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Binding: Audio CD
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780061661518
Format: Audiobook, Unabridged
ISBN: 0061661511
Label: HarperAudio
Manufacturer: HarperAudio
Number Of Items: 20
Publication Date: October 01, 2008
Publisher: HarperAudio
Release Date: September 23, 2008
Sales Rank: 46280
Studio: HarperAudio
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Editorial Review:
Product 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.
Amazon.com Review:
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.
“[An] engrossing epic. . . . A vision of redemption and a triumph of the human spirit.”
--Publishers Weekly (starred review)
About the Author
Dennis Lehane is the author of seven novels. These include the New York Times bestsellers Gone, Baby, Gone; Mystic River; and Shutter Island, as well as Coronado, a collection of short stories and a play. He and his wife, Angie, divide their time between Boston and the Gulf Coast of Florida.
Images from The Given Day
The Boston Molasses Disaster
The Boston Molasses Disaster, also known as the Great Molasses Flood, occurred on January 15, 1919, in the North End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. A large molasses tank burst and a wave of molasses rushed through the streets at an estimated 35 mph, killing 21 and injuring 150. The event has entered local folklore, and residents claim that on hot summer days the areas still smells of molasses. (From Wikipedia).
Headline from the Boston Post, September 9, 1919
Rioters clash with National Guardsmen called in by Massachusetts Governor Calvin Coolidge during a strike by Boston police officers.
Emma Goldman
"I'd rather have roses on my table than diamonds on my neck."
Influenza
City officials in Boston were caught off guard when three civilians dropped dead of influenza in early September 1918. As September 1918 drew to a close, Boston had lost more than 1,000 citizens to the silent, relentless killer. The deadly influenza now posed a threat to the entire nation, and the world at large.
Calvin Coolidge
John Calvin Coolidge (1872 - 1933) was a Republican lawyer from Vermont who worked his way up the ladder of Massachusetts state politics, eventually becoming governor. His actions during the Boston Police Strike of 1919 thrust him into the national spotlight; he became the 30th President of the United States (1923 - 1929).
The Boston Molasses Disaster | 
The headline from the Boston Post, September 9, 1919 |
Emma Goldman | 
Influenza Mask | 
Calvin Coolidge |
Average Rating: 
Rating:  -
best book i read in 2008 lehane of course always is great. one hates his books to end
Rating: -
I had never read the mystery novels by Dennis Lehane since it is not a genre I'm interested in. But I love historical fiction and have admired Lehane from afar so became intrigued by The Given Day. It is a very long book but it is an extraordinary piece of work. I love rich, descriptive writing and with Lehane there was an embarassment of riches. On practically every page there is an image or turn of phrase that I found so immediate and compelling that I found myself amazed at Lehane's prodigous ... Read More
Rating:  -
Having recently enjoyed historical fiction set in the early 20th century (_The Somnambulist_, _The Alienist_, _Vienna Blood_), Lehane's latest book was recommended to me. While I enjoyed Lehane's writing tremendously (more on that in a bit), the interaction of fictional characters with real people seemed a bit forced. Certainly there was much going on in 1918 - 1919 (the Influenza Pandemic, the Red Scare, the Great Migration, revolution in Russia and labor unrest in the United States, the Black ... Read More
Rating: -
While not a fan of historical fiction, I am a fan of Lehane. This book may change my perspective. The question I asked continually during the read was how we can, as a society, forget what evils we wrought and felt righteous as the condemned took the bullet. Lehane has written a work of fiction based on fact that shocks and entertains. The characters are well thought out and light up the pages like good malt whiskey. A good read for a long trip because it will keep bringing you back to its pages.
Rating: -
The heroic, misunderstood Irish cop, Danny Coughlin, fighting a losing battle against the Boston power structure, his beautiful, saucy Irish lass, with her laughing Irish eyes and troubled past, a black man, who rises from his sordid past to befriend the lassie when she's practically living on the streets, and then saves the Irish cop from certain death, and the patriarch of the Coughlin Family, a police captain whose risen to power and wealth through toughness, cunning, and corruption -- these are ... Read More
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