Carrie Pruett wrote commenting on my massage,
A nice solution to the problems he ran into with
the Dorchester
> books, where he's admitted that he writes more about
the neighborhood of
his
> youth than the way it is today
He is right I don't think big American cities remain static.
My father and mother grew up in Dorchester/Roxbury early last
century. At that time part of it it was heavily Jewish and
most of the rest was Irish. Now it is mainly African American
with a a very smll Irish section remaining. .
> re: the above, Lehane definitely plays looser with
geography than some
> writers; .
> In the case of "Bryce," I assume Lehane didn't want
to mention a real
> college because there are some rather nasty goings
on at the campus, I
> recall. There are enough small colleges in the
Boston area that it
> basically feels right, though.
In A Drink Before the War he apologizes for playing fast and
loose with Boston geography. This just bugged me because I
know that part of the area so well. I don't think we will be
seeing tours of Lehane's Boston in the future.
> Yeah, this is a pretty glaring inconsistency. He
could clear it up but I
> don't think he ever does. I try to just block that
bit of backstory out
of
> my mind, atrick having been married to Angie's sis
is just ooky
'ooky'? - I tried to not mention that because it has an
impact when you first read it. until you think about it. I do
think his editor should have caught it.
.
> AFAIC. Lehane's books often gives me the impression
of several drafts
> being cobbled together .... I actually sort of enjoy
the
> messiness of Lehane's books - gives a feeling of
energy and spontaneity
that
> I like.
Maybe that's because you care most about character and plots
are secondary. I like a more polished product. I have Sacred
and will eventually read the whole series, but I don't feel
any urgency to read them.
> but interesting gaffe in "Mystic" - the opening
paragraph of the book is
a
> lovely riff on how Jimmy and Sean's fathers worked
in a candy factory and
> because the smell permeated their homes, neither of
them could stand
sweets.
I wonder if he remembers Baker's Chocolate factory. When I
was a kid when we would visit my grandfather in Dorchester we
would pass it. You could smell the great aroma of the
chocolate for blocks. He seems too young. Maybe he was told
of it. . Mark
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