Series: Gilead Book 3
Genre: Historical Fiction
Length: 272 pages
Audiobook Length: 8 hours and 57 minutes
First Published: 2014
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Publisher’s Description
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 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.
Quotes from Lila
The best things that happen I’d never have thought to pray for. In a million years. The worst things just come like the weather.
A letter makes ordinary things seem important.
This is not to say that joy is a compensation for loss, but that each of them, joy and loss, exists in its own right and must be recognised for what it is… So joy can be joy and sorrow can be sorrow, with neither of them casting either light or shadow on the other.
About Marilynne Robinson
Marilynne Robinson is the author whose works include the Gilead series (Gilead, Home, Lila, and Jack), Housekeeping, and What Are We Doing Here. Robinson is the recipient of the 2012 National Humanities Medal. She currently lives in Iowa City, Iowa.
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