Book Review: Lila (a novel)

The story begins on the fictional Plains town of Gilead, Iowa.  Lila tells the story of a young girl, homeless and alone after years of roaming the countryside, who steps inside a small-town church 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 new found 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.

“The value of an exceptional novel lies in its ability to embed itself in your memory long after you have finished reading it. Its value is measured in how often you find yourself thinking in the voices of the characters, or thinking through the ideas, or remembering its images. A great novel has its after-image in other books, films, people, and events. A truly great novel has a spectral presence that will follow you for days, weeks, months, even years.”              Equip Bookclub Blogspot

MEET THE AUTHOR:
Marilynne Robinson is the author of the novels Home, which was a Finalist for the National Book Award, Gilead, which won the Pulitzer Prize, and Housekeeping, which was also a Finalist for the National Book Award, 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 Iowa Writers’ Workshop.