A slant of light : a novel

Title:

Author:

Lent, Jeffrey.

Personal Author:

Lent, Jeffrey.

ISBN:

9781620404966

Physical Description:

357 pages ; 25 cm

Abstract:

"The powerful new work from one of our greatest historical novelists, A Slant of Light deals with profoundly seminal American moments: the end of the Civil War, the religious freedom that was manifested in the Second Great Awakening, the last gasps of the Jeffersonian ideal of American yeomanry, the shadow on the horizon of the Industrial Revolution. At the heart of the novel are two men: one who has committed a horrific act, but is slowly revealed to be a man of honor and integrity; the other, a seemingly righteous man of great spiritual dedication, whose lust for power within his community will eventually blind him to his own actions. These two men are surrounded by a varied host of others, many damaged but stronger for it: a veteran profoundly changed by war, a father tormented by the loss of his daughter, a Seneca man more powerful than others realize, a boy forced too early to become a man. And in this male world, women, too, are assuming new strength--through the roles they take on, and the loves they allow themselves. A Slant of Light is a novel of lust and love, of loss and war, of prophets and followers, of theft and revenge, in an American moment where a seemingly golden age has been shattered. It is a novel about how people make sense of such things, and how they remake their lives"-- Provided by publisher.

Geographic Term:

United States -- History -- 19th century -- Fiction.

Genre:

Historical fiction.

Summary:

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Shelf Number	Status
Searching... Westover Hills	Book	FICTION LENT	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

At the close of the Civil War, weary veteran Malcolm Hopeton returns to his home in western New York State to find his wife and hired man missing and his farm in disrepair. A double murder ensues, the repercussions of which ripple through a community with spiritual roots in the Second Great Awakening. Hopeton has gone from the horrors of war to those far worse, and arrayed around him are a host of other people struggling to make sense of his crime. Among them is Enoch Stone, the lawyer for the community, whose spiritual dedication is subverted by his lust for power; August Swarthout, whose wife has left earthly time and whose eye is set on eternity; and a boy who must straddle two worlds as he finds his own truth and strength. Always there is love and the memory of love--as haunting as the American Eden that Jeffrey Lent has so exquisitely rendered in this unforgettable novel.

A Slant of Light is a novel of earthly pleasure and deep love, of loss and war, of prophets and followers, of theft and revenge, in an American moment where a seemingly golden age has been shattered. This is Jeffrey Lent on his home ground and at the height of his powers.

Reviews (1)

Kirkus Review

Another keening, moving novel steeped in American history and the rhythms of country life from Lent (After You've Gone, 2009, etc.).It opens with a scene of shocking violence, as Malcolm Hopeton confronts Amos Wheeler, the hired hand who plundered his farm and stole his wife, Bethany, while he was fighting in the Civil War. Hopeton kills Wheeler intentionally and Bethany by accident, injuring his young helper, Harlan Davis, who tries to stop him. Hopeton is arrested, and Harlan is taken to recuperate at the farm where his sister Becca keeps house for widower August Swartout. The complexities of relationships past and present in this small, tightly knit western New York community unfold as various powerful men maneuver to gain clemency for Hopeton as the justified avenger of marital betrayal. Though it becomes clear that Wheeler was evil to the bone and had physically abused Bethany, her own father stigmatizes her as a woman "raised in the grace of the Lord [who] turned away." The truth is a lot more complicated, we see, as Hopeton's memories of his early encounters with both Bethany and Wheeler suggest many unsavory secrets hidden among followers of the charismatic religion founded by the Public Friend (a female divine clearly modeled on the Shakers' Mother Ann Lee). Questions of faith, justice and forgiveness are palpable and pressing for Hopeton, August and Harlan, the trio whose consciousnesses dominate the narrative, although Lent gently sketches Bethany, Becca, and Wheeler's discarded lover, Alice Ann, from a further distance as women restless with their allotted roles. His prose is as magnificent as ever, capturing the light in a summer sky or the pain in a bereaved heart with equal clarity and beauty. The novel isn't so much resolved as halted by a closing scene that makes it clear none of these poignantly rendered characters has reached the ends of their journeys. More fine work from a writer who stirs both the head and the heart with powerful grace. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.