(no subject)

[decemberthirty]

I finished Marilynne Robinson's Gilead over the weekend. I don't have a whole lot more to say about it than what I said in my previous posts. The same things I liked about it in the beginning were the things I liked about it in the end: the measured simplicity of Robinson's prose, and the quiet and pensive voice of John Ames. Robinson allowed Ames to get a bit more complicated towards the end of the book, and I appreciated the acknowledgment that he is a flawed human being after all, as well as the opportunity to see some of the other aspects of his character. I was particularly fond of his description, late in the book, of how he fell in love with his wife and the school-boy crush he had on her at the age of sixty-five.

There's so much in this book--it deals with race, memory and the past, loss, the nature of religious experience, family and history--but it never feels heavy. It's one of the most successful character studies I've ever read, and is definitely one of the best books of this year for me.

Comments

[zenithblue.livejournal.com]

All righty then, you convinced me. I'll add it to the ol' reading list.

I need something calming right now anyway. I've given up on the last four books I tried to start reading, which is very unusual for me. But my brain is all over the place these days (as we've recently discussed), so maybe something a little quieter is in order.

[decemberthirty.livejournal.com]

Excellent! You'll have to let me know what you think.

You know, I had several moments when I felt like it was very much the right book for me to be reading at the moment. I'd find myself starting to get all stressed and crazy over my applications, and then I'd go get in the bath with Gilead and suddenly everything would start to feel a lot more peaceful. I hope it can have the same effect for you.