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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
A trog at the start, but picks up a huge amount. Great by the end.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-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
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
medium-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
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Tyler Caskey marries Lauren, a feisty young woman. When he becomes a Reverend, they move to New England, where he is pastor of a small community. The community doesn't think much of Lauren, and after her death, Tyler struggles to raise his daughters and care for the needs of his church members.
A touching story of a man's, and a community's, search for holiness.
A touching story of a man's, and a community's, search for holiness.
Having read, and enjoyed the Lucy Barton books and the first Olive Kitteridge one, I decided to buy all of Elizabeth Strout’s books. While those books were either interlinked short stories or novellas. Abide With Me is a novel in the traditional sense of the word and is her second work of fiction.
The plot consists of a widowed minister, Tyler Caskey, in a small town. Slowly due to his grief he starts to lose himself be it with his parishers, daughter or his helper, Tyler commits actions which make him a mockery of the town.
To be honest I found Abide With Me to be a bit inconsistent. While I liked the Rev’s loss of reality, I did find it to fall into repetition and I did get bored. On the plus side Elizabeth Strout knows how to capture small town folk and their worries and concerns. Also as a theology student, I did like the mentions of Bonhoeffer and Tillich (who I studied) and how their teaching reflect on Caskey’s life.
I see Abide with Me as Strout edging to something great – Olive Kitteridge is the book that made her name and there are elements of that in Abide by Me but not fully formed.
The plot consists of a widowed minister, Tyler Caskey, in a small town. Slowly due to his grief he starts to lose himself be it with his parishers, daughter or his helper, Tyler commits actions which make him a mockery of the town.
To be honest I found Abide With Me to be a bit inconsistent. While I liked the Rev’s loss of reality, I did find it to fall into repetition and I did get bored. On the plus side Elizabeth Strout knows how to capture small town folk and their worries and concerns. Also as a theology student, I did like the mentions of Bonhoeffer and Tillich (who I studied) and how their teaching reflect on Caskey’s life.
I see Abide with Me as Strout edging to something great – Olive Kitteridge is the book that made her name and there are elements of that in Abide by Me but not fully formed.
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Not great. Had high hopes, as I loved "Olive Kittredge", but I just had nothing but contempt for virtually every single character in this story (minus the little daughters) and was just relived whenn it was over. Lovely writing though.