Live by Night

Live By Night
Author Dennis Lehane
Country United States
Language English
Genre Crime fiction
Publisher William Morrow and Company
Publication date
 January 1, 2012
Media type Hardcover, Audiobook
Pages 401
ISBN 9780060004873
OCLC 794214253

Live By Night is a crime novel by Dennis Lehane that was published in 2012. It won a 2013 Edgar Award for novel of the year.[1]

Plot summary

By 1926, Prohibition had given rise to an endless network of underground distilleries, speakeasies, gangsters, and corrupt cops. Joe Coughlin, the youngest son of a prominent Boston Police captain, defies his proper upbringing by climbing a ladder of organized crime that takes him from Boston to Ybor City, Florida to Havana, Cuba where he encounters a dangerous cast of characters who are all fighting for their piece of the American dream.

When the novel begins, Joe is in the employ of one of Boston's most powerful mobsters, Tim Hickey. Joe and two friends knock off a gambling room located behind a speakeasy. Unbeknownst to them, the speakeasy belonged to Albert White, their boss' biggest rival. Emma Gould, a server in the room and White's mistress, catches Joe's attention. They begin an affair.

Coughlin is later sent to Charlestown Penetintiary after a bank robbery goes awry. On the night of his arrest, the car Emma is travelling in crashes into a river and she is presumed dead. Joe comes under the protection of Italian mobster Maso Pescatore while in prison. While Joe and his police captain father had a complicated relationship, Thomas agrees to do Pescatore’s bidding to keep Joe safe in prison. The stress of these dealings give Thomas a fatal heart attack.

Upon release, Pescatore sends Joe to Tampa, Florida to solidify the family's rum-running operation. Joe builds a highly successful business with his henchman, Dion. Still grieving for Emma, he encounters a fiery Cuban expatriate and revolutionary, Graciela Corrales, upon arrival in Tampa and they become an intensely devoted couple. Graciela convinces Joe to mastermind the robbery of a weapons cache from an American warship to aid Fulgencio Batista's overthrow of Cuban strongman Gerardo Machado.[2]

While building his empire, Joe fights against the Ku Klux Klan. The local chief of the Klan is related to Figgis, the Tampa police chief. Joe blackmails Figgis with pornographic and drug-addled photographs of the man’s beautiful daughter Loretta, whom Figgis had believed was working in Los Angeles as an actress. Figgis's daughter later returns to Tampa and becomes a famous preacher. Loretta later reveals to Joe that she does not believe in God and is merely performing. Loretta later commits suicide and it is revealed that she was sexually abused by her father.

When Pescatore decides to replace Joe in Florida with his own dimwitted son, Albert White uses this opportunity to seek revenge against Joe, whom he blames for Emma's death. Joe escapes and regains control of his empire.

Joe and his wife Graciela, and their small son, return to her homeland of Havana, Cuba to live a quieter life. Dion becomes head of the family while Joe acts as an advisor. While in Cuba, Joe meets Emma outside the brothel where she works. She reveals she was involved in Joe's arrest. When Joe and Graciela return to the United States for a visit, Graciela is shot and killed. Joe turns his back on organized crime and lives a more mundane life with his son.

Film adaptation

Warner Bros. is developing a film adaptation with Ben Affleck directing, scripting, producing and starring in it as Joe Coughlin, with Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Davisson Killoran serving as producers.[3][4] Warner Bros. shifted the release date from on December 25, 2015 to October 7, 2016.[5] On September 4, 2014, new cast members include Sienna Miller as Emma Gould, Elle Fanning as Loretta Figgis and Zoe Saldana as Graciella Suarez[6] In November 2014, it was reported that Affleck is considering Jon Bernthal for a role.[7]

References

  1. ↑ http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/03/lehanes-live-by-night-wins-edgar-award/
  2. ↑ http://seattletimes.com/html/books/2019453968_br21lehane.html
  3. ↑ "Ben Affleck And Warner Bros Set Next Film: Dennis Lehane Crime Novel 'Live By Night'". Deadline.com. Retrieved May 7, 2013.
  4. ↑ "Jersey Boys’ And Ben Affleck's 'Live By Night' Get Release Dates". Deadline.com. Nov 5, 2013. Retrieved April 8, 2014.
  5. ↑ "Warner Bros Pushes Ben Affleck’s ‘Live By Night’, Dates ‘Midnight Special’ & 3 Others". deadline.com. 6 May 2014. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  6. ↑ "Sienna Miller, Zoe Saldana & Elle Fanning Join Ben Affleck’s ‘Live By Night’". deadline.com. Sep 4, 2014. Retrieved Sep 4, 2014.
  7. ↑ http://www.thewrap.com/fury-star-jon-bernthal-in-talks-to-join-ben-affleck-in-the-accountant-exclusive/

External links