Reviews

• Inspired

  Having never heard of the author before I googled books published in this period and bought it for research as it's written and set in the 1920s. The language is rich and contemporary as is the story. Thoroughly enjoyed a book that hasn't any mention of social media or mobile phones.

• Early Autumn by Louis Bromfield

  What a great plot, well developed characters and an oustanding outcome. The language is magnificent, poetic, Wanted to savor every line rich in literary techniques. A satire of early American snobbery. A well deserving novel which earned the Pulitzer Prize 1927. It is rich in characterization. A must read for everyone, male/female adults and junior/senior high school students. Read it for content and for a beautiful command of the English language. Great book for book club.i

• Old-Fashioned but Very Good

  Olivia Pentland married into a dynastic New England family and was soon swept up in their morals, values, and secrets. The book opens with Olivia's daughter Sybil being presented at a ball with guests from all over the region. As the story continues, we gain increasing sympathy for Olivia due to the stifling pressures of being at the helm of this old-fashioned and proud family. She has an unusually strong bond with her father-in-law, the old patriarch, which I found to be one of the more interesting relationships in the book. Her dalliance with a rising-star politician, who appreciates her FAR more than her husband seems to, becomes the central thread of tension. Written in an age when duty to family and societal judgments were more influential than they are now, the book thunders along toward a somewhat predictable ending. I first became acquainted with Bromfield through his non-fiction work, and believe me, non-fiction has to be really good to keep me hooked in. I admire Bromfield's wit and understanding of human nature ... as well as his love for the natural world.

• Through his characters, we hear a great author's thoughts and insights

  Finally started reading Bromfield's early novels thrilled that I'd waited until my seventies. I knew Louis Bromfield as a child because my family lived on his Malabar Farm in Ohio. Personally, he was bigger than life, and I had a subconscious conviction he wrote for adults. As I read his superior prose and got to know his well-developed characters, I luxuriated in his perspectives and observations on life. He expresses emotion and passion in such a way I wanted to underline passage after passage for future reference. His daughter, Ellen Bromfield Geld, wrote the family story in her book "The Heritage" which is a very good read and tells so well of Bromfield's life experiences which fit into his novels. His work was in my eighth grade American Literature book and as other reviewers have stated, his writing does not lose its beauty and relavence with age.

• A tender story

  Why do we do what is right? What price is paid? Of what benefit is it to obey conscience? Like "Age Of Innocence" by Edith Wharton, this book will engage the reader to contemplate life choices, using a tender story to do so.

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