It is a simple tale, really, one of rags to riches.  A desperately poor man from The Darkness in India rises from nothing to becoming a dazzling rich entrepreneur.  How does Balram Halwai do it?  Murder and theft are among his crimes, but wit, charm and daring pluck should not be dismissed in this story of globalization and cunning from the son of a rickshaw-puller.

In true Nabokovian style, Aravind Adiga pleads his case in a letter to the Chinese premier who wants to visit Indian entrepreneurs. Balram has became a "person of national importance owing to an act of entrepreneurship."  These acts are summarized on a wanted poster, which Balram interprets. "You'd almost think, looking at the posters, that I was a terrorist too.  How annoying."

In between piloting the Honda City of his rich, kind but corrupt and weak master around Delhi, Balram muses: "You should have seen me that day -- what a performance of wails and kisses and tears!  You'd think I'd been born into a caste of performing actors." Direct, witty and with narrative charm Balram makes the case for himself and his deed.  Does he deserve your sympathy?  Does his self-justification and vivid descriptions of one world in the process of being built, and another destroyed, move you?  Ladies and gentleman of the jury, please discuss. 

It's long, it's sprawling, it's historical. But Dennis Lehane's The Given Day is a masterwork of depth, character and precision.  You might debate the ending and whether the author went far enough in his crimes and punishments, but it's time worth spent.

Set in Boston just after World War I, Lehane's eighth novel (joining Mystic Riverand Shutter Island as one of his best) tells the story of Danny Coughlin, the eldest of three brothers and the son of Captain Thomas Coughlin.  You will not be surprised to know that The Given Day is very much a father and son tale as patrolman Coughlin soon becomes caught up in fraught historical moments.  The Influenza epidemic and the social and political upheaval following mass immigration and World War I provide ripe backdrops to the family saga.  Does Danny really switch sides?  Is the love story with family servant Nora O'Shea convincing? Let the casting begin.

The Given Day also offers a fascinating subplot involving an African-American baseball player Luther Lawrence who flees to Boston after a crime in Tulsa, all excellently rendered by Lehane.  The author deftly interweaves historical figures such as Governor Calvin Coolidge and man on the rise, a young lawyer named John Hoover before he becomes "J. Edgar" into the story. Successful against all odds is the portrait of Babe Ruth in action - he's as much a character as historical figure. The Babe is seen here becoming the legendary slugger and man about town, though he's also endowed with thoughts that actually moving the story along.

And let us now praise Michael Boatman.  Narrator of the audio versions of The Given Day, Boatman's characterizations range from Boston Irish to Italian-American, men and women, the evil and the soon to be dead.  He makes a one-man case for actors of the first rank performing all audio books.

The Given Daywill be out in paperback on September 15th. 

When it comes to offbeat book selections, anyone might feel he or she is a creative genius who wishes to enlighten the others who are less so. Or in other words, go it alone.  While this might have worked in a book club format that takes the form of a lecture series. as many book clubs in the early part of the twentieth century, in today's book clubs, at least a nod to consensus is the prevailing style.

But is it important to have a consensus?  Or is it desirable, necessary even, to be adventurous -- and even a bit frolicsome?  As always, it depends on the charter of your club.  And that certain something called trust.  Here are a few points to consider:

• Does the offbeat or adventurous  book selection make you feel you are missing out on something better? Does it make you feel like you don't want to commit?  This might not be the book of your dreams.
• Is your list in desperate need of refreshment?  If so, an adventurous choice might be just what you need.
• Think back to what has worked well in the past -- and what have been your biggest howlers.  If the book selection comes across your desk and it makes you think "howler," you might be in for some tough reading.

As for hosts and discussion leaders who are stuck with a book selection not of their own design: make the most of it.  But we will be counting on you to bring up your displeasure at the very next meeting.  

It's time once again for putting our book club hopes and dream in list form while making annual promises, some of which we may even keep.  The new year may be the best time to make resolutions, but it is perfectly ok to actually add to the list as the year goes on.

• Have a meeting backup plan for acts of nature: snow storms, hurricanes, hail stones the size of tennis balls, that sort of thing.  Think about a substitute date in advance or you will be on the phone to everyone for hours as they plead their cases for "not that day, the next one."
• If you planned an outing, a trip, a picnic, a movie, a drop-in at an author appearance or a gala book swap last year and failed to execute it, is there a better time than the new year to just go ahead and make a plan?  
• As always, but even more so in times like these, look forward to the new books. Book clubs are reading and loving The Northern Clemency by Philip Hensher.  Shortlisted for the Man Booker prize, it's the story of two families, the Sellers and the Glovers, set over 20 years beginning in 1970s Sheffield, England. It's sweeping, yet intimate and haunting.  A major backdrop is Thatcher's England  a sub-specialty of many clubs.
• Say goodbye to all things Bush administration with the February 10th release in paperback of American Wife by Curtis Sittenfield.  Laura Bush may have just sold her memoirs, but many of us feel we can read the real story in this novel.

We all know that Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet are starring in the movie adaptation of Richard Yates's Revolutionary Road. There is even a new edition of the book featuring their movie star faces vs. the cover with the vintage car in autumnal tones.

But you might not know there is the connection between depressed author Yates and the sitcom Seinfeld. According to the New York Times Book Review, Larry David, the co-creator of the show with Jerry Seinfeld, once dated Yates's daughter Monica. (And we have yet another inspiration for the character Elaine.)  David and Yates even had a terrible dinner together later portrayed in "The Jacket" episode featuring Elaine's father, Alton Benes.  This is the one in which Dad cannot resist singing "Master of the House," from Les Miserables. The weirdest part?  Yates actually saw the episode and said he would "like to kill" Larry David, claiming he had never worn a hat like his TV character and he was not that scary.

Revolutionary Road, where April and Frank Wheeler become quite unsettled in post-war suburbia, has a tragic ending and was nominated for a National Book Award in 1961.  But it was one of Yates's more "lighthearted" romps --compared to The Easter Parade, that is.

Revolutionary Road Trailer

The Jacket: Wikipedia