Marilynne Robinson is a national treasure. I think having read Gilead previously was a great benefit to enjoying this book thoroughly, though it could stand on its on as well. As a thinking Christian, I treasure the passages where the characters grapple with deep theological questions. It too often seems that today's Christian falls exclusively into either the mystical camp, or into the logic-centered world of deep proof. The truth is that a vast universe lies between: and that is where God is found. Robinson's characters articulate this so deeply, so beautifully, that my own mind is opened as well. In addition, Lila is a terrific story.

Things I like in books: Chapters. Paragraphs. Dialogue. Does that make me fussy?

Disclaimer: I didn't know this was a series and I haven't read the rest of the books. It's also the first book by this author.

The story is haunting and beautiful, but I kept getting lost in the big blocks of text and shifting timeline. So much potential, but it just wasn't for me.

This is another installment in the Giliad series. While I enjoyed the writing, the book, as are the rest of the books in the series, is a bit of a downer.

„And then she thought, Praying looks just like grief. Like shame. Like regret.“

Merilin Robinson završava portret jednog malog grada u Ajovi (i svih tih divnih i celih likova u njemu) sa Lilom i time me podseća zbog čega je volim toliko.

Kada sam se prvi put upoznao sa njenim romanima, bio sam prilično zadrti protivnik religije. Kao ateisti, smetalo mi je što neko drugi veruje. To je loše razmišljanje, ponašanje, možda čak i gore od hrišćanskih fundamentalista. Kroz njenu prozu sam to i shvatio. Shvatio sam i religiju. I prihvatio je, takvu kakva je. Nije mi više toliko nerazumljiva, iako je moj lični odnos prema njoj nepromenjen. Ali shvatam da ona može da leči. Kroz Gilead romane i kroz likove koji ih naseljavaju, Merilin uspeva da prikaže ljudskost u tom tako hladnom pojmu boga (ni u jednom jedinom trenutku ona ne propoveda, iako je očito koliko joj je religija važna), i da približi da ona i ja suštinski posmatramo isti svet, svet koji ma koliko ravnodušan bio, začudjujuće je topao. I koliko god depresivni njeni romani bili, a jesu, oni mi vraćaju i nadu u nešto neopisivo, nešto nalik upravo na religiju, nešto za šta je najbliža reč lepota, lakoća življenja.

4+

Marilynne Robinson is one of America's finest writers. This makes me want to go back and re-read Gilead.

It was beautiful getting Lila's perspective, but I did wish that the timeline was compressed a bit more, and that it could have overlapped with Jack's time in Gilead, like in both Gilead and Home, and maybe even covered the time after John Ames dies. But, then again, maybe Robinson is saving that for a book about the son. This very much reads like interconnected short stories, like Olive Kitteridge, but in novel form. All in all, this is a beautiful read, and Robinson fans won't be disappointed. That said, Gilead remains my favorite.

Housekeeping asks whether bone-deep loneliness can be sated by longing. Lila asks whether bone-deep loneliness can be sated by a gift you did not know you wanted. There’s no answer, just a valley of dry bones and the possibility of resurrection.