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noonis's review against another edition
4.0
really good. part of this reminds me of another story but i can't recall what.
dantastic's review against another edition
3.0
The Given Day is the tale of two men, Danny Coughlin and Luther Laurence, and their families, set against the backdrop of pre-prohibition Boston.
Yeah, I know that didn't really say much but it's hard to write a teaser for a 700 page historical novel.
As I understand it, this was Dennis Lehane's return to the novel world after five years of doing other things, mostly writing for The Wire. And he crammed every thought he may have had in about Boston in the early 20th Century in those five years into this book.
Danny Coughlin is a cop working hellish hours, almost 100 hours a week, with the Boston PD, following in the footsteps of his cop father. He's conflicted about his feelings for Nora, his family's housekeeper, and is something of a black sheep. When his father comes asking for help rooting out Boleshivik cells in Boston, how can he say no?
Luther Laurence, who once played an impromptu baseball game with Babe Ruth, goes from Columbus to Tulsa, and heads to Boston to escape some trouble and winds up working for Danny's father and getting under the thump of another cop, Edward McKenna, racist extraordinaire.
Danny and Luther drive the book, living through historical events like the Spanish Influenza epidemic and the Boston Molasses Explosion, while dealing with their conflicts with their respective families. For the most part, it's a pretty gripping read. The political climate of Boston circa 1920 was a spectacle to behold: downtrodden blacks, unions rising up to protest horrible pay and working conditions, communists lurking in the shadows, and the old guard struggling to hold everything together and maintain the status quo.
The supporting cast is a diverse and colorful bunch. Ed McKenna is despicable but you get the feeling he's doing what he thinks is right, which makes him that much more horrible. Danny's father and brother are also conflicted characters. I also really liked the friendship between Luther and Nora.
The entire cast goes through the meat grinder so many times they look like ham salad by the end of the book. While the ending is largely happy, it's not a happily ever after sort of thing. More like a "we're lucky to be alive" sort of thing.
Like I said, it was a really good read but I felt like LeHane was trying to take on too much at times. There was a little too much going on and also it felt like LeHane did a ton of research and was trying to get the most of out his nickel with it. Cutting 100 pages out of this beast wouldn't have hurt it. Also, apart from the initial baseball game with Luther, I thought the Babe Ruth parts were pretty unnecessary.
This one is right on the 3/4 line. I guess I'm going to call it a 3.5.
Yeah, I know that didn't really say much but it's hard to write a teaser for a 700 page historical novel.
As I understand it, this was Dennis Lehane's return to the novel world after five years of doing other things, mostly writing for The Wire. And he crammed every thought he may have had in about Boston in the early 20th Century in those five years into this book.
Danny Coughlin is a cop working hellish hours, almost 100 hours a week, with the Boston PD, following in the footsteps of his cop father. He's conflicted about his feelings for Nora, his family's housekeeper, and is something of a black sheep. When his father comes asking for help rooting out Boleshivik cells in Boston, how can he say no?
Luther Laurence, who once played an impromptu baseball game with Babe Ruth, goes from Columbus to Tulsa, and heads to Boston to escape some trouble and winds up working for Danny's father and getting under the thump of another cop, Edward McKenna, racist extraordinaire.
Danny and Luther drive the book, living through historical events like the Spanish Influenza epidemic and the Boston Molasses Explosion, while dealing with their conflicts with their respective families. For the most part, it's a pretty gripping read. The political climate of Boston circa 1920 was a spectacle to behold: downtrodden blacks, unions rising up to protest horrible pay and working conditions, communists lurking in the shadows, and the old guard struggling to hold everything together and maintain the status quo.
The supporting cast is a diverse and colorful bunch. Ed McKenna is despicable but you get the feeling he's doing what he thinks is right, which makes him that much more horrible. Danny's father and brother are also conflicted characters. I also really liked the friendship between Luther and Nora.
The entire cast goes through the meat grinder so many times they look like ham salad by the end of the book. While the ending is largely happy, it's not a happily ever after sort of thing. More like a "we're lucky to be alive" sort of thing.
Like I said, it was a really good read but I felt like LeHane was trying to take on too much at times. There was a little too much going on and also it felt like LeHane did a ton of research and was trying to get the most of out his nickel with it. Cutting 100 pages out of this beast wouldn't have hurt it. Also, apart from the initial baseball game with Luther, I thought the Babe Ruth parts were pretty unnecessary.
This one is right on the 3/4 line. I guess I'm going to call it a 3.5.
nikitajosephine's review against another edition
4.0
I just finished this book and it took me awhile to get through because there is so much detail and information to process. There were two stories going; one story, the lesser story, about Babe Ruth and baseball, and another story, the stronger story, about the Boston Police Dept. and unionization/politics. But it was a also a great story about people, their struggles/triumphs and their connections to each other.
It was a very good book and I would recommend it!
It was a very good book and I would recommend it!
colorfulleo92's review against another edition
4.0
When I saw the sheer amount of pages my ebook had I was less then excited to continue reading. In sometimes love a long book but at the moment not so much. Can't get my head to be invested for that long. However I was proven wrong that this book wasn't a slog at all. Found it very interesting and the pages flew by pretty quickly. I will most likely continue to read the series
jplassman's review against another edition
2.0
I am really interested in this time period, and I like Dennis Lehane but I lost interest in this book about two thirds of the way through and I can't get myself to pick it up again.
kimcheel's review against another edition
4.0
I have to say, it was certainly interesting reading this book in 2020. The parallels are eerie.
lokroma's review against another edition
4.0
Our book group read and thoroughly enjoyed this novel...a big, brawling, well written read based on the Boston policemen's strike of 1919, together with all of the embedded politics, racism, and corruption. Lehane does well with this kind of book. In some ways it's traditionally masculine, yet it manages to have a universal appeal.
leahreadsalot's review against another edition
4.0
I'm not giving a summary because that's easy enough to find and you've likely already read one! So onto the review:
Plot: set during 1919ish, story focuses around race and labor unions. The language is brutal and coarse, so beware to the tender hearted reader! It's a dense tale and honestly you could probably skim past all the Babe Ruth parts and feel like you read the whole thing.
Thematic Issues: ehhhh ...family? Friends? Loyalty? Racism. Give up when you're beaten? Go West? Form unions? Big Money wins?....Here is where I struggled bc I think Lehane's book started running from him. It's like can we please pick three and go with those?
Characters: a few to love and many to despise. Even the lovable ones have flaws, and I love me a flawed protagonist/s.
Setting: oh my this book takes you there! Despite my issues with the plot (too long, man) and theme (too many) I loved the grimy Boston
Overall: a solid read.
Plot: set during 1919ish, story focuses around race and labor unions. The language is brutal and coarse, so beware to the tender hearted reader! It's a dense tale and honestly you could probably skim past all the Babe Ruth parts and feel like you read the whole thing.
Thematic Issues: ehhhh ...family? Friends? Loyalty? Racism. Give up when you're beaten? Go West? Form unions? Big Money wins?....Here is where I struggled bc I think Lehane's book started running from him. It's like can we please pick three and go with those?
Characters: a few to love and many to despise. Even the lovable ones have flaws, and I love me a flawed protagonist/s.
Setting: oh my this book takes you there! Despite my issues with the plot (too long, man) and theme (too many) I loved the grimy Boston
Overall: a solid read.
lkp's review against another edition
4.0
Wonderful story telling about a historical period of wrenching change. Excellent narration.