James Smart 

The Drop by Dennis Lehane review – bars, baseball and gangsters

In his final role, James Gandolfini stars in the film version of this smart, grubby and enjoyable novel set in a Boston bar used for money drops by Chechen gangsters, writes James Smart
  
  

2014, THE DROP
Tom Hardy and James Gandolfini in the film adaptation of The Drop. Photograph: Allstar Picture Library Photograph: Allstar Picture Library

James Gandolfini (in his final role) and Tom Hardy star in the film of The Drop, which began life as a 2009 Lehane short story called "Animal Rescue".

He has reworked it into a smart, grubby and thoroughly enjoyable novel to coincide with the film's release. Bob Saginowski works in a Boston bar used for money drops by Chechen gangsters. When he finds a battered bull terrier in his rubbish with the dregs of Christmas, he names him Rocco and bores his cousin Marv – who runs the bar with the laconic gloom of a man whose life never quite panned out – with tales of his development. But while Bob is opening up his heart to Rocco and a petite, pockmarked girl called Nadia, threats are gathering. Money has been stolen from the bar, and the Chechens want to use it for the biggest drop of the year, on Super Bowl Sunday. Lehane spins compelling characters (not least Boston itself) and neat twists into a story that's contemplative and dramatic, gloomy and redemptive. The violence is infrequent but comes with startling force, and put-upon Bob gives The Drop a strong, stoical centre.

To order The Drop for £6.39 with free UK p&p call Guardian book service on 0330 333 6846 or go to guardianbookshop.co.uk.

 

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