| "In Out of Eden,
her third novel, Kate Lehrer creates Huddleston, Kansas where her
protagonists try to create a different life…Ms. Austen would
have loved this story. In fact, if she lived today, she might have
written it herself. Between them, Charlotte and Lydia exhibit sense
and sensibility, pride and prejudice, all of the traits that graced
and cursed the characters in Miss Austen's 18th century novels. They
are real people, and she (Lehrer) makes them deal with their own reality.
Somewhere, Jane Austen must be applauding." - Dallas Morning News |
| "For a more compelling approach
to historical fiction, with all the pleasures traditionally found
in strong narratives, Kate Lehrer's Out of Eden is the best choice
of the month. The story of two independent women struggling to make
a different kind of life for themselves in 19th century Kansas; Out
of Eden has the feel of a classic novel written by some neglected
writer of the Willa Cather or Edith Wharton variety. In a quiet elegant
manner, Kate Lehrer casts a potent spell over her readers, drawing
us into a lost world and making every part of it seem real". - The Baltimore Sun |
| "What's best about Out of Eden is
its brave, complicated ideas about women and the West…Kate Lehrer,
whose previous novel, When They Took Away the Man in the Moon, also
dealt with the conflicting desires of a strong woman, stakes out fascinating
turf here…this is terrific material for full bodied story telling…one
can almost imagine a clever film director turning this saga of Victorian
gentlewomen into a cowgirls' "Thelma and Louise." - The Washington Post |
| "If you're looking for a new novel
of manners, an intelligent story gracefully written, try Kate Lehrer's
third, Out of Eden. Lehrer portrays the women as endearingly brave…pioneers
in the truest sense." - Chicago Tribune |
"Out of Eden reveals how difficult is true freedom or independence to attain - especially for women. Though set in an earlier century, Kate Lehrer's fine novel - roaming from Paris to Chicago to New York to frontier Kansas - surely will strike sparks with today's modern readers." - Larry L. King Author and Playwright |
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"I like her book for several reasons. It undercuts
conventional reads about Kansas…and the novel also describes
how loving families come in different shapes, not necessarily full
blood-related." |
| "Lehrer blends the novel of manners
with a landscape that is both wide-open and confining and Out of Eden
- becomes the story of the quest for a balanced life when all the
rules are shifting." - San Antonio Express News |
| "Like her heroines, Miss Lehrer's
novel is spirited." - The Washington Times |
| "[This] novel
examines the lives of these turn of the century mavericks with insight
and intelligence…leading them and the reader to surprising resolutions." - Austin American-Statesman |
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