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: Great read......Great Story
Summary: 4 Stars
I must say that I enjoyed how Lehane made his characters so down to earth. That is what made that book. The plot is soild and with the colorful characters it adds such an outstanding twist to the book. I felt as if I could have sat down with Patrick Kenzie and had a beer..lol.Kenzie and his partner Angela Gennaro are private investators, hired by a senator to find a cleaning woman. Lehane did a masterful job in adding new drama and a by adding a sexual tension between Kenzie and Gennaro(whom herself has her own problems). I am looking forward to reading more from these to, Enjoy.
Book Review: Nothing special
Summary: 3 Stars
I don't get the hoopla over this one. It didn't sustain my interest, but I don't like to stop reading a book halfway through so I finished it.Not that it's bad, it's just nothing special. I suppose if you're a fan of Lehane or of this genre you'll enjoy it more than I did. To me, it was just a rehash of a few things we've already read or seen.
Book Review: Lehane my new favorite author
Summary: 4 Stars
I received this book as a gift, so I decided to give it a try. Lehane has managed to do what very few authors have done- create characters that you really care about. The story line is intriguing and the dialog is perfect. I love how all the settings in Boston are described perfectly; he does an excellent job of making the city a character in the book. I have read a few more of the books in this series and they get better!Book Review: NOT RIVITED HERE
Summary: 3 Stars
This book did not inspire me to continue the series. I found it readable but just another detective novel. Are these people reading the same novel ? This is just another detective thriller. I can not understand all the RAVES it's getting. Maybe you have had to grow up in Boston ? MAYBE IM STUPID ? I found this book just pretty good and quite readable. Nothing special NO Chandler NOT Hammett. BUT it's pretty darn OK and YMMV. So try it you will either LOVE it or kinda like it.Book Review: (4 1/2) The Sins of the Fathers
Summary: 5 Stars
Dennis Lehane is that rare author who manages to combines the ability of a masterful wordsmith with interesting plots and storylines that raise significant issues. I first read SHUTTER ISLAND (review 5/7/03) and was so blown away by the conclusion that I immediately decided to read more of his work. I next chose MYSTIC RIVER given the wonderful reviews that it generated; while it fully confirmed his incredible talents as an author, it was so unrelenting dark and depressing that I literally had trouble completing the book (review 6/27/03). My conclusion was that Lehane's view of the human experience (at least in regard to the subjects of his novels) could almost be summarized by the well known admonition "abandon hope all ye who enter here". I recently decided that I would attempt to read his acclaimed debut novel A DRINK BEFORE THE WAR since I am an avid reader of the genre (detective series). I knew it was the first of five volumes in a series with Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro as the central characters, and I was interested in reading his original work in order to see how his style and talents had evolved since then. I am very glad that I decided not to abandon his books after MYSTIC RIVER, since I found this a wonderful read despite my reservations described later in this review. This is a dark story involving a group of Boston politicos who hire Patrick Kenzie and his associate and high school friend Angela Gennaro to retrieve some documents purportedly stolen by a cleaning woman who has subsequently disappeared. However, their assignment quickly becomes complicated by violence directed against Patrick and by a subsequent murder; they realize that a simple case whose solution would ingratiate them with the wielders of political power in their city (and thus the dispensers of meaningful favors on occasion) involves much more than a few missing documents. Thus begins a powerful story that foreshadows many of the themes in Lehane's later books, especially the theme of abuse so powerfully examined in MYSTIC RIVER. Sin and redemption, hate and love, the continuation of hope in the face of overwhelming odds and the possibility and role of forgiveness in human relationships all figure prominently in this story. Numerous instances of both child and spousal abuse (physical and psychological) are central to this story; they are gradually revealed very skillfully by the author as we get to know Angela and Patrick. In addition, there are significant racial overtones and the threat of gang warfare is omnipresent as one of the many personal battles and turf conflicts to which the title refers.
The conclusion is somewhat predictable and certainly foreshadowed, but the pleasure in this story is in the wonderfully descriptive passages which Lehane provides and the psychological depth of the main characters counterposed with the well recognized caricatures of many of the peripheral actors in this drama. My caution concerning this book and the indecision which I have about reading more of Lehane's work stems from the extreme amount of brutality and violence graphically depicted. While most of the violence is essential to the storyline, there is one torture scene so shockingly detailed that I recommend that the squeamish not read this book. However, my enjoyment of the author's narrative skills combined with an ending ambivalent enough to provide hope for the future that I decided that despite my qualms the book deserved a five star rating. AND THE TWO PAGE OPENING IS ONE OF THE BEST THAT I HAVE EVER READ, it provides a great hook and accurately sets the tone for the reading adventure that you will experience.
Tucker Andersen