"I want your dear perishable self to live long and to love this poor perishable world." When I was about a quarter of the way through this book, I wro"I want your dear perishable self to live long and to love this poor perishable world." When I was about a quarter of the way through this book, I wrote in my notes, "Life is a glorious gift." And that really is the tone of the novel. This is a lovely book, absolutely brimming with life (and all the joys and sorrows therein). There isn't much of a plot, though it picks up a bit in the second half, but the characters (especially the writer) are compelling. The setting and characters are reminiscent of Wendell Berry's novels.
Gilead is a fictional memoir, written by an elderly dying pastor to his young son, meant to be read years later after his death. Thus, the writing comes through a spiritual lens, though I didn't find the novel to be didactic or corny whatsoever. It felt genuine and honest. I think non-Christians would enjoy the book as well. John Ames' struggles, hopes, and fears echo in every human, Christian or otherwise. You can tell Marilynne Robinson is a poet in the way she writes her prose. I want to buy a physical copy of this book just to go through and underline my favorite passages. This was the perfect first book of the year, and one I needed to read.
I didn't like Housekeeping, which is Robinson's debut, but I found Gilead to be better fleshed out and more personally impactful. I'm curious to see what the rest of the trilogy is like.
"Sometimes I have loved the peacefulness of an ordinary Sunday. It is like standing in a newly planted garden after a warm rain. You can feel the silent and invisible life. All it needs from you is that you take care not to trample on it."...more
I want to sit down and have a drink with Chesterton. Sure, we vehemently disagree at points, but his wit and wisdom is unmatched. (Besides maybe LewisI want to sit down and have a drink with Chesterton. Sure, we vehemently disagree at points, but his wit and wisdom is unmatched. (Besides maybe Lewis, I don't think I've read a theology/apologetics book where I was laughing throughout.) The church is sleeping on Chesterton.
"The point is not that this world is too sad to love or too glad not to love; the point is that when you do love a thing, its gladness is a reason for loving it, and its sadness a reason for loving it more."
"For grownup people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, 'Do it again' to the sun and every evening, 'Do it again' to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we."...more
Reading Lewis is like having a conversation with an old friend. I loved reading this book. Lewis' charming way of writing, characteristic humor, and eReading Lewis is like having a conversation with an old friend. I loved reading this book. Lewis' charming way of writing, characteristic humor, and exquisite word choice makes this an enjoyable book. I was surprised at how little of the book is devoted to his adult life and conversion to Christianity. Instead, he focuses on his early life, especially his school years, in great detail. There are a great many rabbit trails and passing mentions of things I would've thought would've been more important (his time in the war, his relationship with J.R.R Tolkien, his father dying, etc.), but there was enough that resonated with me that I will be revisiting this. I would hesitate to recommend this to everyone, but I would recommend this to fans of Lewis' work....more
"This was how a bank robber failed to rob a bank but instead managed to spark a hostage drama. Life doesn’t always turn out the way you expect."
This b"This was how a bank robber failed to rob a bank but instead managed to spark a hostage drama. Life doesn’t always turn out the way you expect."
This book won't be for everyone, but it's probably going to be one of my favorite books of the year.
I laughed throughout the entire thing and cried at the end. (And I'm not rating it highly just because of that emotional manipulation.) Some might say that the prose is too much, but it fits the vibe of the book, in my opinion. Within the first chapter or two, you'll know if it's for you.
All the people in the book are idiots. Wonderful, complicated idiots. You really want to shake them, but in the end you love them. (It's a very character-driven novel.)
"This story is about a lot of things, but mostly about idiots. So it needs saying from the outset that it’s always very easy to declare that other people are idiots, but only if you forget how idiotically difficult being human is."
But they're not just people. They're ~anxious~ people.
Good fiction turns a mirror to humanity, to reality, to the deepest depths of yourself. It forces you to confront real truths in a made-up setting. Fredrik Backman excels at this. There are lovely truths wrapped up in a messy story full of messy people. But it never gets too dark because, just like real life, it's pretty funny.
"You mustn’t tell lies, you mustn’t steal, you mustn’t kill, and you mustn’t throw stones at birds. We all agree on that. Except maybe swans, because swans can actually be passive-aggressive little bastards."
"Sometimes it hurts, it really hurts, for no other reason than the fact that our skin doesn’t feel like it’s ours. Sometimes we panic, because the bills need paying and we have to be grown-up and we don’t know how, because it’s so horribly, desperately easy to fail at being grown-up."...more
(2nd read, bumped it from 3 to 4 stars) Do I particularly like the story? No. Does it have a great message? Not really. Do I love it anyways? Yes.
The (2nd read, bumped it from 3 to 4 stars) Do I particularly like the story? No. Does it have a great message? Not really. Do I love it anyways? Yes.
The Raven Cycle isn't what anyone would call earth-changing literature, but it's a fun summer read set in rural Virginia, and that is enough. The characters are all disasters, but that's probably what makes them endearing. Stiefvater writes complex characters that grow on you, despite their (many) flaws and quirks. (Noah and Adam have my heart. It's just a story about a gang of friends searching for an old welsh king. Like the others in this series, it's not super plot heavy. But it all works because you feel like you could be searching for Glendower right with them.
My one questions is how do these high schoolers have all this time? Who knows....more
Yes, I've read this like 6 times by now. (I didn't record all my reads on goodreads.) What can I say? It's pure summer nostalgia. Yes, I've read this like 6 times by now. (I didn't record all my reads on goodreads.) What can I say? It's pure summer nostalgia. ...more
Changing my rating to 5 stars because this book just gets better with time. I last read this book at 14, and didn't fully appreciate the ironies, the Changing my rating to 5 stars because this book just gets better with time. I last read this book at 14, and didn't fully appreciate the ironies, the nuance, and the absolute perfection of this book. ...more