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A review by gluckenstein
Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane
3.25
Turns out the Irish are awful.
Parenting feelings are probably where the book is at its most affecting but there's not enough of them, almost generically. Likewise, a novel about racial tensions can never quite adequately emerge from what's a pulpy mystery/revenge hybrid, even though some "good points" are conspicuously included in a couple of scenes — the ideas just don't find necessary breathing space in the novel's shape. That said, I appreciated grace notes that pulled the novel away from its genre formulas the most, like the unexpected codas.
Parenting feelings are probably where the book is at its most affecting but there's not enough of them, almost generically. Likewise, a novel about racial tensions can never quite adequately emerge from what's a pulpy mystery/revenge hybrid, even though some "good points" are conspicuously included in a couple of scenes — the ideas just don't find necessary breathing space in the novel's shape. That said, I appreciated grace notes that pulled the novel away from its genre formulas the most, like the unexpected codas.