51E7LR9nMVL. SL160  The Given Day by Dennis Lehane   ReviewThe Given Day: A Novel by Dennis Lehane

“The Given Day” may not be the ­ecstatic “yes” its scope implies — it’s too long, and peopled by too many cartoonish villains — but it does represent a huge leap forward for Lehane. The novel begins with a terrific set piece about Babe Ruth (then with Boston) riding a train back home with his teammates. On a long stop in Ohio, they strike up a game with black factory workers, who open up a quick lead — until the white players begin to cheat. It’s an ominous foreshadowing of things to come: the rich playing by different rules, corporations doling out leisure time in drips, themes Lehane has hammered at in his fiction.

Book Review – ‘The Given Day,’ by Dennis Lehane – Review – NYTimes.com.

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