Long Time Gone : A Novel [Hardcover]

Denis Hamill (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 27, 2002

It was 1969 on Hippie Hill in Brooklyn, and it seemed as if the world were coming to an end.

LONG TIMEGONE

1969: Woodstock and the Moratorium, a man on the moon, Broadway Joe Namath, the Mets take the World Series.

It was a year that saw goof balls, acid, thorazine, pot, Seconal, amphetamines, meth, and THC.

It was the year the sixties ended, and it was the year in which Danny Cassidy saw his life shattered in a purple haze of drugs and violence. Did he kill the father of the girl of his teenage dreams? Or was he framed to cover up a far darker crime?

Thirty-two years later, Danny, now a forty-nine-year-old divorced journalist, returns to his old neighborhood for his father's wake and one last attempt to exorcise the demons of that watershed year. One final chance as well to piece together the lost love of his life: Erika Malone, now a successful businesswoman whose father's unsolved murder remains the missing piece of the puzzle of both their lives.

Denis Hamill's "Fork in the Road" was lauded by "The Boston Globe, The Boston Herald, Library Journal, The Irish Voice," and "Publishers Weekly," which called it a "lively, sad, humorous tale." Frank McCourt said, "When you read "Fork in the Road," make sure your chair is comfortable, because Denis Hamill hooks you and keeps you to the end."

Now, in "Long Time Gone," Denis Hamill evokes a lost New York and a dashed love affair, both dissolved into the jinglejangle mornings that came following.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The latest novel by journalist Hamill (Fork in the Road) opens in 1969, when Brooklynite Danny Cassidy becomes a suspect for a murder he can't remember whether he committed or not; furthermore, the victim was his girlfriend's father and a police officer. The case never comes to trial for lack of evidence. Thirty-three years later, Danny now an aging journalist, divorced and a lousy father receives word that his own father has died. Over the course of one long weekend, Danny must return to Brooklyn to bury his father, reunite with his brother and daughter, and, most importantly, figure out who committed the murder. He must also face erstwhile sweetheart Erika Malone, throw some punches and settle some scores. While the murder mystery is captivating, with a serpentine plot that keeps the reader guessing, Hamill's cultural forays into past and present are less successful. The present-day Brooklyn he portrays is populated by affluent yuppies who say things like "Don't mind me, I have work on liquidating a dot-com to do," while the Brooklyn of 1969 is a panorama of generic, cliched burnouts with names like Hippie Helen and Dirty Jim. While not entirely chiseled, Hamill's prose does succeed in fusing the brevity of newspaper writing and the machismo of traditional detective stories, allowing for a staccato-paced plot teeming with sex and violence. Like Danny himself, the novel is mostly shrouded in a haze of nostalgia and profanity that disperses now and then to reveal an entertaining whodunit with some poignant observations about life, love and loss.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Journalist Danny Cassidy, pushing 50, divorced, and estranged from his daughter, returns to Brooklyn after 32 years to bury his father. When he fled the neighborhood in 1969, he was a speed freak and an acid head suspected of killing a bad cop, Vito Malone. To make matters worse, Vito was the father of Danny's girlfriend, Erika. Danny was so messed up on drugs at the time that he still doesn't know whether he committed the crime. What he does know is that two cops are on his tail, still trying to pin the homicide on him. If he expects to stay free and grab the chance to reconcile with both his daughter and Erika, now a wealthy entrepreneur, he's going to have to find out who killed Vito and why. Hamill (Fork in the Road) spins an engrossing tale with a host of sharply delineated characters and complications galore. Readers will enjoy the rich evocation of late-1960s Brooklyn as an extended dysfunctional family. Highly recommended for most public libraries.
Ronnie H. Terpening, Univ. of Arizona, Tucson
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Atria (August 27, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743407091
• ISBN-13: 978-0743407090
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,955,797 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Journey Through the Past, September 26, 2005

By 

M Keenaghan (London, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Long Time Gone : A Novel (Paperback)

Danny Cassidy's life is in a mess. He walked out on his wife for no good reason, his daughter doesn't want to know him, and his job is on the line due to the fact he's not getting any younger. On top of that, there's the crime he's been running from for thirty odd years, a burden grating at his skull, the root of ALL his problems.

Back in the Brooklyn neighbourhood of his youth, a corrupt cop was murdered, shot repeatedly in a local park. Evidence was lacking but clues pointed strongly to Danny - out of his head on LSD at the time, and suffering from a blackout of the night ever since. As the main suspect, he took off, hit the west coast, never came back. But the mystery of that night back in the drug-drenched dead end of the 60's has preyed on him ever since, not least by the sporadic phonecalls by 'Ankles', the old Brooklyn cop who refuses to 'let this one go', promising that one day he will be hauled back and forced to face his conscience and the truth of that deadly night.

The book opens with Danny receiving a random message from the unrelenting old cop, this time informing him of his estranged father's death. Danny knows his three-decade 'hideout' ends here: he has to return to the neighbourhood and bury him. And by doing so, square up to the demons of his past. It's here that Denis Hamill excells in describing a present-day Brooklyn still physically intact, yet changed beyond recognition. The dirty boulevards of Danny's youth cleaned-up, gentrified, inhabited by a different class. The neighbourhood resembles Manhattan and has lost its "film noir beauty to the bright high-gloss slickness of a Mercedes commercial". Hamill describes his part of the city with honesty and feeling.

The story develops into an explorative account of the past as Danny turns Private Eye to discover the truth of his supposed guilt. He revisits the old haunts, meets an array of old faces who turn up for his father's wake and funeral, and discovers a conspiratorial web of intrigue that unfurls a world of festering corruption, greed and evil. With Danny now rocking the boat, just staying alive becomes tricky business.

Hamill ensures his tale reads like an historical account of the Prospect Park area of Brooklyn - and the late 60's era in general - flashing from the past to the present, namechecking and fact-revealing along the way. The plot twists and turns - the less revealed the better, but DO expect surprises. The writing resonates with a Doors/Dylan soundtrack (never has Mr Tambourine Man sounded so haunting!). And the issue of 'Vietnam' is covered brilliantly: fathers and sons torn apart by the warring sides of patriotism and peace sloganeering, highlighting the boiling anger and violence of that contentious time.

Close renderings of family relationships, first love, nostalgia and failure - along with an expansive plot - make this book so much more than a simple story that you read and forget. Like a well-written piece of investigative journalism, this book is not only highly engaging but will also make you THINK. Hamill at his best.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars SUNSHINE SUPERMAN, March 30, 2003

By 

Karen Spivak "Karen-NJ" (NJ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Long Time Gone : A Novel (Hardcover)

Even though I was born in 1964 this book made me feel, smell and taste the 60's. The main character's name is Danny Cassidy, which I kept reading as David Cassidy. Danny is now a journalist in his 50's haunted by the murder of a cop in 1969. Danny fears he may have committed this crime, however he was so strung out on drugs, he doesn't remember much of anything about the night of the murder. Basically he returns to his hometown of Brooklyn to find out the truth. The book is a real pageturner and an engrosing mystery, however some of the relationships between the male and female characters made no sense to me. For example even though Danny is aging, not in great shape and only semisuccesful, practically every female in the book seems to want nothing more than to hop into bed with him. No matter how young, attractive and successful the women were, Danny inexplicably seemed to be the man of their dreams. His relationship with his old girlfriend Erika is somewhat understandable as they were teenage sweethearts, however I don't think most of my fellow females would find Danny worth lusting after. (Myself not included-as I love all things from this era). Also the constant use of the word, "cherry," in reference to virginity became quite annoying.
All in all this book is a good mystery that most readers interested in the 60's and 70's will enjoy.

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing, September 13, 2006

By 

Stevenie Ellis (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Long Time Gone : A Novel (Paperback)

I bought this book on a whim at an Ocean State Job Lot (closeout store)and couldn't put it down. This book can be quite explicit, so if you are easily offended by sex or drugs I don't recomend it. As I'm only 21 I can only assume that this is a good representation of the 60s, but the murder mystery aspect of it is top notch!