A review by kcrkcr
Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane

medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Felt a bit gross reading a book written by a white guy where one person slowly learns that racism is bad. Barely anything from the black characters’ perspectives. Not sure modern readers need to be convinced that screaming the n-word and
Spoilerkilling black children
is bad.
SpoilerSort of rubbed me the wrong way that they had to make Auggie this exceptional upstanding kid from an extremely pleasant family to solicit pity for his death? I understand the contrast that was made, but the hand-holding and back-patting was excessive. His parents only existed to react to the white characters, and somehow we were still supposed to feel bad for Mary Pat. Ugh.
 
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