pages. That is why the book was read with unwavering enthusiasm from beginning to end.
The theme of the childhood neighborhood, its history, and evolution should have determined the future of the characters, but when we move to the present day, everything unfolds differently than I expected. This turned out to be a pleasant surprise, because it is in such moments that the book truly plays with the reader, destroying their predictions and stereotypes.
The characters are flawlessly developed — their motivations are clear, their difficulties are palpable, and their actions logically follow from the situations they find themselves in. After all, a good story cannot exist without well-written characters, and here the story is truly impressive, and everything feels organically connected.
The author skillfully balances between the past and the present, showing how childhood traumas and friendships shape adults. The atmosphere of the neighborhood is particularly well conveyed, becoming not just a backdrop but a full-fledged character in the story.
Perhaps detective stories and thrillers are my favorite genres, which is why I may not be entirely objective, but this book really impressed me. It demonstrates that quality literature can be both exciting and profound. Therefore, I confidently recommend it to anyone who appreciates a well-told story with unexpected twists and turns.