Small Mercies completely wow’ed us. Storytelling at its grittiest and finest.
This book expertly weaves a message organically throughout the story without turning into a history book, or going off on a soapbox tangent. Brilliantly done.
Along with that, the story and the characters are memorable, real, & well flushed out.
This was just an overall triumph for us.
Keep reading to see our full review of Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane.
This is a book blog post featuring Small Mercies: Review of the stunning novel by Dennis Lehane, with our full book review and discussion, plus book recommendations for other books we think you might enjoy.
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Slowprose Review Format
Generally speaking, we don’t think of ourselves as “serious” reviewers, so our format may be a little different. Here is what to expect when you are reading Slowprose book reviews:
- Cover Review – doing the cliche of judging a book by its cover.
- Book Blurb – we share the book jacket or Goodreads blurb about the plot.
- Intrusive Thoughts – these are the general thoughts and feelings we have about the book while reading it.
- Book review – our overall review and star ranking of the book
- Book aesthetics – this is how gorgeous we thought the pages of the book were, or how easy/hard it was to read, or how good the narrator was if it is an audio book.
- Book recommendations – we talk about the author’s other books or other books that remind us of this book in some form or fashion. Basically, this is our catch-all to talk about anything else that we want to.
To see our full review system, including our method of assigning and weighting stars, go here.
COVER REVIEW – Small Mercies
Image from biblioteca.becca – go check out her recommendation & review of Small Mercies!
Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane gets 4 stars for this cover.
Instantly recognizable, easy to read, peaks our interest. All great qualities in a cover.
Is it aesthetically pleasing?
Not really, no. It does, however, kind of tell a story of its own.
All these things considered, this cover gets 4 stars.
BOOK BLURB – Small Mercies
Given our extreme irrational fear of ever being a spoiler of an epic plot twist, we will just share the book insert or book blurb found on Goodreads to provide the information in terms of the plot:
Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane
In the summer of 1974 a heatwave blankets Boston and Mary Pat Fennessy is trying to stay one step ahead of the bill collectors.
Mary Pat has lived her entire life in the housing projects of “Southie,” the Irish American enclave that stubbornly adheres to old tradition and stands proudly apart.
One night Mary Pat’s teenage daughter Jules stays out late and doesn’t come home.
That same evening, a young Black man is found dead, struck by a subway train under mysterious circumstances.
The two events seem unconnected.
But Mary Pat, propelled by a desperate search for her missing daughter, begins turning over stones best left untouched—asking questions that bother Marty Butler, chieftain of the Irish mob, and the men who work for him, men who don’t take kindly to any threat to their business.
Small Mercies – Intrusive Thoughts
The narrator is authentic sounding with the Boston accent.
Great start to the book. Caught my interest right away.
Southie – small, close knit but not necessarily a healthy community. If you try to move away, I can just imagine people saying – What? Too good for us now?
Very stark look at racism during this time. Shocking to think it still is.
Mary Pat’s parenting style. Ouch.
Oh but her relentless heart.
The story on the platform unfolds throughout the book. So well done.
Love the progression of the story.
Def relate to Mary Pat’s dispair and tenacity.
Ohhhhhh that’s a gut punch.
SMALL MERCIES BOOK REVIEW
Slowprose Star Rating – 5.0 Stars
This book is exceptional.
This book is brutal.
I actually just borrowed this book from the Libby library while I was waiting on some holds to open up. What a find it was.
This is an incredibly well written book. The story telling is riveting. It weaves the historical issues of the day into the story in a way that it serves to bolster the story rather than be a history lesson or a soapbox moment.
This book is labeled as a “superb thriller,” but it is so much more than that. While it does have a propulsive plot to be sure – the pacing is excellent – it does an amazing job of adding color and texture to the story by describing the Irish American enclave of south Boston called “Southie.”
The story flawlessly incorporates the people, the attitude, & the mindset, of the neighborhood during the tumultuous months when bussing for the city’s desegregation of public schools was taking place back in the 1970s. It becomes an integral part of the story.
Our protagonist is Mary Pat Fennessy – a very flawed woman who you are allowed to see from several different angles. She is multifaceted.
You see her rough around the edges tough chick side, to her vulnerable want to be loved side, to her hate filled racist side, to her tender and agonized mother side. She is an incredibly well flushed out character that you simultaneously root for and are repulsed by.
This book is a reflection on the times & makes you think about the progress made (or not made). It entertains, but its more than that. It settles in. It makes you think.
One of the best books of the year, so far.
*Trigger warnings* – graphic violence, language to include racial and homophobic slurs.
Slowprose Star Rating – 5.0 Stars
BOOK AESTHETICS – SMALL MERCIES
This is an EXCEPTIONAL audiobook – the narrator is absolutely fantastic and seems made for this role.
I absolutely have to give the highest of praises to the narrator of this audio book – Robin Miles.
She brought this book to life and it feels like a person born and raised in Southie is reading it to you.
Excellent, excellent, excellent.
BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS
Embarrassing to say, I was not aware of who Dennis Lehane was before I read this book.
Now I see he is also the author of Mystic River, which was turned into the Academy Award winning movie by the same name.
When they were children, Sean Devine, Jimmy Marcus, and Dave Boyle were friends. But then a strange car pulled up to their street. One boy got into the car, two did not, and something terrible happened—something that ended their friendship and changed all three boys forever. Twenty-five years later, Sean is a homicide detective. Jimmy is an ex-con who owns a corner store. And Dave is trying to hold his marriage together and keep his demons at bay —demons that urge him to do terrible things. When Jimmy’s daughter is found murdered, Sean is assigned to the case. His investigation brings him into conflict with Jimmy, who finds his old criminal impulses tempt him to solve the crime with brutal justice. And then there is Dave, who came home the night Jimmy’s daughter died covered in someone else’s blood.
You can find several of Lehane’s books and more in our storefront, Slowestuff Books From The Blog storefront.
Small Mercies: Review of the stunning novel by Dennis Lehane
We hope you enjoyed our book review of Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane. If you pick it up, let us know what you thought of it once you read or listened to it!
If you loved this one, and can think of other books to recommend, please let us know what they are. We love to get book recs from fellow readers!
If you want more book posts, check out the Slowprose section of the blog where we have more book reviews, book lists, favorite authors and more. If you are looking for more great reads, check out our list of the best books we have read so far this year.
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