I read Mystic River by Dennis Lehane during my “7 Days of No Television” challenge. I read it very quickly too. It was pretty engaging right from the start. I had started the book previously, but couldn’t get into it at that point. If you’re thinking, “Why does that sound familiar?”, the novel was made into a movie back in 2003. My dad says that it was good, and I hope the movie actually does the book justice.
The Story
The novel begins with a story of three friends from different parts of town: one from a more affluent family, one from a “rougher” family, and the last somewhere in between, but just grateful to be included. It begins pretty quickly with a traumatic story where one of the boys is kidnapped.
Fast forward to 2000, 25 years later. The boys have grown up and developed their own families. They’re no longer friends. The traumatic kidnapping was enough for them to drift apart. One of the boys’ daughters is murdered. It’s this murder that brings the three back together.
Through a series of flashbacks to the missing 25 years and the present day, the boys reunite to get to the bottom of what happened.
My Thoughts
Mystic River was an intriguing novel. I felt that it was a bit long at certain points, and had some unnecessary scenes and/or cursing. However, I did not see the ending coming. This one actually took me by surprise, which is rare for me! I usually try to “figure it out” before I get to the end. I really did try, but Mystic River got me.
I still love Shutter Island more. One of the blurbs on the books says that Mystic River is the best, but I still stand by Shutter Island.
I’ve recently read a good number of novels that are being made or were made into movies. Thus, at the end of these novels, I always ask myself, “Would this make a good movie?”. I did agree with Mystic River. (As a baseline, I had no idea why they made The Girl on The Train into a movie. Good book, but not movie worthy.)
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Haha I guess Girl on the Train makes for a suspenseful movie, but I didn’t think the book lived up to the hype. I haven’t even watched the movie actually. And I haven’t seen Mystic River but my boyfriend says it’s a good movie! Guess I’ll have to read the book first. Great review.