Books
by Marilynne Robinson
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Gilead |
In this companion novel to Home (bwl 52), the Reverend Ames begins a letter to his young son. It is not only a testament to his own life and to his forbears but in it he also tries to unravel and understand the events surrounding the troubled life of Jack, the son of his oldest friend. Read one of these books and the other becomes a must. In which order? Maybe this one first.
(Jenny Baker - bwl 53 September 2009) |
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Gilead |
A first-person narrative, Gilead is a contemplative and engaging story of an aging Protestant pastor, examining his faith and indeed his life, for the benefit of his son. He is expecting it to be read after his death. As well as reviewing the complexities of the notion of faith, his own, and that of his small town congregation with its varied challenges, he aims to connect his son to his father's roots and sense of belonging, and so, maybe, to his own.
Ed's Note: Winner 2005 Pulitzer Prize - the first in the Gilead trilogy - see previous bookswelike
(Margaret Teh - bwl 102 Autumn 2021) |
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Home |
Reverend Boughton - failing in health, now cared for by his youngest daughter, Glory - yearns for news of Jack, his favourite son, who disappeared years ago. Then the prodigal unexpectedly returns still trailing all his problems and emotional needs which Glory and their father long to assuage. A moving and beautifully crafted novel, which covers the same events but from different viewpoints to Robinson's earlier book 'Gilead' which I now can't wait to read.
Winner of the 2009 Orange prize
(Jenny Baker - bwl 52 July 2009) |
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Housekeeping |
Robinson's first book, written before Gilead (bwl 52) and Home (Bwl 53), this is one of The Observer's Hundred Greatest Novels of all Time. I'm not surprised - Robinson seems to me to be in a class of her own. This story of two orphaned sisters growing up precariously in a backwoods town in northwest America has been described by reviewers as 'haunting', 'poetic', 'heartbreakingly sad', 'painstakingly suggestive and evocative' and I can't put it any better myself. Extraordinary!
(Annabel Bedini - bwl 55 Winter 2010) |
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Jack |
The prodigal son, who haunts Robinson's Gilead trilogy, is given his voice. Lonely, weighed down by the doctrines of his Presbyterian childhood, Jack is a vagrant and an alcoholic until he meets Della an African-American who transforms his life. But this is segrated St. Louis where such a liaison is against the law. It's twenty years since he left but if he returns home will he find the redemption and acceptance for which he longs? Rivetting, heartbreaking, an utterly compelling read.
(Jenny Baker - bwl 103 Winter 2022) |
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Lila |
Lila is left out on the stoop, crying, alone when the intrepid Doll snatches her; they are on the run, her childhood spent with other itinerants; until one life changing day she wanders into Gilead's church where Reverend Ames, twice her age, is conducting the service. Theirs is a deceptively simple story, told in haunting, elegant prose which poses age-old complexities: does life have meaning? what is love? is another person ever knowable and God - can He really be there?
Ed's note: Lila is the third book in a trilogy. The other two are Gilead (bwl 53) and Home (bwl 52)
(Jenny Baker - bwl 81 Summer 2016) |
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