I loved Marilynne Robinson's Pulitzer Prize winning novel "Gilead"(2004) when I read it in 2010 but have waited until now to explore her three subsequent novels set in the same small Iowa town and involving the same characters. This novel, "Lila"(2014) is the third of the four, and it tells the story of the second wife of the Revered John Ames, the primary character of "Gilead".
The four novels discuss a form of American religious life and offer a more sympathetic, involved portrayal than is sometimes the case. While each of the four books may be read independently, some background from the first novel, "Gilead" may be useful. "Gilead" is recounted in the form of a letter from the Reverend John Ames, 76, to his son, age 7. He wants to offer some wisdom and reflection to his young son, as Reverend Ames feels he will soon die from heart disease before his child grows up. When he was young, his wife and baby died in childbirth and he lived alone until, age 67, he married a mysterious woman, Lila, less than half his age who became the mother of his young son. Reverend Ames's best friend is another minister, Boughton, who has several children, including a wandering, rebelious son, Jack.
The novel "Lila" fleshes out the story of Reverend Ames's wife of his old age. It discusses her background, their courtship, and their marriage in more detail than did the first book. The book beautifully combines storytelling and theological reflection. The scenes shift between Lila's early life and her time in Gilead with the Reverend Ames, while the story concludes with the birth of their child. The story moves slowly with much reflection by both Reverend Ames and his wife.
Lila had lived a hardscrabble wandering life in the midst of the Great Depression. She had been taken from her neglectful parents by a woman named Doll, and she and Doll frequently travel in the company of other drifters. Doll and Lila struggled hard to support themeselves mostly in rural areas, but Doll also tried to give Lila a rudimentary education. The characters, wander, separate, and come together. Lila spends time working in a brothel in St Louis under the name of Rosie before she ultimately drifts to a shack near Gilead and slowly gets to know Reverend Ames.
Both characters share a loneliness and yet an attraction for the past lives. They obviously have radical differences in education and outlook. Still, they get to know each other and the relationship takes hold. Lila and Reverend Ames have extensive discussions about Scripture and, more broadly, about religion and about the mystery of life. Lila has a strong intellectual curiosity and she reads and copies Scriptural passages and discusses them with Reverend Ames. Early in their relationship, Reverend Ames writes a letter to Lila which includes the following passage.
"You must have thought that it has never occurred to me to wonder about the deeper things religion is really concerned with, the meaning of existence of human life. You must have thought I say the things I do out of habit and custom, rather than from experience and reflection. I admit there is some truth in this. It is inevitable, I suppose."
For both Reverend Ames and Lila, there always is the possibilit that Lila will leave and return to her former life. There is a felt tension between Lila's former life and what is seen as Christian teaching.
The tension is implicit throughout the book and discussed. Ultimately Lila and the Reverend Ames resolve it in their own ways.
This beautifully written novel offers a profound view of American life and of the nature of religion that, I think, transcends sectarianism. The themes and the tenor of this book are rare in current American literature, and they resist easy characterization. I was moved to revisit the town of Gilead and its characters with Marilynne Robinson after being away for many years. I look forward to reading the additional two books in the series.
Robin Friedman
Lorna B
Nov 17, 2014
Wonderful book in the Gilead trilogy
A very moving and gripping novel that brings to life a place and time. Between them Gilead, Home and Lila cover overlapping events and show the place and the people from different points of view. Lila shows us harrowing poverty and deprivation but also the strength of friendship and love.
