Monday, May 26, 2014

The Given Day / Dennis Lahane / 704 pages/1072 LP/ March Challenge 700+ pages

This book was recommended on the blog (Thanks Sarah J!) and it intrigued me.  Although it was a lengthy read, it never bogged down or got the least bit boring.  It was a wonderful atmospheric piece detailing Boston and the US in general during and immediately after World War I.  It features labor unrest, fledgling unions, returning soldiers sparking the Influenza Epidemic, a very courageous, morally upright Boston police officer, a Black American caught in the evil web of prejudice, discrimination, and injustice, and the mighty Babe Ruth.  At the story's end, I concurred with Sarah J.  I wanted more information and the continuation of the stories of Luther Lawrence and Danny Coughlin.

"Craftsmanship was just a fancy word for what happened when labor met love."

In 1918, a Boston police officer was paid 29 cents an hour for a 73 hour week.

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