The Tigers of Lents

by Mark Pomeroy

This is the story of the Garrison family, who live in Lents, an outer neighborhood of Portland, Oregon. At the heart of it all, there are the three Garrison sisters: Sara, the eldest, a fiery soccer star on the precipice of pulling herself out of the life of poverty she’s always known; Elaine, shy and struggling with the weight she carries both physically and mentally; and Rachel, a reader and poet whose imagination stalls at trying to picture a better life.

As the Garrisons struggle to communicate with each other, as they battle self-doubts and self-sabotage, they too draw on a fierce shared strength that allows them to push back at the reality that’s been handed to them. Each Garrison fights to hold on to their dignity—often through daily acts of grace and good humor, to say nothing of quiet perseverance—and to prove to themselves and each other that they shouldn’t be underestimated.

Genres: Fiction

233 pages, Paperback

Published March 28, 2024

About the author

Mark Pomeroy lives with his family in Portland, Oregon, where he was born and raised. In 2014 Oregon State University Press published his first novel, The Brightwood Stillness, which The Oregonian called "absorbing and humane." He has received an Oregon Literary Fellowship for Fiction, and his short stories, poems, and essays have appeared in Open Spaces, Portland Magazine, The Wordstock 10, NW Book Lovers, The Oregonian, and What Teaching Means: Stories from America’s Classrooms.

Reviews

[June · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story of a struggling community, the Lents neighborhood, outside of Portland, Oregon, together with the story of a struggling family. The Garrison girls, Sara, Rachel and Elaine, all have dreams of something better. Mom works long days as a cashier at Fred Meyer and their dad, Keith, is soon getting out of prison. The family dynamics, poverty, and feelings of unworthiness, all play out. You will root for them all as they move forward and overcome obstacles. Definitely a northwest nature vibe. Short fast paced chapters. Highly recommended read.

[Jon Bell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superbly paced with tight chapters that propel this slow burn of a story forward, "The Tigers of Lents" is an observant look into one family's struggles and triumphs – some workaday, some life-changing – in a unique Portland neighborhood at a time when the Rose City was approaching its peak quirkiness as its grittier edges began closing in. Pomeroy expertly captures details of the city he grew up in, creating a sense of place that's as honest as they come. His characters have depth and appeal, and you feel for them, root for them and simmer with anxiety for them when the next opportunity for a wrong choice knocks at the door. The challenges that wind through the narrative – poverty, education, crime, fractured families, drugs – throw a gray Oregon cloud atop the story, but Pomeroy lets in enough light at just the right time to keep Tigers from feeling too dreary. Having the characters escape to the peace and nature of Mt. Hood from time to time is just one way he does this so well. Engaging, colorful in a Northwest way and familiar to Portland readers, "The Tigers of Lents" examines the Garrison family in Portland. But the story, its characters and its lessons, reach far beyond any lone family, any single city.

[Moonkiszt · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Tigers of Lents ended out on my shelf because its about home. There are not many years in my long life that I haven't lived within a few zip codes from the Lents neighborhood and years of my working and early salad days in the downtown Portland and outer areas. Reading this author's story was a crazy head trip. . .I've had a quick lunch on the run at the feet of Lincoln in the Park Blocks. . .how many times? Hell. . .I truly think I've met Ken and hung with him often. . .he was one of my favorite parts of this read, especially his Wendell Berry quote.

I am often intrigued by patterns, and fell in with the rhythm of Pomeroy's end of chapter statements, usually a person, place or thing in an attitude of a personified full stop. . .period. . .I had to stop collecting them. . .but so interesting. . .probably just a me thing.

As for the characters, the Garrison family and their cohorts, it took me a while to sort them. Because the reader is in their heads so much and many seemed similar in thought that was a challenge. Basically this is a story of a family falling apart - not a fun thing, having gone through it myself in this very locale. But every family falling apart has hard work to do on the Other Side of the Coin: once children turn into parents each generation moves to the next shelf - if you want contact with the following generations - the cute new darlings in the care of people who you raised up and who can now choose not to share them with you - you must make a different choice for the good of everyone.

Families need all their members, those who know each others' beginnings, laughter, prankster acts, the mad faces, or stupid-in-love faces, happy tears versus sad tears versus run-for-the-hills tears, and the terrifying silent scream. Every family falling apart has to learn how to fall together somehow - to reassemble differently - facing the new situations, choices, and the new faces they bring into the circle, that can also come and go. There's a bunch of forgiveness, reunion, letting go of stuff, patience and compassion to dish out with no strings attached and to receive from others with acknowledgement. That's what I took away from this read. I'll be thinking about it for a long time.

Kudos to Mr. Pomeroy for getting Portland and the Garrisons on bookshelves. and . . .Tell Ken I've missed him, and hope he's well.

*A sincere thank you to Mark Pomeroy, University of Iowa Press, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and review independently.* #TheTigersofLents #NetGalley 25|52:19a

[Stephanie Doyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a fan of family drama and stories of sisters and coming of age…this is a little of all of those things

Thanks to Netgalley for the free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

[Fran · Rating 5 out of 5]

The rally is tonight, an attempt to prevent Marshall High School from closing. The school board should be "ashamed of itself for kicking a community that's already in many ways, on its knees...the board sitting up there like royalty...Let the peasants vent." Sara Garrison walks home past the run-down apartments and small houses in her Lents neighborhood on the fringes of Portland, Oregon. The year is 2010.

Sara, a star soccer player, steps on the field crossing over to the Marshall High School bench. On the far sideline, girls from the opposing team warm up. Big, strong, stuck-up rich girls, not ones who wear hand me down shorts and used soccer cleats. "The rain, the crowd, the score: She ignores it all, she's lost in this sweet feeling, in the flow and the breathing, the working muscles...Right here, now, she's not a girl from Lents. She doesn't live on a gravel road. Her dad isn't in prison, her mother isn't a grocery store cashier. She belongs on this field...She doesn't see Angus Graham, the University of Portland women's coach who says, "Look at the girl. Like she owns the bloody field." Sara's life is about to change, however, she is socially and economically at a loss and treated as such by her teammates.

Rachel's super power is the creativity in her writing and poetry. Her imagination can take her only so far. With the closing of Marshall, she is forced to travel out of her neighborhood to attend a new school. Her school attendance becomes intermittent, bordering on non-existent. Hooking up with boyfriend Kurt Draker, "leader of his sorry-ass gang of drugged-out fools", she now sports a bruised eye. She crashes at Kurt's house. In this way, continuous blow-ups with her mom, Melanie can be avoided.

Elaine, a high school sophomore is quiet and soft spoken. She self comforts using food. She can whip up bologna sandwiches or mac and cheese for family dinners. The electric bill is overdue...no heat either. "One of those months, heat or eat." Mom [Melanie] sits on her chair...swollen ankles. The robe and slippers...her third glass of zinfandel now gone." Elaine seems to have taken on the role of caregiver while Melanie plays the role of long suffering mom. What a difference it would make if Melanie interacted with and encouraged her children. She seems too downtrodden to do so.

The countdown to dad Keith's upcoming release from prison strains the family dynamic even more. As his release date nears, he reflects on the mistakes causing his incarceration and thinks about "what'll happen on the outside, what he wants to have happen." He wants to establish a relationship with the three daughters he hardly knows. Can this fractured family establish solid lines of communication that support each other and enable each of them to rise above their challenges?

A highly recommended read.

Thank you Mark Pomeroy and University of Iowa Press for a print copy in exchange for an honest review.

[PhattandyPDX · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Garrison family are pugilists in the world of felony flats: violence, poverty, methamphetamine, and a dad in prison. They are resilient and inspirational in their quest for a better life. Mark Pomeroy‘s realist prose is brilliant and in the same lineage as Oregon greats Willy Vlautin and Don Carpenter.

“We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.“

“It was there, after she had downed three or four vodka tonics, Wendy off dancing, but the rangy little guy came up to the table and asked for a dance. She never did find out his name. He had on a cream colored western shirt with swirly designs on the lapel, she remembers that much. And so they danced, what the hell, and he bought her more drinks. After a while, Wendy wanted to stay and keep dancing, so she went with the little guy back to his apartment and he said in her ear how he liked full-size women. He actually said that. She wasn’t sure what to say back except ‘well, fuck me then’. So that’s exactly what they did“

[Jackalacka · Rating 3 out of 5]

I live and teach in the neighborhood portrayed in this book. I’ve seen a lot of people who walk the road that this family walks but some parts of the story just felt like it was too overly dramatized and unreal. (Like where was the school reps reaching out to the family when their daughter doesn’t show up to school for so long? This author makes it seem like nobody cared or lifted a finger) I cared about this family and was rooting for them all the way but I felt that Elaine and the mom’s stories were not present in the last part of the book and were given a obligatory few paragraphs at the end to wrap their stories up. On a totally irrelevant side note….why on Earth pick names like Kurt, Keith and Ken for the male characters. Mix it up man. I kept getting the K names mixed up. LOL.

[Barb · Rating 5 out of 5]

A coming of age novel of the Garrison family, struggling in poverty.
Three teen girls and a little brother when the high school is closed.
A mom working extra shifts to put away money for college with nothing left to give.
A dad about to be released from jail wanting to make up for lost time with his girls.
Poverty, food insecurity, belonging, exploring sexuality, grit and anger, drugs, soccer competition, poetry, food to fill unmet needs, a young boy frightened by yelling.
And glimmers of hope, support, and peace with visits to Gram and Gramps in the foothills, nature's soothing walks by the river, a full ride soccer scholarship, a dad making good on his promise,

[Dee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting - albeit somewhat difficult - book to read. I chose it in part for the Portland setting (my home town!) but the Lents neighborhood was unknown to me, although downtown, University of Portland, etc. were familiar. While I wanted a happy ending for all (and was mostly satisfied on that score), there was too much angst to get through - and at times I felt angry at the characters who knew they should be acting differently, but just couldn't! Maybe its because these lives were all out of my milieu and I couldn't relate - and then felt guilty for my "privilege" or maybe because it was difficult to create full stories for all?

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

We all come from somewhere.

I enjoyed this book, possibly because I'm from the east side of Portland and remember when Marshall was closed. While I didn't attend Marshall, I think we all felt sad, thinking it could happen to any school, taking away histories and memories, good and bad. The characters struggle to regain their footing, as their lives must move on. Struggling to fit in, struggling to put a roof over your families head, drug addiction, physical abuse are all dealt with in a realistic manner.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was raised in the area of Portland, that he writes about. I also went to Marshal high school before it was closed. My family also had a very rough small cabin near Welches. Added to the fact that my daughter works at the University of Portland, this all seemed spot on. Well written and touches upon life that many of us are exposed to, but little understood. The barriers imposed and self imposed, and the difference people in our lives can make. I wish that I had read this book in high school.

[Marge Congress · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent book about a neighborhood next to where I live. The author's grasp of how people live and exist in that community is good. There are too many characters, and having the 2 main male characters have very similar names was very confusing. It made me feel good that most of the people in the book were on their way out of the dumps and into a better life.

[Stuart Levy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pomeroy is a sold writer, and it was fun to read a book that was set in Portland, but it just wasn't that compelling a story. He did a good job in portraying life for people who are struggling financially, but there wasn't much of a pull for me to finish the book. I did, but only because I felt I owed to him.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like Portland, soccer or just a good book about the various obstacles facing a kid that was not born with a silver spoon in their mouth- you'll probably enjoy this one. clear, short, pretty fun read.

[Amy Casselman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The characters are real and each one has their own life and is written to allow you to feel them and their situation deeply in your own way. I was in it the entire book from start to finish and even shed a few tears along the way. Highly recommend!!!

[Lori Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

The neighborhood where I grew up captured so beautifully. I know this town and I know these people so well, their struggles, desperation hard won attainments and acceptance of life on the outside edge. This is written in a manner, so recognizable, so empathetic it melted my heart!

[SM Zalokar · Rating 3 out of 5]

I live very close to the Lents neighborhood. I found the characterization of the neighborhood and the (mostly) female main characters to be written from the outside looking in. It took me a full month to finish. I just couldn’t quite get into story the way I was hoping to.

[Mike Rogan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mark Pomeroy drew some amazing characters in his story of the Lent’s area of Portland that I grew to care about a great deal. I time traveled with him as he told a story of life.

I recommend this book.

[Cass Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is for all of us Foster FM workers, us oldest daughters, the first in our family to go to college, those of us who have difficult relationships with our parents, those who ride the Max every day and see all of humanity. This book is for us all, and it’s beautiful

[Peter Rock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lents + trouble with girls' soccer = my life
Great soundtrack, too!

[Audrey Webster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Struggles of a single mother and family in Portland Oregon. Good read.

[Doranne Long · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptionally well written, very detailed visual descriptions, yet hard to read as the characters struggle with their lives.

[Dorinda Wong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goal accomplished

Author accomplished his goal of realistically depicting life when a person’s social economic status plays a major role in influencing the person’s future.

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyable story intertwined with life in Portland.
Gripping storytelling with exquisite insights into a family’s struggles and their individual journeys.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved all the Portland location name-dropping, but I didn’t connect that much with the characters.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found it slow to get started but ended up liking it very much.

Pet peeve: authors who have teenagers listen to their parents’ era music. I don’t buy it!