The Given Day - A Novel by Dennis Lehane

Book Description

Set in Boston at the end of the First World War, New York Times bestselling author Dennis Lehane's long-awaited eighth novel unflinchingly captures the political and social unrest of a nation caught at the crossroads between past and future. Filled with a cast of unforgettable characters more richly drawn than any Lehane has ever created, The Given Day tells the story of two families—one black, one white—swept up in a maelstrom of revolutionaries and anarchists, immigrants and ward bosses, Brahmins and ordinary citizens, all engaged in a battle for survival and power. Beat cop Danny Coughlin, the son of one of the city's most beloved and powerful police captains, joins a burgeoning union movement and the hunt for violent radicals. Luther Laurence, on the run after a deadly confrontation with a crime boss in Tulsa, works for the Coughlin family and tries desperately to find his way home to his pregnant wife.

Here, too, are some of the most influential figures of the era—Babe Ruth; Eugene O'Neill; leftist activist Jack Reed; NAACP founder W. E. B. DuBois; Mitchell Palmer, Woodrow Wilson's ruthless Red-chasing attorney general; cunning Massachusetts governor Calvin Coolidge; and an ambitious young Department of Justice lawyer named John Hoover.

Coursing through some of the pivotal events of the time—including the Spanish Influenza pandemic—and culminating in the Boston Police Strike of 1919, The Given Day explores the crippling violence and irrepressible exuberance of a country at war with, and in the thrall of, itself. As Danny, Luther, and those around them struggle to define themselves in increasingly turbulent times, they gradually find family in one another and, together, ride a rising storm of hardship, deprivation, and hope that will change all their lives.

Critical Praise for The Given Day

"One of the fall’s biggest books—and not just because it’s 704 pages. It’s Lehane’s most ambitious and literary work."

— USA Today

"The problem falls to readers to find something—anything—that doesn’t pale in comparison once they’ve closed the covers on this 720-page masterpiece. Quite simply, THE GIVEN DAY is about as close to the great American novel as we’re likely to read until … well, until Lehane writes another."

— BookPage

"A historical epic that is easily the most ambitious work of Dennis Lehane’s career. . . . THE GIVEN DAY aspires to be nothing less than the Great American Novel. . . . If Lehane was ever a singles hitter, now he’s swinging for the fences."

— Kirkus Reviews

"A splendid flowering of the talent previously demonstrated in his crime fiction. . . . A vision of redemption and a triumph of the human spirit. In short, this nail-biter carries serious moral gravity."

— Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Lehane’s first historical novel is a clear winner. . . . As good as it gets."

— Library Journal (starred review)

"Brilliantly constructed. . . . Like E. L. Doctorow in Ragtime, Lehane captures the sense of a country coming of age, vividly dramatizing how the conflicting emotions and tortured dreams that drive individual human lives also send a nation roiling forward."

— Booklist (starred review)

"A brawling, brawny, muscular epic—exactly what great mainstream novels used to be."

— Lee Child

"Gut-wrenching force. . . . A majestic, fiery epic. . . . The Given Day is a huge, impassioned, intensively researched book that brings history alive."

— New York Times

"[A] work of admirable ambition and scope. . . . Lehane is as much like contemporaries George Pelecanos and Richard Price as he is like the bygone Boston-based John P. Marquand, the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist."

— Los Angeles Times Book Review

"If you’re swinging for the fences, it only makes sense that your novel begin with a lengthy, and very tasty, story about Babe Ruth. That Dennis Lehane sustains that level of play . . . is what gives THE GIVEN DAY a kind of greatness. . . . Lehane dazzles."

— Chicago Sun-Times

"A gripping historical novel. . . . Infused with the same dark drama that set apart his earlier books."

— Parade

"Steeped in history but wearing its research lightly, The Given Day is a meaty, rich, old-fashioned and satisfying tale. I’d call it Lehane’s masterpiece."

— Seattle Times

"[Lehane] deserves to be included among the most interesting and accomplished American novelists of any genre or category. . . . A powerful moment in history, and Lehane makes the most of it. . . . Heartfelt and moving."

— Washington Post Book World

"Packed with dramatic turning points. . . . Lehane has tried to capture the zeitgeist of an era even nuttier and more tumultuous than our own, and succeeded.""

— Entertainment Weekly

"The Given Day is a vast historical novel. . . . Spectacular details. . . . Finely thought-out. . . . . Many stunningly managed scenes."

— Boston Globe

"Here’s one way to get people excited about the nation’s past: Get Dennis Lehane to write the history books. . . . A meticulously researched tale that in the hands of this master storyteller jumps right off the page and hollers."

— St. Petersburg Times

"Superbly written, meticulously researched. . . . A thoughtful, provocative exploration of race, fame, power, and political corruption in American culture. . . . The Given Day places [Lehane] in the first rank of modern American novelists."

— Associated Press

"Rollicking, brawling, gritty, political, and always completely absorbing, THE GIVEN DAY is a rich and satisfying epic. Readers, get ready to feast. This is a big book you won’t want to put down."

— Stewart O'Nan, author of Last Night at the Lobster, A Prayer for the Dying, and Snow Angels

"As much a thriller as any of Lehane’s previous work. Even beyond the historical events, THE GIVEN DAY qualifies as a sprawling, sweeping epic. . . . Lehane’s masterful packing and precise prose make the story speed by."

— Orlando Sentinel

"This may be Lehane’s finest work. . . . But The Given Day is more than a history lesson. . . . Lehane captures the essence of being American in a fast-changing society that eerily reflects our own."

— USA Today

Reader Reviews from FirstLook

I've been waiting forever for this to be published. Lehane is my favorite writer and I wasn't too happy with the 5 year wait. But, it was worth it, totally. The rest of his novels have been mysteries, this is not. It is historical fiction, at it's finest. Well written, well researched, The Given Day covers a turbulant time in American history, at the end of The Great War and, of course, it's set in Boston. Over 700 pages, but truly a fast read; because you can't put it down, it just flows and you are swept up, as you read it. I told a fellow bookseller, It flows like silk

— Janice (Murrieta, CA)

What an excellent read! Dennis Lehane has written a complicated, compelling book centering around the changes the country is facing in the early 1900s as seen through the eyes of 3 main characters - Babe Ruth, Luther Lawrence & the Coughlin Family. He weaves the stories of these completely different characters to give the reader a taste of the many facets of change and how that change affects many, many lives - often in unexpected, unintended ways.

— Cheryl (Allison Park, PA)

I have been waiting for this novel since I saw Mr. Lehane at a book gathering in Tulsa, Oklahoma a couple of years ago!! Having read and loved all of Mr. Lehane's mysteries, I must admit I was a little anxious about The Given Day because it is historical fiction - a seemingly radical departure from his other novels. I needn't have worried one moment - this sweeping 700 page saga that takes place in 1919 Boston is one of those books you dread coming to the end of - I mean, what in the heck am I going to read now? Honestly, I was ready to read 700 more pages, so I sincerely hope that Lehane considers continuing the story of Danny and Nora, Luther and Lila in Tulsa, Oklahoma where I am currently sitting, writing this review, just a few blocks away from the historical Greenwood District! Readers, mark your calendars and buy this book. You won't be disappointed.

— Marianne (Tulsa, OK)

This is an amazing novel with an incredible sense of place and time. The reader is immersed in 1918 Boston and swept into the social and class war of the era through the very personal stories of well defined characters. This is an unforgettable tale that rings as true for today as it does for the time in which it is set.

— Maureen (Freehold, NJ)

If you loved Dennis Lehane's "Mystic River" and "Shutter Island" ... "The Given Day" is your next read! Fictional history at its best, a BIG book that is set in Boston, about 1919, post world war one. You will meet soldiers coming home from overseas, complete with the Spanish flu. I found the sub-plot about the unionizing of the police department of interest ... already anticipating a Sam Raimi directed film - bravo!!

— Laurie (Farmington Hills, MI)

Lehane's book The Given Day is an outstanding epic that traces the lives of Danny Coughlin, a caucasian police officer in the early 1900s and Luther Lawrence an African American factory worker. The story deals with the trials and tribulations that both men and their families dealt with as they faced the turbulant times of that time-period. Lehane did an exceptional job of researching this period and he makes the challenges of this period seem very real. I found myself amazed at the struggles and inequities that the working class policemen faced at this time. Their pay was below poverty level, the precints were filled with roaches and lice, there was no safety net if a policeman was injured on the job and they often worked 90 hour weeks. A cab driver or maintenance man made more than these brave policemen who were putting their lives on the line in a daily basis. In the beginning Danny was very ambitious and was striving for a promotion into Captain. He was placed as a spy into the policeman's union as well as into various communists and socialist groups. Eventually he grew to admire some of the various individuals that he was spying on and he was drawn into being a leader for the policeman's union. The story showed his struggle that occured as he was caught between his desire to please his family and move up in his work hiarchy while at the same time he was being drawn into being an advocate for the rights of his peers. At the same time that this was occuring Luther Lawrence was struggling between the desire to grow up and be a responsible husband and father to be versus staying on the streets and hanging out with his male friends. He eventually was pulled into a life of crime, killed a criminal boss and was on the run trying to escape both prison and death by the individual who survived the bloodbath when he killed his boss. He eventually started working for Danny's family and he and Danny developed a family-like bond. This bond helped him deal with his many struggles that he faced while hiding out in Boston. Luther was a strong observer of his fellow man. He interacted with sucessful and wealthy african americans but was greived as he felt that these individuals were so caught up in mimicking wealthy caucasians that they had lost touch with their racial identity. He also dealt with overt racism and stereotyping by caucasians, his desire to return home to family and child and blackmail by a family friend of the Coughlins. This blackmailer grew interested in Luther due to Luther's relationship with a wealthy african american family that was striving to start NAACP and who was an activist for african american equality. Luther was involved in renovating the building that was planned to house the newly developing NAACP. His black-mailer led a group of bullying policemen who wanted to shut down dangerous groups. He considered the NAACP to be subversive and wanted Luther's help in planting evidence that would make it look as though this group was breaking the law. How Luther deals with these struggles and becomes a person of strong character is riveting. The book painted a picture of the challenges that faced when a caucasian and african american were friends during this period in history. This book was amazing in that it made you feel as though you were actually there in the early 1900s going through the struggles that the main characters went through. I was surprised at how much of the present day issues (such as terrorists, bombings, decline in standard of living, strikes and violence etc) were also present in the early 1900s. It just reminded me that history often repeats itself and the things that we think are new traumas or challenges have really been around for a long time. I definately enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to go back in time and see what life once was like in the past.

— Angela (Yazoo City, MS)

http://www.harpercollins.com/books/Given-Day-Dennis-Lehane/?isbn=9780688163181