The Given Day - by Dennis Lehane (Paperback)

About the Book

From "New York Times"-bestselling author Lehane comes a beautifully written novel of American history, set at the end of the Great War.

Book Synopsis

Set in Boston at the end of the First World War, bestselling author Dennis Lehane's extraordinary eighth novel unflinchingly captures the political and social unrest of a nation caught at the crossroads where past meets future. Filled with a cast of richly drawn, unforgettable characters, "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. Coursing through the pivotal events of a turbulent epoch, it explores the crippling violence and irrepressible exuberance of a country at war with, and in the thrall of, itself.

Review Quotes

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

"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