Lila - Softcover

Robinson, Marilynne

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0374949263 ISBN 13: 9780374949266

Publisher: Macmillan USA

Synopsis

A new American classic from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "Gilead "and "Housekeeping
"
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.
Revisiting the beloved characters and setting of Robinson's Pulitzer Prize-winning "Gilead "and "Home," a National Book Award finalist, "Lila" is a moving expression of the mysteries of existence that is destined to become an American classic.

About this title

About the Author

Marilynne Robinson is the author of the novels "Home," "Gilead "(winner of the Pulitzer Prize), and "Housekeeping," and four books of nonfiction, "When I Was a Child I Read Books," " Mother Country," "The Death of Adam," and "Absence of Mind." She teaches at the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop.

Review

Praise for "Home" and "Gilead

""An anguished pastoral, a tableau of decency and compassion that is also an angry and devastating indictment of moral cowardice and unrepentant, unacknowledged sin . . . Beautiful." --A. O. Scott, "The New York Times Book Review

""Marilynne Robinson is so powerful a writer that she can reshape how we read." --Mark Athitakis, "Chicago"" Sun-Times"

*Starred Review* "This third of three novels set in the fictional plains town of Gilead, Iowa, is a masterpiece of prose in the service of the moral seriousness that distinguishes Robinson's work . . . Lila is a superb creation. Largely uneducated, almost feral, Lila has a thirst for stability and knowledge. As she yearns to forget the terrible memories and shame of her past, Lila is hesitant to reveal them to her loving new husband. The courtship of the couple--John Ames: tentative, shy, and awkward; Lila: naive, suspicious, wary, full of dread--will endure as a classic set piece of character revelation, during which two achingly lonely people discover the comfort of marital love . . . Robinson carefully crafts this provocative and deeply meaningful spiritual search for the meaning of existence. What brings the couple together is a joyous appreciation of the beauty of the natural world and the possibility of grace." --"Publishers Weekly

"*Starred Review* "Robinson has created a tour de force, an unforgettably dynamic odyssey, a passionate and learned moral and spiritual inquiry, a paean to the earth, and a witty and transcendent love story--all within a refulgent and resounding novel so beautifully precise and cadenced it wholly tranfixes and transforms us." --Donna Seaman, "Booklist"
Praise for "Home" and "Gilead

""An anguished pastoral, a tableau of decency and compassion that is also an angry and devastating indictment of moral cowardice and unrepentant, unacknowledged sin . . . Beautiful." --A. O. Scott, "The New York Times Book Review

""Marilynne Robinson is so powerful a writer that she can reshape how we read." --Mark Athitakis, "Chicago"" Sun-Times"

Edition details

• Publisher: Macmillan USA
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0374949263
• ISBN 13: 9780374949266
• Binding: Paperback