I really enjoyed Spike Lee's adaptation of this source material, and because it was little more than 200 pages, I though, why not give it a read? The 25th Hour is David Benioff's first novel, and he wrote most of it while he was a high school teacher. It's hard to imagine that Benioff would later turn this book into a great screenplay and go on to be showrunner for HBO's Game of Thrones. I suppose because I never heard much about this book (only of the movie), I didn't have high expectations for it.

Montgomery "Monty" Brogan is a drug dealer on the eve of his incarceration. On his last day before going to jail for 7 years, he spends time with friends, family, and himself. In his final hours, he's accepted his fate, but he never comes across as a broken or defeated man.

The 25th Hour doesn't read like a first novel. It's incredibly restrained -- the characters are incredibly real, and the dialog flows perfectly. The metaphors are symbolism here are treated underhandedly, and Benioff never calls attention to these motifs. I think I may recommend the movie over the novel, but they are both quite good. In fact, there are two monologues that I distinctly remember from the movie (the "F you" scene in front of the mirror and the final conversation with his father), but the writing here is so well crafted that these moments don't really stand out in the novel.

Recommend for those interested in mood or character pieces with a slight crime flavor.