Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award National Book Award Finalist A new American classic from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Gilead and Housekeeping Marilynne Robinson, one of the greatest novelists of our time, returns to the town of Gilead in an unforgettable story of a girlhood lived on the fringes of society in fear, awe, and wonder. Lila, homeless and alone after years of … awe, and wonder.
Lila, homeless and alone after years of roaming the countryside, steps inside a small-town Iowa church-the only available shelter from the rain-and ignites a romance and a debate that will reshape her life. She becomes the wife of a minister, John Ames, and begins a new existence while trying to make sense of the life that preceded her newfound security.
Neglected as a toddler, Lila was rescued by Doll, a canny young drifter, and brought up by her in a hardscrabble childhood. Together they crafted a life on the run, living hand to mouth with nothing but their sisterly bond and a ragged blade to protect them. Despite bouts of petty violence and moments of desperation, their shared life was laced with moments of joy and love. When Lila arrives in Gilead, she struggles to reconcile the life of her makeshift family and their days of hardship with the gentle Christian worldview of her husband which paradoxically judges those she loves.
Revisiting the beloved characters and setting of Robinson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Gilead and Home, a National Book Award finalist, Lila is a moving expression of the mysteries of existence that is destined to become an American classic.
more
An excellent story to relax and savor the language and characterization. I really connected with Lila’s character and how her mind worked or didn’t work. A lot of depth and excellent characterization, along with a good sense of place.
It is a beautifully presented audiobook, the text flowing and the narrator Maggie Hoffman giving the characters individual voices.
The story of Lila is heartbreaking. She was a neglected child stolen from her family by a woman who shows her the only love and care she experiences before meeting John Ames, the narrator of Robinson’s novel Gilead. Lila grew up a migrant, outside of society and untutored in religion. But her native intelligence brings her to struggle with the Big Questions of life.
Lila is a survivor who relies only on herself after losing her surrogate mother, Doll. On her own, she works in a St. Louis brothel, becoming the maid when the men don’t want her.
She goes on the road again, stopping in Gilead, a town she despises. She wanders into church one day to escape the rain. The minister notes her and pursues her, showing her consideration and Christian love, with patience and acceptance she has never experienced before.
The ‘beautiful old man,’ the Rev. John Ames, wants to help her. She asks Ames to marry her.
Ames had lost his wife and child as a young man, and assumed his golden years would be as lonely and cold as they had been ever since. He loves Lila, but understands she may flit away back into her accustomed life on the road where she does not have to rely on anyone else. She struggles to trust even Ames.
Lila’s struggle to understand baptism, the Bible and the mystery of life, takes up a great deal of the book.
Lila’s life as a migrant worker, the utter poverty, was relieved by a spunky friend and Doll’s love. Lila worries about what happened to them, and puzzles over the fate of their unbaptized souls.
When Lila becomes pregnant, Ames feels blessed at this second chance. Even in the womb, Lila talks to her child, vowing to protect it and care for it. She thinks about stealing off with her baby, still uncertain about human love’s immutability.
This is a novel that offers a great deal to contemplate. I do not feel adequate to delve into its deeper meanings after only one reading.
I prefer reading books to listening, but have found audiobooks useful for getting in more reading. I am a quick reader, so spending eight hours listening to a book I could read in four means the story felt dragged out, the introspection endless. Also, I can’t note places I want to return to or quote!
A beautiful companion piece to Robinson’s novel, Gilead. The two novels together present the contemplative reader with a magnificent love story. The heroine speaks in a voice that allows untutored, uncontaminated and pragmatically wise insights to the great mysteries philosophy and religion attempt to tackle. Such a light touch has Robinson—so much gentle humour, so much strength of mind.