The 25th Hour: A Novel

Simply an extraordinary novel - moody, atmospheric, and poignant - so far off the beaten track, so unconventional in the story, that only author David Benioff's brilliantly rendered New York's clubs and bars and playgrounds and bodegas gap familiarity between "The 25th Hour" and anything else you've read.Montgomery "Monty" Brogan is a former drug dealer, 20-something, on his way to federal penitentiary for seven years. Clearly "dimed" by someone close to him, Monty suspects but never seriously pursues this near-fatal breech of trust. Benioff captures the last 24 hours of Monty's freedom - an odyssey of goodbyes and second thoughts and raw fears in contemplation of the horrors awaiting the young and tender Brogan in a warren of hardened criminals. Benioff's cast is vibrant, believable, and credible - real people faced with tough situations and personal conflict. There is Frank, the bond trader and boyhood friend of Monte who secretly covets Monte's longtime girlfriend and hustles millions in complex options futures to cover his basic insecurities. Jakob, the other lifelong friend, a high school English teacher, infatuated with one of his students, and desperately fighting constant urges to act out his fantasy. But most of all, there is Monte himself, a blue collar kid from Brooklyn's Bensonhurst with good looks and tough spunk and street-smarts, emerging as a larger-than-life prince of Manhattan - the drug dealer living large on the A-lists of every bouncer, and maitre d'; the must-have phone number for anyone expecting to score in Manhattan. And rarely visible but always lurking in the shadows is the mysteriously malevolent "Uncle Blue" and the eastern European thugs that crawl through the same gutters - a sinister force more threatening by the hints of their presence than by any significant ink allotted to their presence in these pages. Yet despite Monty's compatible trade, one cannot help admire his confidence and style - the "sway" that marks those who have figured it out and made their mark.Benioff is a clever storyteller, a weaver of tight tales that somehow manage to remain ambiguous. The reader is never sure exactly where the author is going with this and, if you're like me, will not have anticipated the conclusion. "The 25th Hour" is a passionate tale that will get under your skin; a blunt exposure of relationships and human frailties that ultimately succeeds in delivering hope and redemption.More proof here that David Benioff is one of the brightest lights in contemporary American fiction. And if you haven't read "City of Thieves", you should be equally impressed with Benioff's versatility in delivering in a distant and unimaginably bleak place and different time a darkly humorous and meaningful story. Put them both on your short list.

Doyle is a black dog our protagonist Monty (Montgomery) Brogan found by the side of the road and took in. Beat up and scarred, Doyle is the opposite of pretty boy Monty, a young New York drug dealer, for whom women and money have come easily - so far. But now he has been ratted out and must do seven years, with no time for good behavior, at Otisville. So he and his two buds from high school, Jakob and Slattery, and his Puerto Rican girffriend Naturelle - and Doyle - have one last night on the town before Monty takes that bus trip to federal prison at the 25th hour. Providing the background menace is the Russian mob, headed by Uncle Blue, who are part of the illicit drug trade. Mr. Benioff explores lives of Slattery and Jakob, especially nerdy teacher Jakob, and the relationship between Naturelle and Monty. There are lessons to be learned in this first novel, including The Road Not Taken and the risks of being a criminal. This is noir genre, so don't look for a rosy ending. But I thought the ending was satisfying and real. It didn't keep me up all night turning pages with an electric page-turner but overall it is a well-written, literate crime novel about life among twenty-somethings in New York, albeit one who is a drug dealer. I like stories about the Russian mob and dogs. Buy this one.

After reading "City Of Thieves," which I absolutely loved, I immediately ordered "The 25th Hour." It is a totally different kind of book than the former, but also wonderful. It is worth reading for the masterful writing alone. But the story is fascinating. The entire book is the last 24 hours that Monty has before reporting to prison for 7 years. Yes he is guilty of selling drugs, but Benioff has created in him a totally lovable character that you continually are hoping will be saved from this sentence. He is a beautiful, white 26 year old and is terrified about what will happen to him in prison. During this 24 hours you meet the men he works for and with, his long time girlfriend and his two closest friends. You particularly get to know the story of the three friends, their complex relationship and their own individual struggles. Monty seems completely aware of his friends' and his girlfriend's somewhat mixed feelings about what is happening to him. The story deals with friendships, loyalty, love, betrayal, longing and fear. The last several pages are so moving, touching and sad that you can't help but be moved to tears. David Benioff is an extremely talented writer and I can guarantee that you will love this book.

Een boeiend verhaal. Je vraagt je voortdurend af hoe het zal eindigen. Realiteitsgehalte is hoog. Ik vond ook herkenning in de geografische situatie waarin het zich afspeelt.

Monty muss ins Gefängnis - und zwar bereits am nächsten Tag. Für ganze sieben Jahre. Und dort wird ihm das Hübsche-Jungengesicht, das ihm bislang im Leben stets beste Dienste geleistet hat, plötzlich zur größten Sorge werden.David Benioff beschreibt diesen letzten Tag im Leben des populären Drogendealers Montgomery in einer Art Collage - mit ihm selbst als Zentrum.Kapitel für Kapitel erfährt der Leser weitere Details aus dem Leben der Figuren, die Monty umgeben: seine besten Freunde, Highschool-Lehrer Jacob und Broker Frank, seine Freundin Naturelle, sein Vater, der Ukrainer Kostya mit seiner Vorliebe für Seidenhemden, sowie der mysteriöse Uncle Blue, etc. All diese Figuren sind unvollkommen und voller Schwächen - das ist es, was den Reiz dieses Romans ausmacht.Ich konnte das Buch nicht aus der Hand legen, bevor ich es durch hatte.Fazit: Wunderschöne, melancholische Geschichte ohne Weichspüler - kann ich nur empfehlen.

Loved it and recommend it

A first novel and rightly feted for both its story impact plus being immediately acquired for a Spike Lee film adaptation given its NY setting. Benioff has written for popular magazines for a long time in honing his story telling skills and it shows in the conciseness with which each chapter is delivered in this novel.It achieves a great mix of a tantalising story of how a convicted drug dealer spends his last 24 hours before going into jail for 7 years with numerous feedbacks explaining how he got there. But while using its NY setting well the real essence of why the story works so well is the exploration of the different levels of friendship across the 24 hours. These range from a pitbull dog the main character picked up when it was left to die on the freeway; his two lifelong but very different in attitude school friends; his Puerto Rican girlfriend; his widowed father who has stood bail; his Ukrainian bodyguard and his Russian drug boss.The story sizzles in mood changes and you are never left feeling this is simply a crime story but more the crime becomes the backdrop against which the story unfolds.The future looks bright if Benioff can maintain this level of quality.

アメリカの小説らしい小説。この本を読むと、なにげない自分の１日がいとおしく思えてくる。