The Barrowfields by Phillip Lewis
A richly textured coming-of-age story about fathers and sons, home and family, recalling classics by Thomas Wolfe and William Styron, by a powerful new voice in fiction Just before Henry Aster’s birth, his father—outsized literary ambition and pregnant wife in tow—reluctantly returns to the small Appalachian town in which he was raised and installs his young family in an immense house of iron and glass perched high on the side of a mountain. There, Henry grows up under the writing desk of this fiercely brilliant man. But when tragedy tips his father toward a fearsome unraveling, what was once a young son’s reverence is poisoned and Henry flees, not to return until years later when he, too, must go home again. Mythic in its sweep and mesmeric in its prose, THE BARROWFIELDS is a breathtaking debut about the darker side of devotion, the limits of forgiveness, and the reparative power of shared pasts.
For those who like books that are more than junk food, who want to say proudly they read at least one that could be classified as ‘the great American novel’, this is one that should be added to your MUST READ LIST. Phillip Lewis writes not just with words but in a beautiful prose that lets you drift off to a different world.
It’s not a book you want to speed through or with tons of noise around or you will miss something and not get the full experience. It must be read slowly and savored like a fine wine with classical music in front of a fire.
It’s such a beautiful novel full of depth about family and it’s written on such an intelligent level with just enough humor thrown in to take the edge off. The descriptions of the scenery makes you feel like you could be looking at cinematic oil paintings.
I highly recommend looking up some of the music referenced within the pages because it will add this whole level of immersion to make it an unforgettable experience.
I can see this ending up on college and/or high school AP reading lists for English Lit classes. It just seems incredible this came from a debut author, he has set the bar astronomically high for himself for his follow-up but I’m looking forward to the attempt.