Before We Sleep

As always in Lent's work, personal and social conflicts are intertwined . . . Lent's nuanced portraits of the Snows and their world amply engage our attention--and often our delight, as when his gorgeous prose conjures the pleasures of Ruth's cooking or Oliver's fiddle music . . . Lent's compassionate depiction of the Snows' silence-haunted marriage is often painful to read, demonstrating vividly that love cannot heal all wounds. Yet it is also deeply affecting, as we see Ruth accepting the changed nature of the man she still loves and understanding that his quiet gifts will have to suffice as demonstrations of his love . . . [ Before We Sleep ] expresses the same generous spirit that informs all of [Lent's novels]. Washington Post