Reviews tagging 'Hate crime'

Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane

24 reviews

arf26's review against another edition

emotional funny sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I loved this book!  So well written - taking a heavy and charged set of topics and adding humor.  The insight into the South Boston neighborhood, code, and mindset was riveting.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Violence, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, Murder, Pregnancy, Racism, and Sexism

isabelboswinkel's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Kidnapping, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Death, Blood, Drug use, Hate crime, Violence, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, and Murder

Moderate: Pregnancy and Adult/minor relationship

pcarey1356's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

the book covers a emotional and turbulent time in history. It's hard to read about those times but I think it was handled well and I gained insight. I'm a big fan of Dennis Lehane and this book didn't let me down. 
 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Hate crime, Violence, and Racial slurs

leonorekoki's review against another edition

3.75

As a historical portrait of Southie in the 70s, I think it’s brilliant—evocative, nuanced, immersive. The mystery/suspense of Mary Pat’s quest is well done, the character comes to life on the page, and the storytelling is masterful. 

As a commentary on racism, however, I wasn’t sold. As others have pointed out, Mary Pat’s arc ultimately isn’t about race.  The barrage of racial slurs  also made for a difficult read, possibly worse in audio where it feels even more visceral and you can’t really skip over words. Historically accurate, sure, but it didn’t feel great about a White author. I don’t doubt his intentions were to show the ugly side of racism, but the absence of developed Black characters left me feeling uneasy and unsatisfied. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Drug abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Racial slurs, and Hate crime

marthadude's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Misogyny, Child abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Pregnancy, Racism, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Torture, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death, and Gun violence

liloopie's review

dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Oh my gosh, this book was so well written. I had it both on audible, as well as Kindle, and I had a hard time putting it down. The plot was heartbreaking. The characters were rememberable and realistic for the Audible narration, well enacted. This was a dark story and a part of the American history, that unfortunately, are still being played out in the U.S. today.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, Violence, and Hate crime

kmad's review

4.0

This is an ugly book (both with the language and the violence), but also very well written historical fiction. Conflicted about how to rate it and could change this later. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Racism, Grief, Murder, Violence, Cursing, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Drug abuse and Addiction

Minor: Infidelity, Pregnancy, and Adult/minor relationship

lee_ann_a's review

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

 Fair warning before you dive into this gem of a historical fiction novel: It’s gritty and ugly.  It’s written mainly from the perspective of Mary Pat, a feisty as hell Irish-American woman living in public housing in 1970’s Boston, and it doesn’t hold back. Her thoughts, her prejudices, her general beliefs during that time period along with those around her -  it’s all there without any sort of politically correct modern day filter.  If you’re offended by the word “fuck,” or if it’s hard for you to stomach derogatory language for people of color, then this book may not be for you.  It’s rife with racism and a side of homophobia. But I applaud the author for taking the risk, and staying true to life at that time, and also giving us glimmers of how we are still struggling with a lot of the same issues.  The writing it raw and real and the characters are palpable.  I read an interview with the author who said, “My job is not to write to your safe space.” 

<i> “They keep us fighting among ourselves like dogs for table scraps so we won’t catch them making off with the feast.”</i> 

It’s the summer of 1974, its hot in the projects of South Boston, the schools are about to be integrated by mixing predominately Black and white school districts together, the mob is busy waging a war against the forthcoming desegregation, and Mary Pat’s daughter has gone missing.   Mary Pat is a multi-faceted character who has grown up with her fists swinging, using anger and violence to protect herself both physically and emotionally.  As the story of her missing daughter unfolds, she learns to slowly confront some of her long held beliefs about herself, life, and people of color, all while she tries to get to the bottom of where her child is. This is where we also gain the perspective of Bobby Coyne, a homicide detective, recovering addict, Vietnam Veteran and someone who becomes Mary Pat’s unlikely ally.  

This book is a deep dive into racism, power, the cycle of poverty, and how rage fueled one summer in the projects of Boston.  Five unapologetic stars 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Murder, Racial slurs, and Hate crime

shellbell31's review against another edition

dark emotional funny tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Violence, Physical abuse, Murder, Hate crime, Addiction, Grief, Drug use, Adult/minor relationship, and Child death

alexisgarcia's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

this is incredibly dark and hard to read. this book is very very depressing but it’s a good and important story that shows a woman having to face her own racism, as well as the racism in her community, while searching for her missing daughter. there are no heroes in this story, and there is no happy ending. while this is a crime novel, it covers racism, politics, grief, and much more. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Toxic friendship, Murder, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Addiction, Bullying, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Violence, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Gore, Adult/minor relationship, Classism, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Racism, and Toxic relationship