Yet another book I am reading (the first was The Cider House Rules) because of the excellent movie adaptation. I loved Ben Affleck’s writing and direction in The Town. The gritty Boston atmosphere, the heist action, thug with a heart tropes – all worked beautifully in the movie. Would the book (also called Prince of Thieves in earlier editions) be just as good?
About the Book
Charlestown, a blue-collar Boston neighborhood, produces more bank robbers and armored car thieves than any square mile worldwide. In this gripping, intricately plotted thriller, Claire Keesey, the branch manager for a Boston bank and one of an influx of young professionals chipping away at the neighborhood’s insularity, is taken hostage during a robbery. She is released, but Doug MacRay, the brains behind the tough, tight-knit crew of thieves, can’t get her out of his mind. Tracking her down without his mask and gun, Doug introduces himself, and as soon as he and Claire meet, their mutual attraction is undeniable – as are the risks of a relationship.
Meanwhile, Doug’s crew pulls off another audacious, meticulously planned job. Frustrated by their ingenuity and brazen ambition, FBI Agent Adam Frawley begins to zero in on Doug and his pals — and against his own better judgment, he, too, develops more than a professional interest in Claire.
Under pressure from Frawley’s ever-closer investigation, Doug imagines a life away from bank robberies and Charlestown. But before that can happen, the crew learns there may be a way to rob Boston’s venerable baseball stadium, Fenway Park. It’s a magnificently dangerous and utterly irresistible opportunity – yet for Doug, pursuing his former hostage may be the most destructive act of all.
~ Synopsis from GoodReads
The Town Review
Sadly, no. The Town was a slog. Yes, it had the bare bones of a classic heist story. But it was just way too plodding.
The movie had some crackling chemistry between Ben Affleck (Doug) and Rebecca Hall (Claire). The love between them came off as really touching. In the book, it’s very clear from the start that Doug is way more into Claire, and it’s obvious that he isn’t going to get a happy ending with her. The movie presents this plot in a better way, and is less bleak than the book.
Also, none of the characters are likeable in the book. The romance between Claire and Doug is lukewarm, and more in Doug’s head than in reality. The friendship between the thieves also lacks warmth – more of colleagues than friends. Still, I would have enjoyed this gritty novel if the quality of writing was better. In the hands of an author like Dennis Lehane, this book would have brought tears to my eyes.
What I liked was the setting. Hogan has set this book in the mid-nineties, just when bank robbery was starting to pay less – when better surveillance was available, better security measures, and less money stored in banks in general. Charlestown itself is changing, becoming gentrified, and the original inhabitants are getting pushed out. I liked all these details. But then again, other authors have done this kind of scene-setting and character development better.
Overall, I think this book isn’t pulpy enough or literary enough. Just a middling book, which somehow became a much better movie.
Watch the movie, skip the book!
