Title: Tedious, unrealistic prose
Product review: I could have liked the book if the prose wasn't so overdrawn. The characters are blue collar but the prose doesn't fit.For example, Jimmy is sitting alone on his front porch of his three decker the night his daughter was found murdered. The night was quiet. This is the way Lehane draws Jimmy's perception of the night: "The noise that normally ruled the daytime wasn't gone, it was merely sucked up, as if into a pair of lungs, and then held, waiting to be expelled. He trusted that hush, warmed to it, because it promised the return of the noise, even as it held it captive. Jimmy couldn't imagine living somewhere rural,..."Does this fit the character and the situation? It just gets in the way at best or undermines the reality of the character at worst.As a result, the characters weren't real to me. When that happens it's hard to get involved with the book. I ended up skimming most of it.If the movie removes this pretentiousness, it could be much better than the book.
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