In The Fall

Rating:
Summary: love as rescue
Review: Jeffrey Lent is to be commended for a fine first novel, filled with detailed descriptions of New England in a previous era. He also gives us a poignant portrayal of how slavery overshadowed the lives of both black and white people yet to be born at the time of the War. The inner lives of his characters are poetically revealed to us, with such an impact that we think about them as we go through our own days. However, like so many male writers, he misunderstands the hearts of his female characters. Indeed, the central plot hinge,the suicide of Leah, alienates her from women readers, who will find it hard to understand a mother leaving a five year old son in this fashion, however desperate she feels her circumstances to be. Also, in a plot twist borrowed perhaps from the sci-fi genre, in each generation the central characters meet their mates by being rescued in dire straits, fed, and given carnal comfort. From this springs life-long commitment? A lot of literary license needs to expended to use "love as rescue" not once, but three times.

Rating:
Summary: In the Fall
Review: In the Fall is a tragic story of how society forces its values on us and how we continue to "fall" beneath its weight rather than rise above it. The Pelham family foundation was cracked from the beginning, not because of Norman, who ends up marrying an ex-slave, but because love and intimacy were not openly displayed in the Pelham home although it was experienced in small, everyday ways. Norman finds his own way of expressing his love, not by his words but by his actions. He passes this on to his children, without even realizing that he has left them a legacy to express themselves physically but very seldom, verbally. This thread of expression is woven through all three of the generations represented in this novel. I hope this novel does well; I hope it climbs onto the Best Seller's List because in many ways, this book is about America-its sins, its fears, its history and its family structure. Until we learn to confront and face our past, our future will always be in question and for some, in jeopardy. Jeffrey Lent takes on a subject during a period of time that is still not talked about openly enough among those of us who call ourselves "well educated and well read". The language is descriptive, vivid and engaging. It sucks the reader in and makes her feel a part of the experience, not as an observer but as a participant. Read this novel and by all means, pass it on.

Rating:
Summary: blown away
Review: This simply put, is a great read.I usually don't go for sagas but this one I couldn't put down.I felt like I knew these people.Mr. Lent has hit one out of the park in his first at bat.Like Asher Brauner's 'Love songs of the tone deaf' this is an amazing display of literary talent for a first novel.Definitely read this book, you will abolutely love it

Rating:
Summary: Stupendous Saga
Review: Things I love in a work of fiction: Characters, whom I can picture in my mind, and grow to care for. A sense of place--enough description that I know where these characters are living. Human problems, faced in human ways, and solved in a realistic way, not always with the proverbial "happy ending". In the Fall has everything, including almost poetic sense of language. As a Bookseller, I have daily opportunities to recommend books. This is No. 1 on my list!

Rating:
Summary: This Is What 5 Stars Are For!
Review: Well before I finished this book, I was thinking about the reviews I had previously written. I tried to recall those that I thought merited 5 stars. By the time I finished, "In The Fall", I decided a five star rating is something that should be rather scarce.

Book Jackets generally suffer from severe cases of superlative laced hyperbole. If all endorsements were accurate you could walk blindfolded into your favorite purveyor of books, lay your hand on the first tome to be touched, and a Pulitzer, Booker, Nobel, or a Whitbread would be in you hand! However, it is far more likely you would dredge up a tell-all book on Harry Potter's Carbohydrate Addiction with a free coupon good toward any exploitive bestseller, think Boulder Colorado, there are two on the bestseller list as I write.

But in this scenario the odds are beaten, no 250-page novel/screenplay, rather a 542-page piece of magic that booklovers live for. "In The Fall" is with you whether you are reading, or away from it. Mr. Lent creates characters so vivid, a story that reveals itself without affectation, pretense, or literary sleight of hand, that this book crosses that point in the reader's mind from a book, to an experience that not only immerses you while being read, but crosses from just a piece of fiction you read, to a set of acquaintances that stay with you. The "fictional" conversations and events, the characters so vividly rendered, you know not only would you recognize them on the street, but wouldn't be surprised if you did. This is a story you think about as happening, rather than just a book. The degree to which you enter this world is a rare event, a special experience.

The Writer I thought of when enjoying this work was John Steinbeck. The same way "The Grapes Of Wrath" stays with you years after it was read, or "East Of Eden" or "Cannery Row" lingers, this does the same. This is a story you will remember in detail, these are characters names you will always recall, this caliber of book is why I read. "In The Fall" is the first book I have read in years that I believe will be a true classic in time. "Instant Classic" is a moronic contradiction in terms. A classic has to age, to endure, to continue to be relevant, this work has all the necessary credentials, and in abundance.

This is Mr. Lent's first book, but it will stand side by side with Writers who have worked their craft for careers. I say this not to denigrate anyone's work, rather to express what an achievement this book is. For those who create the short lists for literary honors this one should be a foregone conclusion. And as for being an award winner, I think that conclusion is as safe a bet as one can make.

An incredible book whether the first, tenth, or last. Mr. Lent stay healthy and write!

Rating:
Summary: In the Fall
Review: This book was absolutely fantastic. I loved how it richly told the story of this troubled family over the generations. It was very difficult to put down once I had started reading it. Kudos to a great first time author!

Rating:
Summary: An amazing first novel
Review: I work in a bookstore and got an advance copy of In The Fall that didn't have a plot description which is always interesting. I usually pick up these advance copies almost daring the book to pull me in. With In The Fall, I was hooked almost immediately. It's beautifully written, with profound character insights that are often startling. Occasionally it's a little overwritten, but never fatally. Its lush language is reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy, without being as intense or exhausting. The language never gets in the way of the characters and story which is a little bit East of Eden and a little bit Cold Mountain. I couldn't put it down. I've already bought 2 copies for friends.

Rating:
Summary: In The Fall, a rarity
Review: This is a beautiful, lovely book as heartbreakingly sad as anything I've ever read. There's four or five places in Lent's narrative that just cut you off at the knees emotionally. I'd just have to put the book down a while because I was so affected with the beauty and melancholy of his story. Generational sagas tend to spread a lot of characters too thin over a natural episodic repetitiveness. Lent never allows that to happen here. Each character is presented in their own unique way, their stories sometimes dovetailing, but as time passes back and again, their true natures are ever more revealed, often tragically. I thought them all wonderful. I'd intended to take my time reading "Fall" but around page 180-90 the whole thing, perfectly terrific to that point, picked up an undeniable narrative steam, one of those I-cannot-&-will-not put this bloody thing down till I find out what happens kind of things. What a ride. In the end this is one of those books you love to tell friends about, knowing that if they only like it half as much as you do, they'll love it.

Rating:
Summary: mesmerising, harrowing, heartbreaking... a great debut
Review: My local bookseller suggested this as one of the most impressive new novels of the year. Since her recommendations vary wildly between wonderful woeful and just plain wierd, I took a chance.

How right she was. What a great book. My partner and I read it to each other over three long nights, each of us taking turns to chew our way around the dialects. Like a giant river this book is massive and languid and carries enormous power and has undercurrents which pull at your heart and mind. The characters are complex and human, each with their own failings and foibles, and the strongest character (who, without giving too much away, is killed off quite early on) hovers across the remaining story like mist. The author has an incredible feel for how characters are tied to landscape similar to Cormac McCarthy.

Some people will say it's slow, but I loved it, and was hugely moved by it, and can't wait to take it to my reading group. If you love Toni Morrison, you'll most likely love this. Like a good glass of cognac, it needs to be savoured in the hand in order to warm the heart.

Rating:
Summary: Breathtaking
Review: The author truly keeps you turning the pages until the last wonderful chapter. The feelings he uncovers about race relations and family ties are so powerful.. then and now. Readers of "Cold Mountain" will love this one.