Denis Lehane has written some great books, and some Like Gone, Baby, Gone or Shutter Island have become great movies as well, with great characters and much mystery and suspense.  The Given Day, however, is a much broader historical story spanning the lives of two Boston families, one black and one white, during and after World War I through the Boston Police Strike of 1919.

Luther Laurence is a gifted baseball player, and in fact he and his team almost beat Babe Ruth out on a dirt field in the middle of nowhere.  But Luther is black, and that means that professional baseball is not a career choice he can make. Instead Luther must find another way to make a living in a time where that is very difficult.  Without even trying Luther is soon mixed up in some bad business and is soon running from some very dangerous people in Tulsa.  Leaving his pregnant wife behind, he jumps on a train and ends up in Boston working as a driver for the wealthy, and well connected Coughlin family.

Danny Coughlin, is the son of  Thomas Coughlin a well respected Boston cop and the man that Luther works for as his driver. Danny follows in his father’s footsteps and becomes a beat cop himself in the North End of Boston.  Trying to make a name for himself within the department, Danny goes undercover to be a part of an effort to root out Bolshevik sympathizers and agitators within the unions and even in the department who are encouraging the rank and file to demand better working conditions and better wages. Initially Danny sees the agitators as noisy trouble makers but soon he comes to admire their goals. He knows first hand the terrible conditions that many policemen live under and he is drawn to the message of standing up for their rights, especially when the City of Boston and the Boston Police Department itself  keep postponing pay raises and other changes that were promised.  Frustrated by the procrastination, Danny begins to wonder whether the agitators are in the right, but as their tactics become increasingly violent, Danny has to make serious choices that affect his standing within the department and with his own family.

Intertwined with the stories of Danny and Luther is the story of the City of Boston during this time of great change and chaos and among the events that emerge are The Great Molasses Disaster, where a large tank of molasses broke open and ran down the streets at 35 mph killing 21 and injuring 150, or the Spanish flu epidemic that arrived in Boston Harbor aboard a transport ship from Europe and killing more that 1,000 people and from there spread through out the US, and finally the Boston Police Strike which is the culmination of our story. In addition to these events we also meet Calvin Coolidge as the governor of Massachusetts, Edgar Hoover as a young FBI agent, W.E B. Dubois and Babe Ruth all of whom add a strong sense of historical context and authenticity to the book.

Lehane is obviously passionate about this time period and is eloquent in his descriptions of the city, the politics of the time and the working conditions of both blacks and whites.  He has a sharp ear for language and colloquialisms as well.  My only complaint is that it is long (720 pages) and that at some points the historical context overwhelms the story lines, but if you are interested in this time period, the birth of the union movement and the beginnings of our modern world, this is a great book to read!

Brenda”s Rating : **** (4 Stars out of 5)

Recommend this book to: Keith, Ken and Sharon

Book Study Worthy: Yes

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