The Given Day marks a departure for Lehane. The Given Day is historical fiction that explores the lives of ordinary working stiffs of Boston and the US circa 1919. The story centers around a tough, smart, and handsome Boston Irish copper named Danny Coughlin and Luther Laurence, a gifted black man on the run. Coughlin struggles in his relationship with his powerful father and Boston police captain, Thomas Coughlin. Luther had fled to Boston, but wants nothing more than to return to his wife and child in Tulsa. Their stories eventually come together at the Coughlin household and their mutual interest in the Irish immigrant working girl and family servant.

The characters can be a bit thin at times, their interactions sometimes predictable and maudlin, but Lehane excels in capturing the feel of the town and the times. Labor and ethnic strife boil below the surface. Workers toil in brutal conditions for low pay with no security. The Irish workers who have managed to get one rung up the ladder fear and hate not the bosses, but rather the new Italian immigrants (not to mention the few blacks in town). The political bosses even subject the Boston police rank-and-file to low pay, unsanitary working conditions, and extremely long hours. That summer of 1919 is known today as The Red Summer. In Boston, a potent mix of much-aggrieved workers, bomb-throwing anarchists, and a tyrannical police commissioner erupted in savage street violence during the Boston police strike.

Lehane also sends Coughlin and Laurence each to take a journey of redemption. Coughlin repudiates his role as a spy in the police union and goes on to become its leader. Laurence flees Tulsa and his wife, but is taken in by leaders in the local NAACP whom he repays with courage and loyalty.

Lehane manages to interweave a number of actual historical figures into his story without it feeling contrived. A young John Hoover of the federal Bureau of Investigation is as repellent on Lehane's pages as he was in real life. Calvin Coolidge, then Governor of Massachusetts, comes off as a duplicitous, back-stabber. The much lesser know Edwin Upton Curtis is the disastrously mean-spirited Boston police commissioner who manages to provoke the police strike just when civic and union leaders had reached terms. Perhaps most surprising is Lehane's use of Babe Ruth, who is featured to good effect in several chapters. Early in the book Ruth, then with the Red Sox, and his teammates get into an unlikely pickup game against a team of black players, including Luther Laurence. The game begins as an honest and vigorous athletic contest, but when the blacks start to win, the whites start to cheat and things turn nasty.

Lehane gives us a painfully honest portrayal of the bitter racial, ethnic, and class divisions that marred America in 1919 and he wraps it up in two engaging family stories. The best historical fiction leads the reader to search out the story in more detail and Lehane particularly succeeds with his descriptions of the little known 1917 race riot in East St. Louis (when whites attacked and killed Southern blacks who had come north for work) and the 1919 molasses plant explosion in Boston (which was blamed falsely on anarchists rather than on the lack of maintenance by the plants' owners). See Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919, A City in Terror: Calvin Coolidge and the 1919 Boston Police Strike, and Never Been a Time: The 1917 Race Riot That Sparked the Civil Rights Movement.

As a fan of Lehane's Kenzie-Gennaro series, I lament that they appear to be a thing of the past, but Lehane has clearly grown as a writer and that bodes well for the future. Highly recommended.

This book was one I was waiting to be published for about three years once I heard it was in the works. I was so excited when it was released that I jumped right into it. For me, it was DaVinci Code-esque and that usually brings the book down a couple notches from overanticipation.

This was a masterpiece when I think of all the historical research and time it took to create the characters, plot, setting, etc. I enjoyed how the story alternated between Danny, Luther, and Babe with intersections of the characters as the story progresses. There is alot going on throughout the book with many of the character relationships and these are strong undercurrents to keep the story moving along. The story progresses into some pretty intense scenes after the midpoint and I found myself enthralled in the book at several junctures.

For me, the main struggle of the book was vocabulary. I found myself needing to look up more than a few words which caused for pauses and interruptions. I do read alot but this book was just seemed to be a bit over-my-head with unknown words. This might have contributed to my feeling that the book was a bit too long. Lastly, the ending wasn't as enjoyable as I was hoping.

I assume this book will be made into a movie. I think alot can be done with the 1918 Boston setting, the love story, and the Danny/Luther relationship to make it into a solid dramatic feature.

Dennis Lehane is one of my favorite authors. I hope he writes another book sooner than the time it took for this one to be published. Given the 700+ pages, I do understand why this one took so long to finish.

i returned his last book for a refund. this book isnot going back. at first when i started to read it i did not like it but i could not put it down(being from s boston) then it just took off iiked the way every thing fell in to place. it keep me reading for hours it was a history leason and a griping hold you novel. it was so good i am giving it as xmas gift could not go out and find a better book 5 stars.

After visiting Boston this past summer I came to the conclusion it was a city that I have overlooked. Yes, it is steeped in history and that's what I love about bean town but I needed more. Ah, The Given Day combining fact and fiction bringing Boston to life in the early 1900's. Twists and turns, plots and subplots the Boston version of the film Gangs of New York. Well written page turner (even on my Kindle). The characters are larger than life and just pop off the pages. Visit turn of the last century Boston in The Given Day and you'll swear you were there too.

What a satisfying experience it was to read Lehane's historical novel set in Boston during the turbulent times of 1917-1919. If you've been looking for the big novel that you can get lost in for several days, this is the one. I haven't been caught up in such a terrific reading experience since the last Harry Potter book came out. Lehane does a superb job of developing the characters and setting the story in an authentic fashion. Can't recommend this book highly enough.

A great sequel to "Mystic River". I couldn't put it down. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that I am a Bostonian and a member of Red Sox Nation. Just a great read! Harriet Z.

Dennis Lehane never resolves the question of whether he is writing a historic novel, or a novel set during an important historic event. When he needs to set the background for the story, his characters, their actions and language, become very stilted and unnatural; they become props to advance the historical narrative and never provide the depth of character development, nor the intense passion of their interactions, which was such a hallmark of his previous books. Only in a few instances did Lehane focus on this aspect: some scenes between Danny and Nora, some confrontations between Thomas Coughlin and his sons - that teased the reader into thinking that there would be more depth to the book, but alas, such was not the case.
Perhaps the most unexpected surprise in the book, was the extraordinary description of Babe Ruth and baseball - some of the most memorable sports writing I can remember.

Ever read a book and you want to keep reading but also want to take your time because you know you'll be sad when you're done? This is one of those books for me. I'm not done yet but don't want it to end. I give this book 8 stars. Given I've so far enjoyed every book Lehane has written, I can't wait for his next one.

Until this, his eighth novel, Dennis Lehane was regarded as `merely' a top mystery writer. This evaluation has to be reconsidered with the appearance of this historical novel set in Boston just before the United States entered World War I, and the years following. It is a family saga reflecting the various undertones of immigrant society, discrimination against blacks and other aspects of a stratified society.

Essentially, the novel traces the lives of two families, one black and the other a privileged Irish family headed by a police captain. Reflected along the way are events of such epic proportions as the influenza epidemic of 1918, the Boston police strike and the resulting riots, the nation's Red scare, and terrorist bombings, among other issues. Playing cameo roles are such luminaries as Babe Ruth, Jack Reed, Calvin Coolidge, Eugene O'Neill, W.E.B. DuBois and Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Sweeping as to the characters and times, the novel shows a depth of monumental proportions. Whether intended or not, the parallels to the present day are vivid. It is a tale of both tragedy and hope, reflecting the conflicts of human nature, and is highly recommended.

This is not Lehane's best work. The book deals with some fascinating issues, but by narrowing the scope of these issues down to how they affect a single (and more importantly, atypical) family he takes away much of the power these issues hold. Still, it makes for a decent read.

The main problem with the book is that it is not historically accurate. The storyline involving Babe Ruth has serious flaws. Ruth is constantly referred to as large and overwieght. Mention is made of how he moves his large frame with tiny little steps. However when Ruth played for Boston, he was a young man. Quite athletic and somewhat lanky, as even the pictures in this book show. He was not the big, round player he would become during his time with the Yankees.

During the same Ruth storyline, Lehane describes Ruth hitting a home run into the upper deck of the bleachers in right field. Fenway Park had no upper deck in right field at the time. In fact, the upper deck (rooftop, actually) seats they put in a couple years back aren't even in fair territory.

These are pretty glaring mistakes, and even an average baseball fan will pick these up.

"The Given Day," doesn't seem to be so much an attempt at the Great American Novel, as the Great Boston Irish Novel that in its course gives us a look at America in 1919. Babe Ruth was coming into his own, baseball was about to be corrupted, the Irish of Boston were a power unto the city, the impoverished working class was unionizing, and America was in a turmoil of growth and greed. Mr. Lehane tries to patch it all together in the stories of two characters, one black, one Irish, and their families. Irish immigrants had three paths to success: politics, the police force, and the priesthood. Mr. Lehane gives us the first two "p's" but inexplicably leaves out the third - so the picture is incomplete - but in the first two he gives us the rise of the shanty Irish to the lace-curtain Irish, and it's not a pretty picture. "Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely," both parts of the axiom are on display in "The Given Day," and none of the main characters is untouched. We also get to see how lack of power corrupts, and that is the story of how the poor, and the workers (especially the police) never seem capable of climbing out of the muck of violent crime, petty theft, and criminal living and working conditions. If things were bleak for poor whites, they were dismal for poor blacks, and though we get a fascinating peek at the black bourgeoisie, even they are trapped in the insularity of oppression. To round things out we get the "bomb throwers," the anarchists who were the terrorists of their day; and the revolutionary nincompoops, the constantly theorizing Bolsheveks, and intellectuals of revolution.

The question is, "Does Mr. Lehane succeed in all this?" Well, in many ways, but not completely. "The Given Day," is a patchwork of a novel. The whole of it coheres, but there are pieces that just don't belong. The book is a page-turner (a good thing considering its length,) but there's just too much of it, and I'd hang it on the fascinating, but superfluous inclusion of the troubled times and psyche of Babe Ruth. The Babe is not quite the chorus, commenting on the action, he's not vital to the action, and his connection to only one of the main characters is inconsequential. He's beautifully limned, and his individual pieces are beautifully written - especially the first, which is as good a description of a baseball game as any - but unnecessary. I think Mr. Lehane could have had another book with the Babe.

One of the author's great feats is his use of alternating chapters to bring the protagonists together. It's a strategy that I usually hate because lesser authors tend to give more of their talent to one story over another, write clunkier transitions, and force the eventual meld. Mr. Lehane doesn't commit any of these crimes, and the joining of the stories is as smooth as butter.

All in all, yes, I would recommend this book, and the four stars are a reflection of what works well, which is to say most of it.

I'm not going to write down summary because people have done great job on it. I will just write what I think (and feel) about this book ...

This novel took 6 years in a making - and when it FINALLY came out, I just burst up with excitement because Dennis Lehane is one of my favorite authors. The length of the book worried me at first (702 pages, in hardcover!). Then the fact that it's a historical fiction -- I am used to his mystery/detective stories that I'm not sure what I will think of it.

The prologue was slow -- and I admit, I struggled at first because I didn't have any knowledge on American history (hey, I'm not an American!). But after 50 pages or so, I started to forget that this story took time in the 1918 - 1920. I forgot that this book was historical. What I cared about was the story, the characters, and the words that Mr. Lehane woven in this great, GREAT book. I gobbled up the pages in 2-days, wasting my weekend, that is. It is not the best of his (I still think "Mystic River" is unbeatable at this moment) but it is his most ambitious so far -- and by God, he made it quite well. Hat's off to him ...

... let's just hope that I don't need to wait another 6 years for his new book.

I've read many of his books and enjoyed them. This one was long and I had to force myself to continue reading. I just didn't care until the final 150 pages what happened to the main characters.

I had only previously read the author's "Shutter Island," which was enticing in its Stephen King-like suspense, premise and presentation. He surpasses it with this book.
He's a Bostonian Pete Hamill in that he recreates old Boston as the New York writer has done for NYC in several of his historical novels (North River and Forever).
Lehane grabs the reader instantly with the opening as baseball legend Babe Ruth watches a group of talented, young black men playing baseball. The story then evolves into one about one of the players, which merges with one about a white Boston family.
Each night as a I read 50-60 pages, I was only forced to put it down due to the late hour, not the pace of the book.
Anyone who enjoys novels with intelligence, history and a swift-moving narrative will get total satisfaction from this book, which should be one of the ten best fiction pics of the year!

I prefer this kind of novel: putting fictional characters into actual historical events. And Dennis LeHane is a good writer who can handle the subject matter well. I'm finding, though, that the superlatives aren't coming to mind as I write this. I anticipated this novel so much that it didn't, couldn't live up to the hype and my own expectations.

I liked the characters. They were well-drawn and believable. Perhaps it was the context. I knew about the molasses thing and the even the socialist movements of the era that didn't lose their appeal until the second World War. I didn't know about the police unrest in Boston, but that's nothing new. "Blue Flu" is a term we're all familiar with.

I suppose I'd like to say it's quite a good book. It's a memorable which alone puts it in a worthy and rare category. And I recommend it highly.

I can't think of a single thing wrong with it. I did think that there were too few pages left to bring everything to a conclusion, but no, that was handled well too.

I suppose I expected excitement and what I got was good craftmanship.

From BenPfeiffer[...]:

This year in Anaheim at the American Library Association (ALA) convention, among several worthy titles, I picked up a copy of The Given Day by Dennis Lehane.

The book comes out on September 23rd, 2008. At the bottom of the cover, the inscription "New York Times bestselling author of mystic river" caught my eye.

The front flap--rather than reveal the story's details--was a short letter from Jane Friedman at WilliamMorrow.

"In The Given Day we discover a new Dennis--one who has crafted a literary tour de force," Friedman wrote. "Brilliantly written, expertly plotted, rich with historical detail and sense of place, this is a book whose themes continue to resonate."

At the time, I admit to wondering if any book could live up to that hype. I opened the covers and turned to the prologue: "Babe Ruth in Ohio."

Ten days later, when I had finished the galley--the book was impossible to put down--I was a believer. Dennis Lehane had written something amazing. When I asked him about the novel as part of my Ask the Writer series, he brushed aside the question with a joke.

"I would strongly recommend nobody ever attempt a historical epic," Lehane says. "It's for crazy people. Way too much hard work. I'm glad it's done. I hope it's good."

In fact, the book is good. Very, very good.

Set in Boston at the end of the 1917, The Given Day brings to life a forgotten era in American history. Woodrow Wilson is the president of the United States. Calvin Coolidge is the governor of Massachusetts. The narrative follows two families: one white, one black. This is a time when one world is dying and another world is not yet born; a time of revolutions, terrorism, plagues, reds, anarchists, fear, and social upheaval. To even a casual reader, the parallels to our own time may be familiar. With good reason, Lehane says, although he can't take all the credit.

"The parallels reared their head very early," Lehane says. "I had no hand in that; the gods wrapped me a gift. All I had to do was put it to paper; editorializing or commenting on the parallels in any fashion would have been redundant. History proves that, time and time again, fear or the perception of powerlessness produces fascist impulses in people and societies. The more afraid you are, the more vicious and infantile you usually become. I don't think I say anything revolutionary in that regard with The Given Day, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be said and said as much as possible."

Social commentary aside, The Given Day is a terrific story--historical fiction at its finest. Dennis Lehane keeps the pace moving fast enough to satisfy a restless mind and slow enough to explore hidden agendas and emotions in each person he creates (or resurrects). With so much research, detail, and historical fact, Lehane never once falls into the trap of becoming professorial. Even in today's fast-paced society, The Given Day will hold its own among films, blogs, and television as a work of entertainment. The writing in The Given Day is artistic without sacrificing function. Lehane keeps tight control over his sprawling epic, treating each character with the proper respect and distance. It's been a long time since I read a novel so well written. I can't go on at length without revealing too much of the plot or the characters--so I won't. This is a book you should pick up and read for yourself.

From BenPfeiffer[...]:

This year in Anaheim at the American Library Association (ALA) convention, among several worthy titles, I picked up a copy of The Given Day by Dennis Lehane.

The book comes out on September 23rd, 2008. At the bottom of the cover, the inscription "New York Times bestselling author of mystic river" caught my eye.

The front flap--rather than reveal the story's details--was a short letter from Jane Friedman at WilliamMorrow.

"In The Given Day we discover a new Dennis--one who has crafted a literary tour de force," Friedman wrote. "Brilliantly written, expertly plotted, rich with historical detail and sense of place, this is a book whose themes continue to resonate."

At the time, I admit to wondering if any book could live up to that hype. I opened the covers and turned to the prologue: "Babe Ruth in Ohio."

Ten days later, when I had finished the galley--the book was impossible to put down--I was a believer. Dennis Lehane had written something amazing. When I asked him about the novel as part of my Ask the Writer series, he brushed aside the question with a joke.

"I would strongly recommend nobody ever attempt a historical epic," Lehane says. "It's for crazy people. Way too much hard work. I'm glad it's done. I hope it's good."

In fact, the book is good. Very, very good.

Set in Boston at the end of the 1917, The Given Day brings to life a forgotten era in American history. Woodrow Wilson is the president of the United States. Calvin Coolidge is the governor of Massachusetts. The narrative follows two families: one white, one black. This is a time when one world is dying and another world is not yet born; a time of revolutions, terrorism, plagues, reds, anarchists, fear, and social upheaval. To even a casual reader, the parallels to our own time may be familiar. With good reason, Lehane says, although he can't take all the credit.

"The parallels reared their head very early," Lehane says. "I had no hand in that; the gods wrapped me a gift. All I had to do was put it to paper; editorializing or commenting on the parallels in any fashion would have been redundant. History proves that, time and time again, fear or the perception of powerlessness produces fascist impulses in people and societies. The more afraid you are, the more vicious and infantile you usually become. I don't think I say anything revolutionary in that regard with The Given Day, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be said and said as much as possible."

Social commentary aside, The Given Day is a terrific story--historical fiction at its finest. Dennis Lehane keeps the pace moving fast enough to satisfy a restless mind and slow enough to explore hidden agendas and emotions in each person he creates (or resurrects). With so much research, detail, and historical fact, Lehane never once falls into the trap of becoming professorial. Even in today's fast-paced society, The Given Day will hold its own among films, blogs, and television as a work of entertainment. The writing in The Given Day is artistic without sacrificing function. Lehane keeps tight control over his sprawling epic, treating each character with the proper respect and distance. It's been a long time since I read a novel so well written. I can't go on at length without revealing too much of the plot or the characters--so I won't. This is a book you should pick up and read for yourself.

I very much enjoyed this book except the ending kinda left things hanging and unresolved. That seems to me was done only so there could be a sequel. I mean, the Greenwood massacre in Tulsa was in 1921 so it can hardly be coincidental that Luther and Lila are back there again at the end of the book as 1920 dawns.

Lehane is very good I think in bringing out the human-ness of characters, flaws and good points, and the main characters were folks you turn the page for, to see what happens to them next. I was not as bothered by the Babe being there throughout, in many ways his struggles were a big part of what was going on in 1918-1919 Boston, and between workers and owners of the time. I'm glad he was part of this book.

I must admit I'm a big fan of DL, having read all his previous excellent works...when I found he had written another I immediately got it only to discover it was over 700 pages,whoops!
Anything that long would have to be exceptionally good (even against the high standards established by just his own other books)to have me consider reading it.
Guess what, I read it in 3 sittings,never wanting to put it down ,but one must sleep, eat etc.
Seriously this is a mesmerizing piece of work, every page makes you eager to turn to the next with not a let-up over those 702 wonderous pages.

Recently a member of the committee which awards the Nobel Prize for literature had some unkind and unfair comments about the state of American literature. Indeed if he were reading, say Cormac McCarthy, he may have not come to that conclusion. On the other hand if he'd happened upon Dennis Lehane's atrocity Any Given Day, he'd be spot on.
Perhaps the most offensive aspect of this overblown, over written, unreadable behemoth of a novel is that Lehane seems to think he is writing literature, when he is not even writing a decent potboiler. When one thinks of all the critical abuse that has been heaped on The Da Vinci Code, at least, once can say for all its literary faults and frequent bad writing, it a great potboiler and page turner.
In The Given Day, Lehane takes an exciting time, 1919; a changing and politically charged city, Boston; the struggles of second generation ethnic groups, Irish, African, American, and Italian; an era of political turmoil when bolshevism seemed like a great idea to many people; all the conflict that goes with these things, and even a dose of Babe Ruth; and manages to mangle it so badly that the most riveting thing about the book is the thud when one has finally finished it and throws it to the floor in utter disgust.
If for no other reason than the desire to reduce the carbon footprint of this massive waste of paper, avoid this book. God help us if someone tries to make it a movie.

When I worked in the reference library of the Herald-Traveler, Edwin O'Connor was there almost daily to research his "The Last Hurrah."
It looks like Dennis Lehane did not do that kind of research for his "The Given Day." There was no El line through Roxbury Crossing in 1919. When I lived there, I had to go through the Dudley Street station and take the Allston bus.
R.H. White and Chandlers were not stores on Washington Street. Both were on Tremont across from the Common.
And the Traveler was not a morning paper.
Finally, the U.S, Postal Service was created from the Post Office Department in the administration of Richard Nixon.

I agree with just about everything the two and three star reviewers are saying about this book. And since the author couldn't trim this book down, I'll keep my review short and sweet. This book downright stunk, was way overwritten and had too many unbelieveable characters.

That being said, Dennis Lehane is one of my favorite authors, I've read every one of his novels, felt that "Mystic River" was a masterpiece, but he fell down a little bit with "Shutter Island", but hey everyone has a slip up once in a while and it was entertaining although predictable. Too bad I can't say the same about this latest tome.

It seemed like I waited forever for this latest release, only to be badly disappointed. I don't know about the rest of the Lehane fan's here, but I sure wish he'd get back to doing what he does best and that's writing great mysteries.

Dennis Lehane has been one of my favorite authors and I was eager to read THE GIVEN DAY when I saw that it had been released.

The prologue of this book sets the pace for this 700 plus page book. A young Babe Ruth, then playing for the Boston Red Sox, comes upon a group of black men playing baseball after the train he's traveling in breaks down in Ohio. He is amazed by the speed of one of the players, Luther Laurence, whose story is told throughout the book. Ruth, along with some Sox and Cubs players challenge these men to a game. What happens in this game determines the tone the rest of the book will take.

Lehane brings to life the images, attitude and paranoia of Post-WWI Boston. A young police officer, Danny Coughlin, son of a police captain and member of a somewhat prominent Boston family is tired of the injustice he sees himself and his fellow officers have to suffer. Living below the poverty level, police officers must pay for their own uniforms and equipment, do not get overtime pay, and work 80 workweeks with almost no time off. The city is full of others who feel repressed and discontented and some of these people (Bolsheviks and Anarchists) are preparing for what they believe will be a revolution. Danny and his fellow police officers want to unionize and finally get a charter from the American Federation of Labor. In the meantime, Luther has a pregnant wife in Tulsa and has fled to Boston after a murderous altercation. He ends up working in the Coughlin household and there, he forms a friendship with Danny, and as well as Nora, a young Irish woman who lives/works in the Coughlin house and who is in love with Danny.

The story that unfolds here encompasses a great deal of the actual history of Boston at that period of time - the influenza epidemic is prominently featured here, and the toll it took was devastating. All the while though, there are brief updates as to what Babe Ruth is experiencing while all this is going on. These chapters tie the book together very well.

I never lost interest in the story, however some might find the book a bit to long. While I think there might be a little repetitiveness, there was not enough that it detracted from the story. Perhaps it could have been edited down just a bit.

I understand that THE GIVEN DAY will be made into a film for a 2010 release. The film version of MYSTIC RIVER was the only movie I ever saw that I felt was true to the book it was based on. I hope this is also true for THE GIVEN DAY.

I was surprised when I first heard that Dennis Lehane was coming out with a historical novel. This was the author that had given us nail-biting crime thrillers such as "Gone Baby Gone" and "Mystic River" and I was a bit skeptical of his genre-crossing effort. Well, I found "The Given Day" to be a well-researched work of historical fiction.

The two main protagonists - Danny Coughlin, a beat cop in Boston's Italian North End and Luther Laurence, a black athlete on the run are well-delineated characters that engage our sympathies. Real-life historical characters are also skillfully woven into the storyline [WEB Dubois, Herbert Hoover, Babe Ruth, Emma Goldman]. The ex-history teacher in me enjoyed the generous attention to factual details.

All in all, I found "The Given Day" to be a rich narrative peopled with complex and interesting characters. Fans of historical fiction should give this a try.

Lehane ventures successfully from his usual genre of crime fiction ("Gone Baby Gone" and other Patrick and Angie detective novels, "Mystic River" and the psychological novel "Shutter Island") to create a fascinating historical novel about life in his beloved Boston in the early 20th century. The narrative builds toward the Boston Police Strike of 1919, which took place at a time when the Red Scare which was gaining momentum following the recent Russian Revolution. Anyone organizing more than three people (including policemen) to do other than hold a patriotic parade was considered a potential enemy of the state. Aiden "Danny" Coughlin, a first-generation Irish-American and second-generation cop tries to become a plainclothes detective by taking undercover roles in both the worlds of police labor organization and dissidents (all of whom were considered potential terrorists). Eventually Danny "goes native" and becomes a pariah of sorts within his own family--his father is a Boston Police Department Captain, his brother Connor is an aspiring Assistant District Attorney.

Paralleling Danny's story is that of Luther Laurence, a 23-year-old African-American worker in Columbus, OH munitions factory, suddenly laid off to make way for returning white soldiers. Without real prospects in Columbus, Luther and his pregnant girlfriend Lila strike out for Tulsa, OK, where oil money has created an affluent black society in Greenwood alongside the white nouveau riche. Luther can't believe his good fortune, which doesn't last long, and the end of which propels him to Boston to join the story there.

As a bonus to the reader, Lehane weaves through both stories charming (and often vulgar) vignettes about the life of emerging baseball superstar Babe Ruth, in his last years with the Boston Red Sox during this time. The opening scenes recounting a pickup baseball game between a trainload of major leaguers and Laurence's industrial league team in Columbus would stand alone as one of the best baseball short stories I've read.

Ruth isn't the only historical character with a prominent role - theatrical producer and Red Sox owner Harry Frazee, held responsible by Sox fans for 87 years for the "Curse of Babe Ruth" appears to negotiate Ruth's way to New York; J. Edgar (then just John) Hoover appears as an ambitious young lawyer in the new Bureau of Investigation; Jack Reed and Eugene O'Neill are among the radical left; then Massachusetts governor and future U.S. President Calvin Coolidge plays a key role during the strike and ensuing riot. Historical events of the period are also featured - the Great Influenza of 1917 and the Molasses Tank Explosion of 1918, of which I wasn't aware, but which was a very big mess.

The Given Day was my most satisfying and exciting read of 2008. I blew through the 700 pages in less than two days as the book became my constant waking companion. Lehane's style born in detective stories keeps the action moving. The larger story resonates in the current day with the domestic surveillance and executive power given by the Patriot Act in the post-9/11 era occurring in the long shadow of the Red Scare. Lehane lays much of liberal Boston's ugly history bare--racism, classism, ethnicism, and sexism were all rampant in the early 20th century as groups worked to put as many people as possible below them on the power structure.

It is by far my favorite Lehane novel of the five or so I've read, comparing favorably with another of my favorites, "Paradise Alley" by Kevin Baker about the New York City draft riots of 1863, which it greatly resembles in scope and style. The book's timing and ending leave hope that Lehane might tackle a future novel about the infamous Tulsa race riots of 1921 in Greenwood, OK. Five enthusiastic stars, especially for lovers of historical fiction and of Boston. Although a bit long for a classroom assignment, "The Given Day" would also serve high school and college students of early 20th century history well, especially regarding labor struggles and the Red Scare. Fans of Lehane's other works may be expecting something different, but should still enjoy "The Given Day."

This is totally different than Lehane's other books. A great story built around some great history. I learned a lot about a time in history I really knew nothing about. A great read.

I looked forward to reading this book but found it a disappointing read. It was as if the author couldn't decide what kind of book he wanted to write or even who he wanted to write about. So many historical events crammed into the book that you couldn't get a thoughful feel for any of the events or its impact on individual lives. The molasses spill alone and its impact on the city would have been a book in itself. Just when I was starting to get into the whole NAACP story, the story line disappears. This is one of those books that makes me angry because with better editing and more thoughtful pacing the point of the novel could have had more impact by focusing on fewer events.

At the end of the first third of the book, I was skipping paragraphs, by the halfway point, I was merely skimming pages and at the three quarter mark I was skipping entire pages.

I have my own personal rating system, is it a book that you buy new, buy used, or wait and check it out for free from the library. This is a library check out book.

Dennis Lehane is a very talented writer. His books Mystic River and Shutter Island are two of my favourite works of fiction but with The Given Day, I think he is trying to hard to create an epic historical book ala James Ellroy.

The storyline is huge, there are characters and events galore, the book is over 700 pages long but it felt incomplete.

We have Babe Ruth featured in a number of chapters but for what reason? He is not a main character in the book but someone who has a few pages here and there, telling his story but leading nowhere.

The main characters Danny and Luther are both interesting but again, their stories seem incomplete and maybe even rushed. It is almost as if the author had been going to write 800 pages but then decided against it and went 720, but cut out important pages that could have helped the story.

I just finished up feeling the last 50 pages or so were rushed and seemed disjointed.

I jsut hope this is not the start of a series of historical books......

Ignore the length of this book. It is a can't-put-down, intriguing, thoughtful novel of epic proportions. It spins a fictionalized tale through actual historical events and around actual historical people in a way that makes the action seem real. The themes range from racism to unionization to government corruption to immigration to class warfare, and even though the story takes place in the early part of the 20th century, the themes are just as relevant and present in today's society. I highly recommend this novel -- one of the best I've read in a while. The only reason I give it 4 instead of 5 stars is the length -- as a mom of 2 little ones, it's taken me some time to get through it. Otherwise -- I fully recommend it.

Being from Boston, I really wanted to like this book but I couldn't get through the first 3 chapters. Couldn't suspend disbelief enough about Babe Ruth's supposed conversations - I admit, I hate mixing historical people into fiction. Also, this book falls into the "macho blue collar" character narrative. The dialogue and all it's trying too hard "toughness" I just found over the top. Does anyone really talk like a tough guy all the time; the Danny character was just too much of the Irish tough guy Cop stereotype. I felt like I was watching an over-dramatic movie.

This is Lehanes' best work to date and I have read each book he has written. I believe this author has moved himself to a higher level which hopefully his fans will see more of in the future. Be sure you do not pass The Given Day by, it is well worth the reading time.

Dennis Lehane's new novel, "The Given Day" is an historical novel set in Boston in the closing days of WW I. It's main character is Danny Coughlin, a flatfoot with the Boston Police Dept. who is torn between his upright Irish family and Nora, an Irish servant in the family's employ. The novel takes in some of the great historical events of the period, the Spanish Flu pandemic, the Great Boston Molasses Flood and the Boston Police Strike. Lehane also weaves real characters such as Babe Ruth, Jack Reed, Eugene O'Neil and J Edgar Hoover seamlessly in with his fictional ones. The book is superply written and hard to put down.

This excellent novel brings the reader back to Boston in the early 1900's. The era is seen through the eyes of various characters, some fictional and some not (Babe Ruth). The novel describes the events of the time; the flu epidemic, the prolifertation of communist and socialist ideologies, the rise of trade unions, police corruption, and racial disrimination. While the list of characters is long and sometimes difficult to follow (especially if you put the book down for a couple of days), there are three main characters that dominate each of the chapters: Danny Coghlin - a Boston police officer, Luther - an African American with a troubled past, and the Babe himself. As the novel progesses, the characters lives intersect. Friendships, family relationships and a steamy romance help to keep the book interesting. A very good read.

I've been a previous fan of Lehane's novels from 'way back, so it was with great anticipation that I began reading "The Given Day". The opening chapter centering on Babe Ruth was a great start, and his cynical observations of the times provided an interesting interlude throughout the novel. And the scenes set in Boston (my old college town) were filled with historic interest and fun to read...
Ultimately however, the novelistic tension promised early on in the story never materialized. The tails of the two alternating protaganists (Danny and Luther)become tired and predictable, and, as is the danger with any "fictional history", we feel as if we already know the ending long before we ever get there.
I'd heard previous criticism from other sources of the "cartoonish villians" who populate the novel, and unfortunately I was unable to shake that aspect as I continued my way through the overly wrought story line. The Deacon, Commisioner Curtis, Smoke--and certainly several of the police characters---are sketched with one-dimensional intensity; the reader almost feels as if perhaps this will make the inevitable Hollywood casting that much easier for the big budget studios. In fact, the further into the story I got---and make no mistake: Lehane is a writer of tremendous promise---I felt as if I were reading the outline of a screenplay...and not a novel worthy of Lehane's legacy.
Only with the character of Danny's father--the police captain---did I feel that Lehane had sketched a complete character, both loathesome and lovable with the requisite complexity worthy of his status. The eventual deterioration of the city, (as well as his own family)serve as the pivotal events around which the novel rotates.
To conclude: The Given Day is a readable, workman-like historical take on an oft-overlooked time in American history. However, the novel lacks in comparison with previous efforts from masters such as Theodore Dreiser or E. L. Doctorow--or even the author's own best works (see: Mystic River or Shelter Island).

The Given Day is an epic, sprawling novel from best-selling writer Dennis Lehane. This book is a thoroughly enjoyable novel that ambitiously covers 1920s Boston. Yet for its length, it is really a simple story about Danny Coughlin, a policeman's son, Nora O'Shea, a poor imigrant girl, and Luther Lawrence, an African American baseball player.

The novel opens with Danny Coughlin as a Boston police officer. Danny is proud to be a cop and his father is a powerful lieutenant and his brother Connor is a district attorney. Danny wants to be a detective and agrees to go undercover to try and infiltrtate the many anarchist and socialist organizations in Boston. Danny does this to speed up the track to detective, but is somewhat sympathetic to the cause of forming a police union, which really angers his father. Nora is the Coughlin housekeeper. She had a fling with Danny before a secret in Nora's past tore them apart.

Luther Lawrence works in a munitions factory and in his spare time plays baseball with other Afirican Americans. Lehane introduces Lawrence during a pick-up baseball game between his friends and a group of major leaguers (including Babe Ruth) who are stranded because of a broken train. Luther loses his job and takes his pregnant girlfriend Lila to the wealthy Greenwood area of Tulsa, Oklahoma (called "Black Wall Street" before the race riots). Luther gets in to trouble there and ends up fleeing to Boston. In Boston, Luther gets a job with the Coughlin family, and this is where the lives of all the main characters begin to intersect.

The novel takes place around 1919, which was a time of change in America. The country was just coming out of World War 1. The economy was struggling to cope with the demands of an industrialized nation. Unions such as the American Federation of Labor were organizing to fight for the overworked, underpaid working class. This was a time when unions existed to actually help workers and not just to get politicians elected or coerce members. The Boston police made poverty level wages and often work several weeks without a day off. Their precincts were rat infested and dirty. Danny Coughlin is a natural leader and leads the Boston police into the battle for higher wages and better working conditions. Will Danny be successful? Will Danny's past indescretions come back to haunt him? Will Danny's friendship with Luther Lawrence do more harm than good?

The Given Day is a long novel but easy to follow. Lehane fans should know, this is not a suspense novel like his Kenzie/Genarro series. It is most like Mystic River, yet there is no supsense. This is a straight, literary fiction novel. The pages turn quickly and it is a fast read, even for its length. I enjoyed the book for its informative, and at times entertaining look at historical Boston.

The story didn't reach out and grab me, didn't force me to care about the characters. Fans of Lehane should enjoy The Given Day in spite of its weaknesses.

After reading the widely divergent reader reviews, I conclude there are two types of Lehane readers. There arethose that would want him to stick to the detective genre and those that are open to Lehane stretching his creative legs. I find myself in the latter group.
This is a superbly accomplished historical drama. Congratulations to Lehane for having the courage to break form and give us something new and compelling

I have been an avid Dennis Lehane fan since reading "A Drink Before the War" when it was first published. His characters and sense of place were excellent, and I only regret that he has not written any more of the detective series. That said, however, I must admit that he is constantly stretching his craft, getting into new and different genres. This latest book is a historical novel taking place in Boston during the years 1917 to 1919, and which culminates in the police strike of 1919, which brought Calvin Coolidge to national attention. (Coolidge, I should mention, does not come off very well in this book.) Once again, Lehane's touch for believeable characters is wonderful, and his knowledge of Boston arcana is tremendous, for it is evident that he really loves his city (as I do, from visitig it many times). We follow two story threads, one concerning an Irish Catholic family of policemen, and one concerning a black fugitive from "justice" who ends up working for this family. There are also many cameo appearances by historical figures, and Babe Ruth plays a part in many parts of the book. Even though I think this book could have been shortened a bit, it did not detract fropm the quality of the writing and the interest in the plot this writing generated. Lehane is quickly becoming one of the acknowledged leading writers of our time, and it's a recognition that is well deserved.

(Actually four and a half stars.) Dennis Lehane's new novel is an ambitious docudrama of Boston in the period between the first world war and the 1919 police strike. A number of interesting real-life figures are part of the narrative, principally Babe Ruth (who is about to be traded to New York) and such governmental/political figures as J. Edgar Hoover, Calvin Coolidge, Woodrow Wilson, et al. The story concerns the historical events of this period as they impinge upon two principal individuals: a black man from Ohio via Tulsa and an Irish police officer. The events of the period, including the great influenza epidemic and the police strike, are rendered very effectively. The central fictional characters are interesting and engaging and they find themselves at the center of important events in dramatic circumstances. The novel is very long, but it picks up momentum in the second half. Lehane's take on Boston and on the Irish who both afflict and protect it is absolutely pitch perfect and extremely impressive. This is the most 'philosophic' of Lehane's novels, with many trenchant observations and beautiful lines.

Lehane is a very ambidextrous writer, but readers should always be aware that he frequently moves beyond the world of detection and the world of crime fiction and works in other forms and subgenres. The Given Day is crime fiction cum historical fiction and one can already imagine it as a successful miniseries. The characters, however, are not as compelling as those in, e.g., Mystic River and the wider canvas sacrifices depth for breadth. As a meditation on the historical and cultural reality that is Boston it is absolutely superb. I recommend the book highly, but I advise readers that this is a departure for Lehane and will not be for all tastes.

Any novel that begins with Babe Ruth getting drunk and stealing hats is going to grab my attention, but I actually picked up Dennis Lehane's "Any Given Day" without knowing anything about it beyond the name of the author. I am another one of those who came to Dennis Lehane's writing through the film versions of his works. When I learned that "Gone Baby Gone" and "Mystic River" were both adapted from Lehane's books, and that the former was the fourth in a series of, to date, five Kenzie-Gennaro novels (like him, love her), I went out and ordered the series. That was enough to move Lehane into the small but select category of authors whose books I pick up when they come out in hardcover.

"The Given Day" is a historical novel covering a two year period with the year 1919 in the middle. Gidge Ruth dominates the book's prologue, but the two star crossed characters are Luther Laurence, a black baseball player we first meet playing a pickup game against Ruth, and Danny Coughlin, a white Boston police officer . It seems strange that the paths of Luther and Danny should meet, but events conspire to form an unlikely friendship. Meanwhile, there are anarchists stirring up trouble in the streets of Boston , an influenza epidemic, and a police force unable to live on pre-World War wages. Boston has not seen such a fertile ground for ferment since the days of the American Revolution. Ultimately, "The Given Day" is an epic novel writ small, more comparable to E. L. Doctorow's "Ragtime" than, say, Leo Tolstoy's "War and Peace." Granted, the 1919 Boston Police Strike is not on a par with Napoleon's invasion of Russia, but there are so many threads related the transformation of the United States in the 20th century that you can see how our today is connected to these particular yesterdays.

While reading this novel I consistently found myself wanting more, not so much in terms of the story continuing on past the end point, which is a constant complaint with most compelling narratives, but more in terms of wanting more details as the story went along. Babe Ruth figures large in this response because he is the historical figure who is featured most prominently in the tale. This is because he is the character situated at the tipping point in what is happening when money and labor in the novel, and there is a sense that as Babe Ruth goes, so goes the nation. More than any other character he represents the future (when we talk about important sports figures in American history there are Babe Ruth and Jackie Robinson on the top plateau and nobody else comes close in importance). But while I definitely agree with the privileged position Ruth plays in the narrative, I still wish that some of the other historical figures--which run the gamut from Red Sox owner Harry Frazee and Department of Justice lawyer John Hoover to former General Motors president James Jackson Storrow and Massachusetts governor Calvin Coolidge--were more than transient characters walking in and out of the story.

Yes, I know that Lehane's choices in this regards are all legitimate, but I ended up wanting more because of what the author was doing with Ruth, specifically in chapter twenty-four. That is the first chapter in the section "Babe Ruth and the White Baseball," which I thought could have stood alone as a short story. The chapter begins with a molasses tank exploding in Boston's North End and concludes with may well have been the longest home run Ruth ever hit, which was in a 1919 spring training game in Tampa, Florida. American League president Ban Johnson was requiring baseball teams to play with white (i.e., clean) baseballs, which is ironic since Ray Chapman would not be killed by a dirty baseball thrown by submariner Carl Mays until the following season. Lehane's eloquence with the metaphor and the way he casually works out the logic of Ruth's plate appearance, make this the standout chapter in the novel and well worth reading just on that score alone and justifies my rounding up on "The Given Day" in the end.

I thought this was a great book.. I've enjoyed all his other work....except Corronado. If you like this writer's work....your in for a treat. Hurry up Dennis...and write that next one.

This is an enormously readable, hard to put down historical novel. Dennis Lehane pulls the reader in on page one and never lets go. His characters - including Babe Ruth and J. Edgar Hoover - spring to life, and several separate story lines converge seamlessly at a pace that never lags. Historically, it's a compelling look at a period that would bring drastic changes in the way life is lived in America . Individual characters are, for the most part, well-drawn, although considerably stronger on the male side than the female. Lehane's prose is sure-handed, skilled, evocative and edgy.

I love visiting Boston and thoroughly enjoyed this novel about post-World War I Bean Town. Very interesting introduction to the history of the times told in a great story. I really enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it.

Lehane capitalizes on his deep understanding of South Boston and the police culture that arose from this Irish ghetto to recreate one of the most turbulent eras in American history. At the end of the Great War, when anti-immigration sentiment was exacerbated by the violence of the Bolshevik revolution in Russia and the rhetoric of its supporters in America, the rank and file of Boston's police department went on strike. The chaos that resulted produced repressive, xenophic laws on the state and federal level -- and propelled Calvin Coolidge into the White House. Lehane recreates the times and the people as a tragedy whose effects linger into our own times. The recreation is so authentic -- and heartbreaking -- that the one anachronism I detected -- calling ambulance attendants 'medics' and referring to "IVs" -- were as jarring as punch in the jaw. When will publishers learn that historical novels should be reviewed before publication by at least one well-read old curmudgeon of seventy plus to detect just such errors?

I knew nothing about the Boston Police Strike so this book was very educational. It had two especially interesting characters in Danny and Luther and is a reminder how unfairly workers and blacks were treated back in that time. There were times in the book where I thought Lehane was making a comparison to today's politics regarding the persecution of various minorities and the total disregard for our Constitution. It took awhile to get into the book and if I had one criticism it would be the insertion of Babe Ruth into the narrative. I found those parts to be almost completely disassociated with the larger narrative. Also, the Babe didn't seem like a very interesting person. But other than that, it was a good read.

I have read all dennis's books, this is what it says "a powerfull novel. Believable charcters in a historical period. If you lived in Boston, a must own. This novel may look rather large, but I read it in three days. A novel in which you get to know and feel and yes, worry about the people you meet.
By far this is Dennis lehanes best work, and quite a departure from his best sellers. Sony pictures will make a fortune when they release this as a film, for which they already bought the film rights

I wanted to like this novel more than I did. In fact, there's a lot to like. Lehane is a fine writer, sometimes a brilliant one. The period he's writing about, 1918 - 1919, was one of the most fascinating times in US history. Its eerie parallels with our own era (rising income inequality, capitalism run amok, fascination with terrorism and foreign threats) are subtly and skillfully drawn. He weaves his three main stories together adroitly. Danny Coughlin, the idealistic young cop who becomes a leader of the Boston Police Union, and Luther Laurence, a high-spirited black man on the run from a night club shooting are presented with insight and compassion. The third story line involves Babe Ruth, headed toward the apex of his fame while beginning to understand what fame can't give him. In the course of the novel, Danny and Luther learn what it means to grow up and to choose adult pleasures (such as love and family) that endure beyond the moment.

There are negatives. Too much historical detail, for one, particularly about the Boston Police Strike and the riots that followed it. We go to too many union meetings and are forced to witness too much mindless mob rioting in South Boston and Scollay Square. There's also too much violence; after a while, it leaves you numb. Danny in particular starts to resemble of those Leon Uris heroes: no beating, bullet or bomb can stop him. The thriller aspects of the plot - Danny chases down a bomb throwing anarchist who was once his lover; Luther must outwit an evil police detective - make the characters feel injected into historical events rather than caught in them.

Lehane is certainly aware of the social and cultural forces swirling through America in the early twentieth century, and goes to great pains to name them. But the main characters seem to skate over their fates rather than get tangled in them. Look at Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy, or Lehane's Mystic River. In both these books, social forces and personal limitations intersect in ways that break your heart. These stories feel inevitable and reverberate beyond their time. The Given Day doesn't achieve this level of greatness. It's a good read by a very able writer. Enjoy it, and move on.

Having read all of Lehane's books, I find that he captures the heart and soul of Boston. This look at 20th century Boston is fascinating and heartbreaking. Very good read for those who find our current global economics depressing because it will make you realize just how fortunate we really are in the U.S. today.

In an age where many disparage immigrants-legal or otherwise- this would be a great way to recall how our melting pot was really formed and what each wave of immigrants has brought to our shores.

Thanks, Dennis, it made me want to run out and rent "Reds", again.

700 pages is a long book by anyone's point of view. Therefore, it is a mark of a five star effort when I hated to see it end. In most epic novels the characters are somewhat forced because they have to be at the interesting events and meet the major figures in history. That is true here but the meetings are important to explaining the period. The opening scene set the stage for all that followed. Babe Ruth was the Greek chorus putting what was happening in context.

Danny Coughlin was a wonderful character, as was his father. The Captain was a wise man and he understood human nature.

I also greatly enjoyed Luther. There were some reviewers who did not think he was believable. I disagree.

In short, this was a great book. It also made me want to reread Ragtime which also was of this period.

It's been a long time since I read a book that I enjoyed this much. I didn't want to put it down, and yet, I tried to drag it out as long as possible because it will be a long time before I get this much pleasure (from a book) again. Hope he writes the sequel!

This novel might have been good if held to a normal length; say 350-400 pages. Stretching it to 702 made it slow, plodding, tedious and repetitious - disapointingly so.

The two main characters were very good - a second generation Irish cop/son of a cop (Danny) and a black man (Luther). Beyond those two, all the supporting cast were shallow improbable stereotypes. Danny's love interest, Nora, is deep and complex - at least that is what we are told. Nothing in the novel would support the supposition. Every character wears a black or a white hat. Only Danny's father seems to ever have a