NPR's Book of the Day Dennis Lehane and Jake Tapper pen new novels set in the 1970s
11 snips
Jul 21, 2023 AI Snips
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Childhood Memory That Sparked A Novel
- Dennis Lehane recalls being nine and seeing life-sized dolls hung and burned during Boston busing protests in 1974.
- That memory became the emotional seed for Small Mercies and shaped his portrayal of community violence.
Harvard Square As A Class Divide
- Lehane describes Mary Pat feeling out of place in Harvard Square, more at home in Ireland than among students and hippies.
- He links that discomfort to cultural and economic divides he experienced taking the subway as a child.
Desegregation Needed, Method Deeply Flawed
- Lehane argues desegregation was necessary but the chosen method (court-mandated busing) inflicted harm on working-class neighborhoods.
- He highlights how elites designed the experiment without bearing its consequences.