Books › The Given Day
The Given Day
a novel
First published 2008 · 1072 pages
A sweeping, gritty plunge into the turbulent heart of a fractured city on the brink of revolution.
What it feels like
This sprawling historical epic immerses the reader in the turbulent, gritty atmosphere of a nation caught at a crossroads. The narrative unfolds with a steady, deliberate pace, weaving a rich tapestry of social unrest, class divides, and political upheaval. Its unflinching prose captures both the crippling violence and the irrepressible exuberance of early twentieth-century America, grounding sweeping historical events in the deeply personal struggles of its richly drawn characters. The mood is tense and atmospheric, shadowed by the looming threats of pandemic and strike, yet pulsing with the desperate hope of survival. It is a perfect match for readers who devour immersive, character-driven stories that explore the complex, often violent collision of power, loyalty, and revolution.
- Mood
- turbulent
- tense
- atmospheric
- shadowed
- Tone
- unflinching
- gritty
- sweeping
- earnest
- Pace
- steady
- Themes
- social unrest · class and racial divides · struggle for power · loyalty and duty · historical upheaval
- The writing
- Richly drawn and unflinching, capturing the grit and exuberance of a historical era with cinematic detail.
- The arc
- Moves from the simmering tension of a fractured society to the explosive climax of a city at war with itself.
- Who it's for
- Readers who crave sprawling, character-driven historical epics that plunge into the gritty, political turbulence of early twentieth-century America.
Content notes
- violence
- pandemic (Spanish Influenza)
- political unrest
- racism
About the book
Set in Boston at the end of the First World War, 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.
Description from Open Library.
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