Saralee Says
I love it when I discover a great mystery writer before Larry does. People have been coming into my store for years talking about what great suspense stories Dennis Lehane writes and I never bothered reading him because I thought they were referring to Tim Lahaye, who along with Jerry B. Jenkins authors the best selling Left Behind series.
A few months ago I read that Clint Eastwood had convinced the author of Mystic River (Harper Torch) to let him buy the rights for the movie and to direct it. It dawned on me that Dennis Lehane was not the same writer as Tim Lahaye so I quickly grabbed Mystic River from our bookshelf and dove into the story. For the next few days I teased Larry with, "I can't believe you have not read this." Larry, of course, tried to get the book from me, and knowing how impatient Larry is when he wants to read a certain book, I took just a few more days to enjoy a book by one of today's most compelling storytellers and it was worth it.
Mystic River is not a happy story. Three boys, Sean Devine, Jimmy Marcus and Dave Boyle are playing ball in the streets when a big car pulls up and a man tells them he is a police officer and that he must take Boyle with him for breaking the law. The man is not a police officer and because Boyle gets in the car with the man and Devine and Marcus do not, the lives of the three boys turn out very differently. Devine becomes a law enforcement officer, Marcus does time in prison and opens a grocery store and Boyle, well the reader must decide what Boyle really is.
Lehane is a master when it comes to setting the stage for solving a horrific crime. The reader will feel a part of the Irish community where the entire story takes place. How do Lehane's other books which include Prayers for Rain, Take My Hand and A Drink Before the War compare to Mystic River? You will have to ask Larry. He is taking sweet revenge against me for taking my time since I discovered Lehane and Mystic River first.
Larry's Language
In Mystic River, author Dennis Lehane makes miscommication and deception a new art form when his Boston Irish characters, both the good guys and the bad guys, act out their intense feelings of guilt, rage and betrayal.
Twenty-five years prior Dave Boyle, Sean Devine and Jimmy Marcus were boyhood friends. The story revolves around the murder of one of their daughters and the search for the guilty party.
The real story and the questions for our Book Club discussion center around the relationships of these families. Are there ever circumstances where a wife should betray her husband and deliver him to his enemies? Another wife pledges absolute support to her husband even to the point of criminal behavior. Should such personal considerations override society's demand for law and order? One friend chooses to enforce his deadly personal code of conduct against his boyhood pal while another friend chooses to overlook at least two murders. What are the proper limits of friendship and trust? Finally, a brother expresses his love for his brother by committing a final and terrible sin. Is the moral and mortal nature of the sin lessened by that love?
The film is very faithful to the plot and to the characters in the book. This mystery novel is so strong in its setting and so powerful in its emotions that you can enjoy reading the book and the film will not be spoiled for you. Do you agree?
Join us for our next Book Club discussion which will feature controversial political books by Al Franken, Bill O'Reilly, Carlton Tucker, Ann Coulter and others.
