Today is the discussion day for our Read With Us winter book, Gilead by Marilynne Robinson.
Kym, Carole, and I are each posting a discussion question or two on our blogs today, and you are welcome to respond in the comments. I would also encourage you to reply to others' comments if you choose. This is a book discussion, after all, so there are no correct answers or right opinions. I'm really looking forward to discussing this book. I'll be honest; I found it difficult to read, and after several false starts, I finally finished it. So I think this discussion will be valuable for me, and I hope for others of you as well.
Here are my questions: Why do you think this novel resonates so deeply with some readers, and
feels slow or difficult to others? Does this look at a 1950s rural, white church and town offer anything to readers in the 21st century?
I'll
be glad to share my thoughts about our questions tonight during our
Zoom discussion. These questions on our blogs and the Zoom discussion
are your chance to express your ideas. So what do you think?
I can't wait to hear your thoughts! (And I'm counting on our discussion
to give me fresh perspectives in my own thinking about this novel.)
The in-person Zoom discussion will be at 7:00 pm Eastern this evening.
If you haven't RSVP'd to Kym already you can send me an email (the
email address is in the upper right) and I will make sure you get an
invitation with the Zoom link. I hope to see you there!
I think this book is like any other; we all come to it with different experiences and preferences, so for some of it will feel familiar and comforting and for others it will feel outdated and preachy. I've never lived in a small town in the middle of the country or grown up in a "churchy" family or community, so I couldn't relate to the book directly. But I could still appreciate the desire of a parent to connect with their child and the impulse to share the wisdom learned through living a life.
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