A Drink Before the War by Dennis Lehane Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of A Drink Before the War
Book Review: Couldn't finish it
Summary: 1 Stars
Sorry, I thought this was a very poor effort. The most grating thing is that it tries much too hard to be funny. But I also thought it was unoriginal and dull in its plot and characters - I got half way through and was so bored I gave up on it, which is very rare for me. I think Mr L would like to be Robert B Parker, but he doesn't get within shouting distance here.I'll try one more, just in case he gets better in later books. But I was very disappointed.
Book Review: Buy this book
Summary: 5 Stars
Dennis LeHane is undoubtedly one of the finest crime writers at the moment. In Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro he has created two characters you actually care about. The story is well written, has strong characters, as well as a fantastic twist. This will wet your appetite for Dennis Lehane, an author who, in my eyes, ranks alongside the finest authors of our generation. If you like Lee Child, Harlan Coben, Elmore Leonard and the like, you'll love Dennis Lehane.Book Review: A Parker influence, but a deeper insight
Summary: 5 Stars
There indeed is some Robert B. Parker style here, but Lehane doesn't stop there, and is not limited by that style, but goes beyond it into deeper looks into tortured souls. Certainly, the main character, Kenzie, had a more miserable childhood than did Spenser. And his partner, Gennaro, is going through her particular version of Hell which is one Susan Silverman didn't have to put up with. Like Spenser, Kenzie has his hangups, but his far more sordid childhood history influences his hangups, and he has no psychologist girl friend to be his shrink, so he has to face them by himself. And this gives the novel a lot of its weight.
There should also be something said about Lehane's perspective on racial relations.
There are a number of black characters in the book, very unlike from each other. There are also a number of characters who use derogatory terms against blacks, and Lehane characterizes these people by the words they use in many cases. A reader who gives the book a quick read might misunderstand the author's perspective. But Lehane does deliver a message that says people are people, individual people. The prejudices of these people say something about the individual bearing such prejudices.
Yet, Lehane also suggests, especially in one of the climactic scenes, that we are all contaminated by the aura of prejudice. In one telling sequence, the main character, Kenzie, succumbs to the poison of prejudice in his thinking. Fortunately, he shakes off the effects of this poison.
So what I am saying to those who read this book, especially Afro-Americans, is to not read the book too quickly, and to realize that although some of the author's characters use ugly language, the author is definitely not in love with all of his characters and shows that in his narration. In fact, he is saying something about those particular characters if you read carefully enough to hear what he says.
Book Review: Like the title suggests, an explosive story!
Summary: 5 Stars
I first discovered Dennis Lehane passing a book display and like most people i'm sure i read the blurb, found it appealing, bought it, took it home and foolishly let it gather dust. If i had known what i was missing out on, the book wouldn't have made it to the shelf. Never have i read a book so unlike the general idea of crime stories.
The general idea of the crime novel that i have experienced so far with the likes of Tess Gerristsen, Jonathan Kellerman, and James Patterson is that they have a good story going but theres a certain something missing that makes the plot 'zoom' along as i like it.
Dennis smacks it straight on the nail. I won't give away any part of the plot but there are circumstances in which Kenzie may be talking to someone he doens't like and they way he does it makes me rearrange my sitting position so that i can read on more and more.
Another edge that he has is with psychotic Bubba Rogowski. You
just have to love the fact the two main characters (whom you warm to straight away as they have such a jovial sense of manner around them)have someone like Bubba as their friend. Dennis never tells you where Bubba is when Kenzie and Gennero are in a tough situation which leaves you wondering all the time 'where is he going to come out from?'
With the humour and the mad acts of Bubba's lifestyle to keep you going, you also have the story to go with it!
A drink before the war has just the impact you expect with the word 'war' involved...explosive gunfights, intimidating conversations with madmen, twists that make you dizzy...its like a present of all the things you love in a novel crammed into one! The fact that it's Dennis's first novel as well should be enough to impress from the offset.
But before i give Dennis too much adulation, he does have one flaw. From reaading the parts where he describes the locations of Boston you can tell he loves the place for his descriptions do go on a bit leaving you wanting to say in a slightly annoyed tone 'move on please!'
But other than that meagre flaw, his work it supberb. I tried to read it slowly so that i didn't finish it so soon!
As for the five stars, i simply find no vice in Dennis's style to merit any less, enjoy this and his others as his humouress and relentlessly explosive plot twists, never relent!
Book Review: Extraordinarily Good!!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the third Lehane novel I have read (and yes, I know it should have been the first!). It is a well paced, witty and sharp and I couldn't put it down. Patrick Kenzie is a PI who always seems to have a "wise ass" comment and together with his partner and long time friend Angie Gennaro are hired to solve various crimes. I have read PI novels before, but most of the main characters are male and, while there is nothing wrong with this, you have to admire Lehane who has developed a gutsy female PI who can kick ass with the best of them. Actually, there are times in the book when her balls are bigger than Kenzie's! Superior stuff, an exceptionally good PI novel. Oh, and by the way - BUBBA ROCKS!!!