21. 'A Drink Before The War' - Dennis Lehane

What praises can I sing for Dennis Lehane that I haven't already done before? I think that it's safe to say that I'm legitimately obsessed with his books at this point. A Drink Before The War serves as an introduction to two of his most beloved characters, Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro, and does a magnificent job at it. His ability to develop rich and interesting characters will never cease to amaze me, to be honest. This is especially evident in the character of Kenzie, whose point of view he follows throughout the entirety of the novel. This is a man with severe problems and the truth is that sometimes you're not sure if you just want to slap him for being an idiot or cuddle him like a scared little boy...

ummm yeah. can't finish whilst on the crew computer. peace. will be done tomorrow. =)

16. 'Coronado' - Dennis Lehane

I find it incredibly difficult to be disappointed with anything that Dennis Lehane writes. I'm not going to lie and say that I've read all of his books yet because that would be pointless. The truth is that I haven't... have only finished two... but if the rest are anything like the ones that I HAVE sat through, they're nothing short of fantastic views into the lives of people that genuinely could exist somewhere in the world. Coronado, a group of short stories, could not lose my attention no matter how many outside forces attempted work against me in the short time that I read it. I found myself wanting to get done work on my flights as quickly as possible just to devour the next story in line because they each provided little pictures into some of the darkest moments of the characters' lives.

There is nothing happy about this book. Lehane talks a lot about hope from the various points-of-view of the characters, but the truth is that most have nothing left to hope for. Their loves are gone or their lives as they knew it are entirely over. It starts with the tragedy of Elgin Bern and the war and death that would tear all the women he loved (or might have) away from him. From there the novel moved on through several other people and tragedies until it reached Coronado, a play that elaborates on the lives of two characters in Until Gwen and throws a few others into the mix. It, of course, is equally as tragic. This is not the kind of novel that you read to feel good about yourself or your life. It's the kind that shows you just how horrible people can be to each other and that there is nothing that some people won't do to get what they want. It's the truth about humanity... cold and bitter, but beautifully written in a way that few can master.

It's unlikely that I'll ever have much to say that's not even remotely positive about Lehane's writing. He truly has become one of my favorite authors already and I'm looking forward to starting the Kenzie/Gennaro series when I pick up the first one from the library tomorrow. I'll keep the blog posted on how much I adore this man and his works... I promise.

Rating: 4/5

5. 'Shutter Island' - Dennis Lehane

It took me a little while to finish this book. It's entirely my own fault for it, though, because I didn't give it enough of a chance. The first fifty or so pages were kind of slow, but the pace definitely picked up as time passed. While I set it down to start Under The Dome, I sincerely wish that I wouldn't have. Once it picked up, the book was too fabulous to put down. The rest of this little review is going to feature specific plot details. Don't read it if you want to enjoy the book itself. I would recommend that... believe me... because it's a fabulous novel. If you want it to be ruined, then by all means please continue. I've got nothing bad to say about it... not really... so take that into consideration.

This book is about a US Marshal that is sent to investigate a situation involving an escaped mental patient on Shutter Island. At least, that's what one is made to believe. Teddy Daniels and his new partner, Chuck Aule, are the marshals that arrive just before a massive hurricane the shuts the island down completely. The novel follows the next four days of their lives on the rock as they try to uncover the truth behind the mysterious disappearance of Rachel Solando, a patient that murdered her three children after her husband was killed during the war.. Slowly, Teddy begins to reveal pieces of his past to his new colleague, including the fact that the man who set the fire which killed his wife, Dolores, in their former apartment complex, Andrew Laeddis, is also housed at the facility. Teddy, it seems, is on a quest to avenge his wife's murder and while investigating Rachel, he also attempts to find Laeddis.

Several plots and sketchy plans later, Chuck goes missing and Teddy finds the missing Rachel. Apparently, she's actually a doctor on the island that decided she's not exactly down for the weird experiments that they're supposedly conducting. She goes off about ghost people with no memories or lives of their own which is all very convincing to our Agent Teddy. He's about to escape when he decides that he just can't leave his partner to suffer that fate... so he goes off in search of him at the lighthouse that has been the one place he's wanted to investigate but couldn't. He gets there with little difficulty and it turns out that there's a very good reason why. Teddy is actually Andrew Laeddis, and the house fire that forced them to leave their apartment was started by his very mentally unstable wife. The three children that Rachel killed? It was his wife that killed their three children. He's actually a patient at the hospital and they're trying a radical roleplaying therapy to try to get him to face up to the fact that he killed his wife in retribution just after he discovered the bodies of the children floating in the lake behind their house. He failed his family and it was that which he couldn't handle. It caused his psychotic break... and that partner that went missing? It's actually his doctor. The therapy worked... for all of maybe five pages. The book ends with him sitting on the step outside with Chuck, wondering if they've caught on to what they're doing. Chuck just waves the other doctor and group of orderlies over...

I usually don't do plot summaries. I actually tend to hate them, but there was no way to talk about my reaction to the book without completely ruining the ending. So much of the story is the ending. Honestly, I wanted to go back immediately and read it all again to pick out the little clues. Truthfully, they were kind of obvious in spots, but I never picked up on them because it's not exactly what I would have expected. I guess I wasn't entirely shocked because the dreams that Teddy had throughout his time on the island kind of hinted toward this. I really wasn't sure that I wanted to believe that Lehane had went there... because I genuinely liked Teddy. I wanted him to not be crazy because he seemed like such a likable guy in his own way. The same went with Chuck, of course, and to find out that the two characters that you adored throughout the book weren't even real is kind of disheartening. I think that's what the author was going for, though... he wanted you to be dumbfounded that he would completely throw everything we knew out the window in the last act. I think he wanted you to like them so that he could torture you when you discover that they're not really there.

This book is one of my new favorites. Now, I guarantee that I'll read it again, but probably only once to pick up on all the little hints that the author gives us throughout the novel. After that, I doubt that I'll touch it again. It's a fabulous piece of psychological literature, but the problem is that the magic is gone. Knowing the ending makes the idea of the journey a far more disappointing one... because really, what's the point in traveling if you know precisely where you're going to end up all the time? There's no adventure in it and without adventure there's no point. Perhaps I'll write more on the subject later, but for the time being this is all.

Rating: 5/5