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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I am loving this series. Marilynne Robinson has such a distinct voice and produces beautiful prose. This book follows Lila from childhood to adulthood, her marriage to John Ames and the birth of their son. It is a story of trust and of finding home. Can't wait to finish this series.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Lila was a challenging read, oddly immersive, despite the fact that I could only read it in small chunks (it didn't help that there are no chapter breaks and rare points to logically stop. But the text is thematically rich with wonderfully symbolism (the shawl, the knife, the credenza, etc.) and offers a fascinating inner monologue for a character who would be easily dismissed if you passed her in the street or she was your neighbour.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“ Remembering always felt guilty , a lingering where there was no cause to linger as if whatever you loved had a claim on you and you couldn’t help feeling it no matter what “
A profound story , soaked in deep theology , human existence and the essence of life itself .
Some of the theological explanations were so deeply awakening .
“When I say that much of the greater part of our existence is unknowable by us because it rests with God , who is unknowable”
The story also brings out the beautiful bound between Lila and Doll who she held as a mother figure .
Doll’s desperation to be a mother , made her take the child , justifying the act , that the child would otherwise die of neglect .
She being a drifter herself takes the child on a journey and an existence with her .
What I found confusing is the fact that even after experiencing a profound love at almost a supernatural scale showered on her by the Reverend she still yearns for her nomadic life .
“The only true knowledge of God is born of obedience, and obedience has to be constantly attentive to the demands that are made of it , to a circumstance that is always new and particular to its moment .”
A profound story , soaked in deep theology , human existence and the essence of life itself .
Some of the theological explanations were so deeply awakening .
“When I say that much of the greater part of our existence is unknowable by us because it rests with God , who is unknowable”
The story also brings out the beautiful bound between Lila and Doll who she held as a mother figure .
Doll’s desperation to be a mother , made her take the child , justifying the act , that the child would otherwise die of neglect .
She being a drifter herself takes the child on a journey and an existence with her .
What I found confusing is the fact that even after experiencing a profound love at almost a supernatural scale showered on her by the Reverend she still yearns for her nomadic life .
“The only true knowledge of God is born of obedience, and obedience has to be constantly attentive to the demands that are made of it , to a circumstance that is always new and particular to its moment .”
I got almost to the end of this book but just could not continue. ugh. it was like walking uphill for days with nothing in site for miles. tedious and repetitive dialog from main character. There were only moments of interesting.
I can't put my finger on why I didn't like this book quite as much as the other two Gilead books. Something about Lila bothered me, or else I didn't understand her. Learning her life story was interesting, but I didn't like the light it put the first book in. I didn't like the way she related to her husband, the preacher, the narrator of Gilead. Maybe I'm one of the townspeople she doesn't quite get along with, but I struggled to empathize with her in the way I did Rev. Ames in Gilead, or Glory and Jack Boughton in Home. Something about her character (as in, the person she is in the book, not her morality) bothered me, especially in how she refuses to learn to love the life she's been given. The way she was written, it didn't feel like she loved Ames very much at all, even though I know she did, which doesn't make sense. Maybe it's just Robinson's amazing talent for writing the souls of her characters into her writing—as world-worn and weary as Lila is, it makes sense that she wouldn't wear her heart on her sleeve, but it made it harder for me to be able to connect with and appreciate her.
The first two books felt purposeful, but this one somehow felt more like filler than anything else, like Robinson wanted to fill in some of the gaps Gilead and Home left behind. However, she still left everything quite unfinished, which is of course intentional, but it frustrates me that we will likely never know the end of their stories. Lila left me wondering about the lives of the characters, which is of course much more reflective of reality, but I also believe we read stories because we need to know that things will turn out for the best in the end. Maybe it's not our idea of the best (take the end of La La Land, for example), but we want some level of completion in our stories, a reflection of hearts that yearn for the perfection of Eden. Maybe it's the frame of mind that I'm in, but I didn't get that sense of completion here; in fact, I felt the opposite.
I don't want to discount Robinson's writing abilities. She is a phenomenal writer. The ability to take the same town, essentially the same story, and tell it at slightly different times from three different characters' perspectives and make each of them sound completely unique is absolutely amazing. Ames' voice sounds nothing like Glory's, which sounds nothing like Lila's. And when Ames speaks in this book, I can hear his voice from Gilead speaking through Lila's understanding of the world, which is remarkable. And of course, the sheer beauty of the writing is also impressive. Sometimes it gets a little too heady for me (my roommate described it as something you almost understand, but can't quite grasp), but it's undeniable that Robinson is great at what she does. I didn't agree entirely with the choices she made in Lila, but her skill is not something I'm willing to argue against.
The first two books felt purposeful, but this one somehow felt more like filler than anything else, like Robinson wanted to fill in some of the gaps Gilead and Home left behind. However, she still left everything quite unfinished, which is of course intentional, but it frustrates me that we will likely never know the end of their stories. Lila left me wondering about the lives of the characters, which is of course much more reflective of reality, but I also believe we read stories because we need to know that things will turn out for the best in the end. Maybe it's not our idea of the best (take the end of La La Land, for example), but we want some level of completion in our stories, a reflection of hearts that yearn for the perfection of Eden. Maybe it's the frame of mind that I'm in, but I didn't get that sense of completion here; in fact, I felt the opposite.
I don't want to discount Robinson's writing abilities. She is a phenomenal writer. The ability to take the same town, essentially the same story, and tell it at slightly different times from three different characters' perspectives and make each of them sound completely unique is absolutely amazing. Ames' voice sounds nothing like Glory's, which sounds nothing like Lila's. And when Ames speaks in this book, I can hear his voice from Gilead speaking through Lila's understanding of the world, which is remarkable. And of course, the sheer beauty of the writing is also impressive. Sometimes it gets a little too heady for me (my roommate described it as something you almost understand, but can't quite grasp), but it's undeniable that Robinson is great at what she does. I didn't agree entirely with the choices she made in Lila, but her skill is not something I'm willing to argue against.
I can't quite decide what I made of this book - enjoyed, but also found style & jumping through time with no chapters / breaks quite confusing.
This book focuses on the poverty, shame, and isolation felt by migrant workers struggling for survival in the Midwest during the mid-1900s. It’s a story about redemption, restoration, and rescue. The central question this book aims to answer is essentially if all the suffering of life is worth enduring? if presented with an opportunity for a better life different from the bitterness that has been accustomed to, are people even willing to be rescued?
slow-paced