From a section where Glory Boughton thumbs through the family Bible:
“What a strange old book it was. How oddly holiness situated itself among the things of the world, how endlessly creation wrenched and strained under the burden of its own significance. ‘I will open my mouth in a parable. I will utter dark sayings of old, which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.’ Yes, there it was, the parable of manna. All bread is the bread of heaven, her father used to say. It expresses the will of God to sustain us in the flesh, in this life. Weary or bitter or bewildered as we may be, God is faithful. He lets us wander so we will know what it means to come home.”
-Marilynne Robinson, Home (page 102)
When I read Gilead, I had this feeling that I had been waiting for the book without knowing it. And it's happening again with this book. Theory: after so many years of reading Catholic novelists, finding a writer like Robinson is like, well, coming home.
Hard to categorize, more or less.
Political, more or less.
Theological, more or less.
Philosophical, more or less.
Funny, more or less.
About Me
- william randolph brafford
- Baltimore, Maryland, United States
- I grew up in North Carolina, home of the world's best barbecue, indie rock, and regional soft drinks.
2 comments:
Yeah, it's an awesome book. Have you read her essay collection "The Death of Adam"? I haven't, but I was looking at it online and the Publishers Weekly review that they excerpt makes it look like it'd be right up your alley.
I stayed up late and finished Home last night, and I would have started Gilead again if I'd had a copy with me. It was good that I didn't, so I could sleep. I'm definitely going to read the essay collection.
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