Boston Noir (Akashic Noir)
by Dennis Lehane
With “Boston Noir (Akashic Noir)” is a short story from Dennis Lehane (“Gone Baby Gone”, “Shutter Island”, “Mystic River”) called Animal Rescue, which has been adapted by Lehane himself for the screen and is expected to hit theaters this year with Bullhead director Michaël R. Roskam at the helm and a cast that includes Tom Hardy, Noomi Rapace, James Frecheville, Matthias Schoenaerts, John Ortiz and the late James Gandolfini.
Here’s the book synopsis:
Brand-new stories by: Dennis Lehane, Stewart O’Nan, Patricia Powell, John Dufresne, Lynne Heitman, Don Lee, Russ Aborn, Itabari Njeri, Jim Fusilli, Brendan DuBois, and Dana Cameron.
Dennis Lehane (Mystic River, The Given Day) has proven himself to be a master of both crime fiction and literary fiction. Here, he extends his literary prowess to that of master curator. In keeping with the Akashic Noir series tradition, each story in Boston Noir is set in a different neighborhood of the city–the impressively diverse collection extends from Roxbury to Cambridge, from Southie to the Boston Harbor, and all stops in between.
Lehane’s own contribution–the longest story in the volume–is set in his beloved home neighborhood of Dorchester and showcases his phenomenal ability to grip the heart, soul, and throat of the reader.
Child of God
by Cormac McCarthy
After playing a couple film festivals last year, James Franco‘s adaptation of Cormac McCarthy‘s “Child of God” appears to be D.O.A. but you never know, someone may snatch it up for a VOD release.
Here’s the book synopsis:
In this taut, chilling novel, Lester Ballard–a violent, dispossessed man falsely accused of rape–haunts the hill country of East Tennessee when he is released from jail. While telling his story, Cormac McCarthy depicts the most sordid aspects of life with dignity, humor, and characteristic lyrical brilliance.
Dark Places
by Gillian Flynn
The work of Gillian Flynn is hot right now as this is the first of two books from the author on this list. Directed and adapted by Gilles Paquet-Brenner (Sarah’s Key), this one stars Chloë Grace Moretz, Nicholas Hoult, Charlize Theron, Christina Hendricks and many others.
Here’s the book synopsis:
I have a meanness inside me, real as an organ.
Libby Day was seven when her mother and two sisters were murdered in “The Satan Sacrifice of Kinnakee, Kansas.” As her family lay dying, little Libby fled their tiny farmhouse into the freezing January snow. She lost some fingers and toes, but she survived–and famously testified that her fifteen-year-old brother, Ben, was the killer. Twenty-five years later, Ben sits in prison, and troubled Libby lives off the dregs of a trust created by well-wishers who’ve long forgotten her.
The Kill Club is a macabre secret society obsessed with notorious crimes. When they locate Libby and pump her for details–proof they hope may free Ben–Libby hatches a plan to profit off her tragic history. For a fee, she’ll reconnect with the players from that night and report her findings to the club . . . and maybe she’ll admit her testimony wasn’t so solid after all.
As Libby’s search takes her from shabby Missouri strip clubs to abandoned Oklahoma tourist towns, the narrative flashes back to January 2, 1985. The events of that day are relayed through the eyes of Libby’s doomed family members–including Ben, a loner whose rage over his shiftless father and their failing farm have driven him into a disturbing friendship with the new girl in town. Piece by piece, the unimaginable truth emerges, and Libby finds herself right back where she started–on the run from a killer.
Devil’s Knot: The True Story of the West Memphis Three
by Mara Leveritt
I caught Devil’s Knot at the Toronto Film Festival last year and oh boy, I gotta say, you’d be better off reading this book than watching that mess of a film. Either that or watch the West of Memphis doc or any countless other movies and news programs that have covered the story of the West Memphis Three. If you’re interested you can read my review of the film here.
Here’s the book synopsis:
In 2011, one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in American legal history was set right when Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelley were released after eighteen years in prison. Award-winning journalist Mara Leveritt’s The Devil’s Knot remains the most comprehensive, insightful reporting ever done on the investigation, trials, and convictions of three teenage boys who became known as the West Memphis Three.
For weeks in 1993, after the murders of three eight-year-old boys, police in West Memphis, Arkansas seemed stymied. Then suddenly, detectives charged three teenagers—alleged members of a satanic cult—with the killings. Despite the witch-hunt atmosphere of the trials, and a case which included stunning investigative blunders, a confession riddled with errors, and an absence of physical evidence linking any of the accused to the crime, the teenagers were convicted. Jurors sentenced Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley to life in prison and Damien Echols, the accused ringleader, to death. The guilty verdicts were popular in their home state—even upheld on appeal—and all three remained in prison until their unprecedented release in August 2011.
With close-up views of its key participants, this award-winning account unravels the many tangled knots of this endlessly shocking case, one which will shape the American legal landscape for years to come.
Divergent
by Veronica Roth
Yet another young adult adaptation is looking for franchise status and Summit is all excited about this one because all three of Veronica Roth‘s books in this series landed in the top three spots of USA Today’s Bestselling Books List recently. Yay!
The film adaptation hits theaters on March 21 and is directed by Neil Burger (Limitless) and stars Shailene Woodley in the lead role as Beatrice “Tris” Prior. I placed the trailer directly below the book synopsis:
In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue–Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is–she can’t have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.
During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are–and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she’s chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she’s kept hidden from everyone because she’s been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.
Debut author Veronica Roth bursts onto the literary scene with the first book in the Divergent series–dystopian thrillers filled with electrifying decisions, heartbreaking betrayals, stunning consequences, and unexpected romance.
The Double
by José Saramago
I’ve already seen Denis Villeneuve‘s adaptation of “The Double” starring Jake Gyllenhaal — titled Enemy (read my review here) — and A24 will bring it to theaters on March 14. Check out the trailer below the book synopsis:
Tertuliano Máximo Afonso is a divorced, depressed history teacher. To lift his spirits, a colleague suggests he rent a certain video. Tertuliano watches the film, unimpressed. But during the night, when he is awakened by noises in his apartment, he goes into the living room to find that the VCR is replaying the video. He watches in astonishment as a man who looks exactly like him-or, more specifically, exactly like he did five years before, mustachioed and fuller in the face-appears on the screen. He sleeps badly.
Against his better judgment, Tertuliano decides to pursue his double. As he roots out the man’s identity, what begins as a whimsical story becomes a “wonderfully twisted meditation on identity and individuality” (The Boston Globe). Saramago displays his remarkable talent in this haunting tale of appearance versus reality.
