After reading both Gilead and Home, I was curious to see how Marilynne Robinson was going to tie up her series with Lila. But since she’s created such a complex array of characters, the novel fits easily in with the other novels and adds yet another layer of richness and depth to the complex world of Gilead, Iowa. Lila is all about Lila’s life before and after she enters Gilead and meets John Ames. We already know that she marries him, so this novel focuses […]
Home to Stay
Whoever said April comes in like a lamb and out like a lion wasn’t kidding, but I always forget that May comes roaring in like a lion and flaming out like a dragon. Last week was finals (thankfully, I’m down to one class this semester), and this next weekend is my graduation. Woo hoo! I still have other projects I’m working on for the summer and the next semester, so no rest for the wicked. I am posting a bunch of reviews today, though some […]
Like a whiff of my mother’s perfume.
This book dug up a lot of feelings, so get ready for a bit of autobiography. I grew up religious in the evangelical persuasion. For many years, until my early 20s, I was a True Believer: pious, traditional, and convinced that we were both right and righteous. I memorized all the verses to all the hymns. I read theology books way past my grade level. I studied the minor prophets. I was the AWANA poster child. And then I grew up a little and started learning how […]
A balm in Gilead
Last year for CBR6, I read Marilynne Robinson’s Housekeeping and HATED IT. The writing is great, but the hoarding completely got in the way of the story for me. My friend C suggested that I give Gilead a try, so I found the audiobook at my local library. I finished it last night on a late commute home from school. I’m sure the other travelers on the interstate must have looked askance at the 30-year-old white lady weeping at her steering wheel. It’s one of […]