Rating: 
Summary: Rich and elegant
Review: "In the Fall" is a first novel written by someone who was born to write. The story has such depth and the characters so fully drawn that reading the book is a pleasure that rewards.Set in Vermont between the Civil War and the Depression, "In the Fall" begins with Norman Pelham returning from the Civil War with his new wife, Leah, a former slave, whom he met when he was wounded and Leah was on the run from the plantation. It would seem that Leah has escaped the South and the legacy of slavery in her New England home, but that is far from the truth. The past ricochets through the following generations, leaving a young grandson to look for the truth. The Pelhams, with their strong, unconventional relationships, stubborness, and fits of violence, are an interesting bunch. "In the Fall" is an unusual and compelling debut.
Rating: 
Summary: Too long but had good bones!
Review: I agree with several other reviewers who found this book much too long and overwritten. Some of the rambling thoughts, often very deep for the types of characters thinking such thoughts, were really overdone. Sometimes the language was hauntingly beautiful and sometimes it was so smothered in wordiness as to not be comprehensible. That said, I think the bones of a good story were there, just too well-padded to always be evident. The author took an interesting approach and the story was somewhat different than other post-Civil War tales. This was the only thing that kept me reading.....but I must admit that I often scanned long passages that seemed to take detours away from the heart of the plot. I look forward to watching this author's progress.
Rating:
Summary: Family Secrets
Review: I have read many books this summer, but this first novel by Jeffrey Lent was the one that will stand out for me. It has everything a reader could possibly want: a bit of American history, incredible use of imagery, poetic prose, love stories throughout the generations, believable characters, and a mystery story to hook you completely until the end of the novel. When I reached near the end of the novel, I didn't want the book to end, but of course it had to. I have a small problem with the ending, which I won't go into in this review. However, this is a must read book for nearly everyone. It's been a long time since I've read a book and wanted to go straight to the end and find out the family secret, butI forced myself to wait. Three generations of living breathing characters await those who choose to read this novel. And while the characters are not typical, they are filled with the human emotions we all carry within us. Enjoy this incredible novel. We will surely hear from and about Jeffrey Lent again.
Rating: 
Summary: Language Tedious
Review: I love long, lanquid sentences, even indulgent ones if they describe a world or thoughts that are new to me. However, this is probably one of the most tedious books I have ever read, and I read fiction for a living. I picked up this book after reading interviews with several prominent (male) southern authors who said that Lent should be read by all. However, his prose is so affected that I wanted to scream. Please, God, find a subject and a verb now and again. The CONSTANT fragments ruined the rhythm of the writing and were so jarring that I almost became angrily frustrated as a reader. Lent is no Faulkner, and he would do good to find his own voice.
Rating:
Summary: Logorrhea mars ultimate success
Review: I was lured by the great cover, & stellar reviews, but this book, as another reviewer said, is so derivative, not only of Faulkner but especially Cormac McCarthy. Anybody who's read McCarthy will, I expect, cringe at the repeated use of verbs like "tamp" & all the working-class language & taciturn (& shallow!) characters. The story's reasonably compelling, & I liked the middle section best, & yes there are some beautiful passages, but the prose is a cheap, clunky (intentionally clunky, it's still clunky--doesn't matter) imitation of true masters. You want a better imitation of Faulker & McCarthy, read Frazier's Cold Mountain. At least he has a grasp on sentence structure. And the ending's not even close to making it worthwhile. Please, literary hierarchy, don't send us any more cheap imitations like this one! Writers, strike out on your own!
Rating:
Summary: grand book
Review: I, too, was put off initially by Lent's style, but passed through that and was completely absorbed in this wonderful story about characters whom I feel I know. As I approached the end of the book, I could feel myself resisting having to say good-bye to these wonderful people. Even minor characters seemed to inhabit these pages. I thought the author was psychologically astute as he examined the relationships among generations and races, as well as the impact of slavery on all of our lives. I just finished the book and can't quite decide how I feel about the ending, when Foster learns the truth about his grandmother's visit to North Carolina. Although it feels somewhat contrived, it also really does explain its horror and effect on Leah.
This was a wonderful book and one I will suggest to many friends.
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: The only book I've wanted to throw away
Review: It's not that the actual story is nonsense but they guy has included so much 'fluff' that you get board waiting on a paragraph with real content. This book was so frustrating, I really wish I had saved myself the bother of reading it.
Rating:
Summary: Seasons in our lives, unspoken emotions of generations
Review: Jeffery Lent is a stroke of genius in his detailed depth of his characters emotions. The story is developed around several autumns (falls) over multiple generations. Issues of love, hate, good and evil are dramatised over the echos of the civil war. Interestingly the unspoken thoughts of the stories average family members - especially when in the parental role is unique and easily identified by parents in today's world. One wonders if the title In the Fall is reference to the time of autumn or the "fall" we experience when we emotionally expect for one thing in life to happen and we "fall" - something else is the outcome? When northern raised Norman returns from the south after the civil war with a young negro "wife", Leah, in tow- is his abolishonist mother's sudden departure from the homestead a "fall" of her own expectations? Was the telling of a long held fantasy as a personal reality by the "fallen from perfect health", bitter at the south's falling, Mr Lex 25 years later to Leah a "falling of her own mother" she could not endure, so she also "falls"?
This book requires somber reading. The story is beautiful in it's telling of man's relationships - unspoken thoughts that lead us down the road of life from summer into fall. Baby boomers will love this one!
Rating:
Summary: Seasons in our lives, unspoken emotions of generations
Review: Jeffery Lent is a stroke of genius in his detailed depth of his characters emotions. The story is developed around several autumns (falls) over multiple generations. Issues of love, hate, good and evil are dramatised over the echos of the civil war. Interestingly the unspoken thoughts of the stories average family members - especially when in the parental role is unique and easily identified by parents in today's world. One wonders if the title In the Fall is reference to the time of autumn or the "fall" we experience when we emotionally expect for one thing in life to happen and we "fall" - something else is the outcome? When northern raised Norman returns from the south after the civil war with a young negro "wife", Leah, in tow- is his abolishonist mother's sudden departure from the homestead a "fall" of her own expectations? Was the telling of a long held fantasy as a personal reality by the "fallen from perfect health", bitter at the south's falling, Mr Lex 25 years later to Leah a "falling of her own mother" she could not endure, so she also "falls"?
This book requires somber reading. The story is beautiful in it's telling of man's relationships - unspoken thoughts that lead us down the road of life from summer into fall. Baby boomers will love this one!
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