Marilynne Robinson's novel Gilead, for which she won the Pulitzer Prize, is a fine piece of wisdom. An old Congregationalist minister in a small Iowa town sees the glory and wonder that God made in the world. He has plenty of misery and heartache to see, too. But his gratitude for the glory and wonder shines through.
This is a blessing.
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Her book "Home" carries on another side of the same story, on the Boughton family side. Her writing is so rich and full. I would also recommend the novels of Wendell Berry. They have the same richness and depth, my favorite of those is "Jayber Crow".
Wendell Berry is an institution here in Kentucky. I have worked through most of the Port William stories, though Jayber Crow is still on my list.
Amen to the tributes to both authors. "Gilead" is such a graceful, gracious novel. The narrator is so empathic even when it comes to his friend's son and his own namesake, who torments him from boyhood by mocking everything dear to him. Dennis, does reading "Home" enrich or dilute the experience of reading "Gilead"?
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