- Hardcover: 704 pages
- Publisher: William Morrow & Company (Oct 2008)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0688163181
- ISBN-13: 978-0688163181
- Product Dimensions: 23.5 x 16 x 4.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 656,125 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Given Day
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Product Description
Review
'Wrenchingly suspenseful...A majestic, fiery epic [with] a rich, intricate story.'
--THE NEW YORK TIMES, 18 Sept 08 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
--THE NEW YORK TIMES, 18 Sept 08 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
`Although Lehane is keen to offer a complete historical portrait of Boston after the First World War, he does not stint on characters and plot either. It is an accomplished balancing act.'
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
52 of 56 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Once it is known that 'The new Lehane' is in bookstores should be enough to make booklovers rush out to buy a copy. Their money will be well spent, as The Given Day is a work of art. It is much more than just an excellent book, it is fine literature. The Given Day, which takes place primarily in Boston just after WWI, is an epic story of family greed, love, power, hardship, lust, hope and politics. It tells the story of two families -- one white, one black -- swept up in the maelstrom of revolutionaries, anarchists, immigrants, ward bosses, Brahmnins, the Boston police department and ordinary citizens, all engaged in a battle for survival and power. As interesting and powerful as the plot is, Lehane's strongest accomplishment is the cast of unforgettable, true-to-life characters he has created. You'll meet beat-cop Danny Coughlin, Boston Police Department royalty and the son of one of the city's most beloved and powerful police captains. Luther Laurence, a black man on the run after a deadly confrontation with a crime boss who works for the Coughlin family. Nora, the Irish immigrant who was taken in by the Coughlins and is the love of Danny's life, as well as many other very credible multidimensional characters. Lehane does such an excellent job in describing these characters that I felt I was right there alongside them feeling all of their joys and sorrows. In addition, Lehane expertly weaves into the story many real-life influential people of the era -- including Babe Ruth, Eugene O'Neill, leftist Jack Reed, NAACP founder W.E.B. Du Bois, Mitchell Palmer, Massachusetts governor Calvin Coolidge and an ambitious young justice department lawyer named John Hoover. The Given Day is over 700 pages of reading pleasure and a book that I most highly recommend to you. It is a masterpiece of historical fiction!
19 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
It's been a long time since this man's last but what a way to come back.
If you like crime novels you will love this!
If you like historical novels you will love this!
If you are interested in social and political history you will love this!
If you like literary novels you will love this!
If you like a thumping good read you will love this!
Rumour has it that Mr Lehane will be writing a series tracing these themes through the twentieth century and if they are anything like this start then they'll be brilliant. Just one thing Dennis; I'm 51 and I'd like to see the finish before I peg out.
Quite why this sells respectably rather than by the lorry load really puzzles me. Forget the garbage like Archer and buy this.
The novel ends (NOT a plot spoiler, honest)with the words
"What a day. What a city. What a time to be alive."
One can only reply.
"What a book. What a writer. What a joy to read!"
If you like crime novels you will love this!
If you like historical novels you will love this!
If you are interested in social and political history you will love this!
If you like literary novels you will love this!
If you like a thumping good read you will love this!
Rumour has it that Mr Lehane will be writing a series tracing these themes through the twentieth century and if they are anything like this start then they'll be brilliant. Just one thing Dennis; I'm 51 and I'd like to see the finish before I peg out.
Quite why this sells respectably rather than by the lorry load really puzzles me. Forget the garbage like Archer and buy this.
The novel ends (NOT a plot spoiler, honest)with the words
"What a day. What a city. What a time to be alive."
One can only reply.
"What a book. What a writer. What a joy to read!"
19 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The Given Day
I have read Dennis Lehane's crime fiction for years and was getting a bit impatient waiting for the next title. News of The Given Day upset me a bit. A historical novel not a crime fiction book. Attempts by writers to cross genres usually ends in tears, I thought.
Not this time. This book is a truly amazing piece of work. There are rightful comparisons above to Doctorow, but I would put this one up there with Dos Passos's USA and Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath. It really is that good.
I'm not going to attempt to review the book. There are strong summaries in all the preceding reviews. I'm just going to say: this will probably be among the top ten books of 2009 and anyone who doesn't make the effort to read it really will be depriving themselves to an extent they don't deserve. Buy it, you'll love it.
I have read Dennis Lehane's crime fiction for years and was getting a bit impatient waiting for the next title. News of The Given Day upset me a bit. A historical novel not a crime fiction book. Attempts by writers to cross genres usually ends in tears, I thought.
Not this time. This book is a truly amazing piece of work. There are rightful comparisons above to Doctorow, but I would put this one up there with Dos Passos's USA and Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath. It really is that good.
I'm not going to attempt to review the book. There are strong summaries in all the preceding reviews. I'm just going to say: this will probably be among the top ten books of 2009 and anyone who doesn't make the effort to read it really will be depriving themselves to an extent they don't deserve. Buy it, you'll love it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
An excellent piece of historical fiction
This is the first of Dennis Lehane's books I have read and I came to it blind to both the author's huge success as a crime writer and to the many of his books that have been... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Ross
the given day
I enjoy Dennis Lehane's crime novels but this book transcends genre fiction. The characters remain well drawn and the writing is crisp and evocative. There is a strong plot too. Read more
Published 9 months ago by bookfan
Fact Fiction and Fairy Tales
I was drawn to Dennis Lehane by the amount of rave reviews given to his novel The Given Day. For the first 10 chapters of this novel I thought I had found a true writer, but as I... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Aitchem
A book about choices, and sacrifices
This isn't the smoothest of reads - it took a couple of hundred pages before the storylines started to really come together, and I found myself feeling a bit disappointed, as well... Read more
Published 11 months ago by L. Hennessy
Another Bostonian masterpiece
Dennis Lehane should write only Boston books! Like Mystic River, this is densely situated in a Boston context - the class and ethnic divisions are woven into a compelling... Read more
Published 13 months ago by sven
A Movie, Please.
Following on from Shutter Island and Gone Baby Gone, I would love to see this book as a movie. It has everything.
Published 13 months ago by E. Isted
Very disappointing
I loved "A drink before the war" and have read everything since by Lehane but found this rather longwinded, lacking in decent characterisation and without an accessible storyline. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Piers J. A. Vokins
Set aside a day or two...and revel in a masterpiece
I'm ashamed to say, I'd never heard of Dennis Lehane until I grabbed this in one of those "bargain basement" book shops. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Mr. Tony Griffiths
Boston Beauty
Lehane is much more than a genre fiction writer - he is a first class novelist. What prevents a fifth star is the complete lack of sub-text is this novel - it is all context. Read more
Published 19 months ago by The Outsider
Remarkable book
What a wonderful book this has been. Excellent in all respects, very enjoyable and a great read. The characters really come alive. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Ioannis Glinavos
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