Let me start by saying; Dennis Lehane is a master at
crafting great stories and even better characters.
Now that I have that out of the way, let me admit how
confused I was about this project! I know that so much has been written and
said about the Movie version of The Drop being
the last movie featuring actor James Gandolfini and that it was based on a
Lehane story; I didn’t know that Lehane actually wrote the movie script based
on a short story (Animal Rescue) that
he later fleshed out to become this movie companion book.
Having jumped into the book without reading the hype
about Gandolfini’s final role, I was convinced that Lehane must have had
Gandolfini in mind when he developed what I thought was the rumpled, lumpy,
bartending, character Bob Saginowski. In my mind’s eye I could see him in the
role. Turns out, Galdolfini is actually cast as the down on his luck, “made”
guy Cousin Marv.
Be that has it may, The
Drop has everything that you’ve come to expect from Dennis Lehane; great
characters, dropped headlong into an intriguing story, all set in a slice of
the low life setting. Lehane can take you to the underbelly of society better
than just about anyone.
It is the guides to that underbelly, the troubled and
troubling characters that really make The
Drop standout; they breather real life into the “is this all there is”
story back drop. Not sure if the movie will stand up, but the book makes for a
nice bridge until Lehane drops his next masterpiece.
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