I am not prone to reading love stories. I like surprises and unconventional characters and the such that I usually find lacking in the "romance" formulas of pop fiction.
But, now I must jump off of my reading snob soap box and admit that GENTLE RAIN by Deborah Smith was a pleasant literary visit. I found the story to be predictable, but comforting in its predictability.
I think what captured my attention was the author's inclusion of two major adult characters who have developmental disabilities. The characters were treated with dignity and the book successfully addressed the rights of adults who have intellectual challenges.
Will I read more love popular fiction love stories?
Probably not, but if I see Deborah Smith's name on the cover...
I think I will pick up the book and take a leisurely time out from the world.
GILEAD by Marilynne Robinson is a Pulitzer Prize (2005) winning work of fiction. The story is told through a collection of letters written by an elderly dying minister for the benefit of his young child.
I think I need to read this book again.
Why?
Because I had several false starts which caused me to lose track of the characters and the story line. This problem was due to my own inattentiveness...
I like to read before dozing off.
This book deserves the reader's total undivided attention, therefore I will will pay GILEAD its due.
GILEAD is brief, but contains so many jewels that to nod off mid-sentence is to break the thread that binds the jewels together.
The language is resplendent in its simplicity... and through this simplicity much wisdom is shared. My copy is dogeared willy nilly... take your time reading this one, because there is so much in here that you are going to want to recall.
I wish I had the true gifts of a literary critic, but I do not...
so I'd like to share my favorite segments from GILEAD:
4The narrator, Revernd John Ames, speaks of his father's and grandfather's legacies as ministers. The grandfather returns home from war with an eye missing. The grandfather's response to the family's surprise:
"I am confident that I will find great blessing in it..." (p. 36)
A response that the grandfather chose to continue to use throughout his life in response to disagreeable events.
4 As the elderly Reverend John Ames reflects on his life, he writes to his seven year old son:
"How I wish you could have known me in my strength." (p. 94)
How many of us older parents wish for the same thing?
4 "That is how life goes - we send our children into the wilderness. Some of them on the day they are born, it seems, for all the help we can give them. Some of them seem to be a kind of wilderness unto themselves. But, there must be angels there, too, and springs of water. Even that wilderness, the very habitation of jackals, is the Lord's." (p. 119)
4 Reflecting on sorrow and human suffering:
"I heard a man say once that Christians worship sorrow. That is by no means true.But, we do believe there is a sacred mystery in it, it's fair to say that... I believe there is dignity in sorrow simply because it is God's good pleasure that there should be. He is forever raising up those who are brought low. This does not mean that it is ever right to cause suffering or to seek it out when it can be avoided, and serves no good in practical purpose. To value suffering in itself can be dangerous and strange, so I want to be very clear about this. It simply means that God takes the side of sufferers against those who afflict them." (p. 137)
4 I think the world would be in a lot better shape if we could heed the following words:
"I have heard any number of fine sermons in my life, and I have known any number of deep souls. I am well aware that people find fault, but it seems to be presumptuous to judge the authenticity of anyone's religion, except one's own. And that is also presumptuous."(pp. 172-173)
TITLE:INTERVIEW . Marilynne Robinson . March 18, 2005 PBS LINK: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week829/interview.html NOTE: This has got to be one of the best author interviews I have read in ages. Absolutely outstanding and you need not have read GILEAD in order to understand the interview.
Author Audio Interview:
TITLE: Writer Marilynne Robinson on 'Gilead' by Terry Gross (NPR)
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