May: Sweet

'There is a sweetness of May verging on June that no other time in the whole year can equal. And by sweetness is meant more than flower fragrance or honey taste; this is the greater sweetness of understanding and emotion, the glow of pleasure in being." - Hal Borland

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NOTES:

The content I share here keeps my head screwed on & powers my writing. Once in a while, I hear from some readers who tell me that some facet of the reviewed art, music, books, screens, or whatever, was important to them. That's a nice feeling.

BOOKS: "Small Mercies" a novel by Dennis Lehane

Two things. First, this is not a full-on review of Dennis Lehane's body of work. I don't know about other writers, but I would be extremely proud to have accomplished what he has at the writing desk. Respect is due.

Second, to be clear upfront, this new book triggers some people, myself included, and not to be taken lightly. It's billed as a detective mystery novel. Not sure that describes it accurately, but there are genre slots to fill in crime fiction and a writer needs readers to make a living. This sure as hell is a crime novel and despite some audience pandering for the big action ending, this book lives squarely in the Great American Novel neighborhood. I think most of his fans will agree that this novel is Dennis Lehane's best book so far. I would agree with that.

In the Acknowledgements in the back of this novel, "Small Mercies," the author thanks his editor, Noah Eaker, for pushing him to be "a more precise and more economical writer." Except for Dennis Lehane's short novel, "The Drop," I've struggled with his often thick prose. I have preferences that maybe others do not. After all, there are quite a few bestsellers in the Lehane universe. This book moves quickly, the dialogue is perfection, and the author is bold as love in portraying the reality of the history of violence, racism, and corruption in the Boston metro area. The author's skill at slipping into a character's thoughts and feelings smoothly and powerfully has never been better. Frankly, this is the book I was always hoping to read when I picked up a Lehane novel.

It's billed as a detective mystery novel. Not sure that sums it up, but there are genre slots to fill in crime fiction and a writer has to make a living. It sure as hell is a crime novel though and most of this book is squarely in Great American Novel territory.

Why do I hold back and not just rave about the book? Because in a book this great, I hope against hope that the writer will be able to deliver a satisfying ending without resorting to the blood squibs and gunfire now required of ambitious novels that want to be made into films. The ending here delivers the required trailer edit movie action. Lehane is a producer now after years of television writing. As I type this, someone somewhere is saying, "This is a series!"

Now full stop. Please excuse me a moment while I tiptoe around that future looming adaptation. I researched this period of time in Boston a few years ago after living a slice of it, and after Johnny Depp's performance as Whitey Bulger in the film "Black Mass," and after Jack Nicholson's based-on fictional Bulger in "The Departed" I'm NOT ready to watch another version of this racist psychopath serial killer snitch randomly ice-picking a customer in his bar (Bulger did that) or killing innocent girlfriends (ditto) played by a glamour-puss. (Bulger was convicted of 11 of the 19 murders he was charged with.) The biggest con the devil pulled was pretending to be a mob boss. Bulger was a serial killer who enjoyed torturing and murdering. He was a thief who robbed and murdered his neighbors. He killed thousands of the people he professed to be protecting with his heroin and drug smuggling.

Dennis Lehane nails all that and double-taps the snitch part, but still, I shudder to think what story-telling media will do to his fictional Whitey Bulger character. Will it show him as a cool mob boss or will it show him as a cowardly psychopath protected by his connected brother William Bulger (eighteen years as president of the Massachusetts Senate and, after leaving leaving office, president of the University of Massachusetts), protected by rogue FBI agents (only one was convicted), and protected by multiple racist municipal police departments.

Whitey Bulger was untouchable because he was an integral part of a racist system and because he kept snitching out the Italian mobsters so he was, you know, a bad good guy. (It is believed that he was tipped off that he was about to be arrested by friendly FBI agents resulting in his evading capture for 16 years.)

I get it. Visual story-telling works if all those playing their parts believe they're the star and a good person, but in real life (I interviewed a few of these killers and abusers), these killers need to be locked up or, as my Uncle John would say in his own sociopathic way, "...need to be taken out in the backyard and shot." My uncle cleaned out the tunnels under Cologne, Germany, in World War II. There were some bad guys in those tunnels who murdered innocent civilians and stacked their bodies to block passages. These were are not soldiers. These were bad men and nobody was there to yell, "Cut. Break for lunch."

If you think Whitey Bulger was cool, you need to think about what it was like to be tied to a chair in his basement and have him pull your teeth out to make your skull harder to identify. There is nothing I can do to stop the media machine, but it's depressing to think that a man like this might be turned into a darkly romantic villain. Again.

I am aware of the arguments against believing that the viewing public will emulate terrible tv and movie villains, and even if they do, well, they were damaged individuals all along. I don't have time here to dip my toe into that whirlpool. You can get a lot of unwanted feedback by saying that movies can inspire bad behavior. It's interesting that no one gets any such feedback for saying that movies can inspire good behavior. The movie "Zootopia" was a family-friendly animated film that was widely praised for its positive messages about the harm of stereotypes and prejudice. Is there any self-serving marketing involved in this ongoing discussion? As they say out there, you decide.

I can say safely that Bulger believed he cut a dashing figure and was concerned how he might be portrayed and perceived. He publicly reviewed and evaluated Depp's and Nicholson's performance of his own damn movie self. Yeah. He did that. As they would say in Southie, "Balls."

SMALL SPOILER ALERT AHEAD

Dennis Lehane does not elevate Bulger directly, not yet, but there are subtle indications, like how Bulger reveals he is a sniper at the novel's end when, in fact, even if he was a good shot, he faced disciplinary charges in the Air Force for misconduct, including being arrested for going AWOL and facing rape charges. I get the symbolism of him being a marksman. But even that elevates this murderous loser.

In "Small Mercies" Dennis Lehane ties racist violence to the culture that supported it in the past and he does it in such a way that we understand how hate morphs, adapts, and continues to exist today twisting its victims into Gordian knots of suffering and despair. He accomplishes this in an accurate, thrilling, and brave manner. This book feels like a hard-won triumph to me, deeply personal, and so, let me say it again, not that my opinion matters much, but I have to say, I have immense respect for Dennis Lehane. This is one hell of a novel.

SCREEN: Netflix Series "Running Point" starring Kate Hudson and created by Mindy Kaling

Now for something completely ridiculous. This series has elements of "30 Rock," the expected Kaling self-aware feminist-maybe, and Hollywood and pro-sports satire. The pilot shakes a little, but after that, this is silly laid-back humor that doesn't try too hard. Good for zoning out after a long day at work. Grows on you. The entire first season is on Netflix.

LIVE MUSIC: Men I Trust on NPR Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

This live performance is from three years ago, but is the best example I could find of Men I Trust playing live. I have not seen them live, yet, but I've been told they play live for real and are not using the kind of playback tracks that change up-and-coming bands into lip syncing American Bandstand products. Her voices is just that good. Don't miss the lead guitarist's solo at the end. Some fine musicianship going on.

LIVE MUSIC? Tame Impala on Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

This performance is from four years ago on Tiny Desk (Home) Concert. Kevin Parker is Tame Impala and he writes and produces and performs every song. For this live version, Parker got Jay Watson and Dom Simper to jam and recreate a selection of his songs with samplers and sequencers.

I get that Tame Impala does not get a ton of radio play except for coffee shops that play alt rock in the background, but Parker headlines major festivals and right now, as his beats and compositions here indicate, he is in high demand for R&B production and film soundtracks. I love his attitude. This guy is so full of music it's bursting out of him.

Here I will leave you with a great Kevin Parker song that Rihanna released. She took his music, removed his vocal, and sang it as is. Maybe it's not for everyone, but I can hear funk and blues in all of his work. I can't get this ear candy out my mind.

Thanks for reading and have a great month.

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