Barrowfields (Lewis) - Book Reviews

Book Reviews
The Barrowfields, with its almost Victorian title, offers in its own ways the pleasures of older novels, with their coziness and sweep, and their tacit belief that family is destiny. The prose has the beautiful attention to detail that embeds us in place.… At the core of this story is an alcoholic father stuck on notions of his own genius — a figure left over from the last century. My one quibble with the book was that I was waiting for Lewis to suggest a critique of this myth. Assumptions have changed. That said, The Barrowfields is a work of abundant talent.
Joan Silber - New York Times Book Review


In this charming, absorbing, and assured debut novel, a young man tries to make sense of his father’s life and the passions that unite them—namely, a devotion to literature.…  [Lewis's] prose is bracingly erudite. This debut has the ability to fully immerse its readers.
Publishers Weekly


[S]mall discrepancies…detract from the novel's credibility. Verdict: The devil is in the details in Lewis's first novel, which is wide in scope yet somewhat uneven in pacing and in the particulars. —Susanne Wells, Indianapolis P.L.
Library Journal


In his evocative debut about disenchantment and identity, Lewis captures the longing of a southerner separated from his home, his family, and his ambition.… Like fellow North Carolinian Thomas Wolfe, Lewis tackles the conflicting choice between accepting one’s roots and rejecting the past, and he does so with grace, wit, and an observant eye.
Booklist


Amid family tragedy, a young man flees the peculiar home of his youth only to return years later.… Promising but unfocused, this finely wrought debut novel would've benefited from more ruthless editing.
Kirkus Reviews