Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
Interesting story but i didn’t like that there were no chapters and it was not seamless when transitioning time periods. Would not recommend
This was a nice, quiet story, which is exactly what I was in the mood for. Towards the end of the narrative, I was hoping for a bit more of a story arc, though - it isn't a plot-driven novel, so I wasn't looking for action, per se, but for some sort of development that just did not seem to come. I just felt like it meandered a bit at the end.
Still, I did enjoy this, mostly because Lila is unlike any female character I have encountered in literature, and because I LOVE the reverend John Ames and his kind ways. I wish he existed in real life...I can't wait to read Gilead now!
Still, I did enjoy this, mostly because Lila is unlike any female character I have encountered in literature, and because I LOVE the reverend John Ames and his kind ways. I wish he existed in real life...I can't wait to read Gilead now!
"She never expected to find so many things she already knew written down in a book." There is a profound work of theology bound up in this memoir-ish novel of life confirming life. It was going to be hard to outdo Gilead. With Lila, Marilynne Robinson has not only done it but made Gilead better.
On a scale of 1-5, I would rate this as a 10. The writing is breathtaking, and Lila is a fascinating character. I will read the first two books in this series as soon as possible; I am sorry that I have not read them yet.
I can't say anything about this book that hasn't been said. Robinson brilliantly gets inside of Lila and lets her out, so the rest of us can learn about her and try to understand her world and how she sees it.
Finishing this in the morning was a mistake, because I'll be crying all day. Not even a "sad" book or ending, just fiercely alive characters and some of the tenderest prose I've ever read. I feel like my skinned knees are stinging, and I'm snuggled in the wool sweater of my beloved, and I ache, ache, ache with love and regret and nostalgia and awe.
I'm not sure this book would stand alone, but it's a worthy addition to [b:Gilead|68210|Gilead (Gilead, #1)|Marilynne Robinson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1451555787s/68210.jpg|2481792] and [b:Home|2924318|Home (Gilead, #2)|Marilynne Robinson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1426188598s/2924318.jpg|2951639]. We learn the back story of Lila, the young wife we have already heard about in Rev. Ames' musings and the neighbor that Glory describes. (It makes me want to page through those other books to compare the references to her with how she thinks about herself!)
It's a hard coming up, and an emergence from danger into security and naivete into a kind of wisdom. The book makes us see why Lila might sometimes long for her old, bad life and at the same time, fear that her new life won't last. Certainly, her husband won't. He is decades older than she, and he only hopes to live long enough to teach their son how to tie his shoes. She married him at first out of an obscure impulse, but at last she loves him more than she believes she knows how to love.
Marilynne Robinson is a Christian writer, and in a sense, this book and all her books are about salvation. What makes them accessible to me, a Jewish reader, is that it's an earthly salvation. When people are healed, when they come home, when they really and truly feel the power of love, it doesn't solve all their problems. They don't necessarily become new souls. it's more that the lives they lead have meaning and purpose that they didn't know for sure were there to be had. These are not optimistic books, but they are hopeful, through and through.
It's a hard coming up, and an emergence from danger into security and naivete into a kind of wisdom. The book makes us see why Lila might sometimes long for her old, bad life and at the same time, fear that her new life won't last. Certainly, her husband won't. He is decades older than she, and he only hopes to live long enough to teach their son how to tie his shoes. She married him at first out of an obscure impulse, but at last she loves him more than she believes she knows how to love.
Marilynne Robinson is a Christian writer, and in a sense, this book and all her books are about salvation. What makes them accessible to me, a Jewish reader, is that it's an earthly salvation. When people are healed, when they come home, when they really and truly feel the power of love, it doesn't solve all their problems. They don't necessarily become new souls. it's more that the lives they lead have meaning and purpose that they didn't know for sure were there to be had. These are not optimistic books, but they are hopeful, through and through.
It's a solid story. But imagine someone taking a deep breath and recalling her life from birth to the present moment without taking a breath. It's a bit exhausting for the reader to have to follow along the refined stream-of-consciousness with no place to take a mental break. I would read and read and finally just stop in the middle of the page because it is essentially one 300 page chapter. But I did take to the characters and I thought the writing was lovely. But I also felt I wasn't smart enough to make all the connections I should have.