UPDATE:
We really hate to do this, but we have to postpone or Zoom
discussion of Gilead scheduled for tonight. One of our team is quite ill
with flu and says "her brain is completely scrambled and she can barely
keep her eyes open". That is no way to try and participate in a book
discussion, so we will postpone our Zoom discussion until next Tuesday, March 24th at 7:00 pm. We're very sorry for any inconvenience this may cause and hope you'll be able to join us next Tuesday.
Thank you,
The Read With Us team
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different experiences and preferences, so for some of it will feel familiar and comforting and for others it will feel outdated and preachy.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.
ReplyDeleteI think that our current circumstances (the entire Christian National thing going on here) has very much soured me on religion and in my reread of this book it very much (for me) leaned in on the "our way, or the highway" idea. Thus I think that is why when I read this years ago, it got a 4-star rating from me but this time I struggled and updated my rating to 1 star. As I said in Carole's question... I looked at this book as a guide of what not to do and I think in looking at the letter in that frame... it does have some things to offer to us today... be less preachy, be less "our way is the only way"... and be more open... learn about things I do not know, be more inclusive, be more "faith-filled" and less religiously minded. (and my sour taste from this book aside, I am so looking forward to seeing everyone tonight!!)
ReplyDeleteI don't know how much the setting has to do with it. It is an awfully slow and contemplative book. There is very little story, except the second hand story of Jack Boughton coming home. Which is, I think, the story. It's a meditation on fathers and sons. And as Kat feels, the religiosity of the book will be off-putting to some.
ReplyDeleteAlso - just saw the message that we won't meet tonight. (or as I like to say, this afternoon) - Pam
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