Home

a sad but deeply touching tale

Home by Marilynne Robinson (Book Review)
The novel Home by Marilynne Robinson won the Orange Prize 2009. Its ISBN is 1844085503 and it is published by Virago Press. It is a sad and slow moving book but rich in characterisation and in human understanding. It is set in the 1950s in Gilead where a brother and sister return as adults to live in the family home. Glory comes home to nurse her dying father and Jack the prodigal son returns home in search of reconcilation and inner peace. Each of their stories unfold slowly. Jack and Glory form a bond and acquire an understanding of each other and a mutual understanding of the burden of parental expectations. Glory accepts her role as preserver of the home and teachs Jack love and self respect. It is a beautiful tale of hope and redemption written in magnificently descriptive prose. This book will become a classic novel read for generations. Reviewed by Annette Dunlea author of Always and Forever and The Honey Trap.

3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

At Times Hauntingly Beautiful, At Times Incredibly Slow

I was deeply moved by parts of this book, yet I was often bored as the plot seemed to take forever to unfold. The characters were unforgettable and they are what kept me reading no matter how slow the book moved. The writing style was sometimes unclear, sometimes almost lyrical. I suppose the best description of my reaction is that I loved the book and I didn't. I would be interested in reading something else by Marilynne Robinson, but it will probably not be at the top of my To-Be-Read list.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Hated it

Well, the cover gave me warm fuzzies, and reading the back of the book sounded interesting. This book was "forced" on me by my book club,it was the the selection of the month. I probably would have stopped at page 50 or earlier if it was for just my enjoyment. First of all, the book has no chapters, which just about put me over the edge. It also gave me no "little reward" for completing an agonizing section of the book. The book was very boring and full of very lengthy sentences. I kept hoping for something close toexciting to happen, but it never did. If you are loking for a page turner, or a thriller, or some action, this is not the book for you.

1 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

Home; great to read with Gilead

Home involves the same characters as Robinson's excellent-and superior-Gilead, narrating events from the perspective of Glory Boughton as she tries to manage her ailing minister father and her mysterious prodigal brother Jack who hasn't been home in decades. He's wrestling with his demons of drink, crime and awkward conversation. Most of Home is composed of those conversations: the stuttering between generations, siblings and lovers. Glory has a fiance in her past who sent her hundreds of letters. Jack awaits a letter from his estranged wife in Memphis. The ambivalence of communication, the uncertainty of forgiveness (everyone apologizes, but few signs of grace) and being exiled from one's 'home' complement the existential themes of Gilead. The book suffers from odd dialogue--Rev Boughton sounds like Grandpa Abe Simpson--and our frustration with self-hating Jack. The most moving scenes occur toward the end and are enhanced by events that one only knows from reading Gilead. Read both!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Disappointing

Again, another book I just couldn't get into caring about these characters.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Well written, beautifully told, and amazing characters

I struggle to find the words appropriate to priase this book. It, along with its companion, Gilead, are two of the finest books I have read. The prose is gorgeous. I found myself slowing down to make sure I could soak in every word and phrase. It took my longer to read this than most books I have read of similar length because I regularly read and re-read several passages so that I fully appreciated the beauty of the words. I hated for either of them to end.

The two books combined illustrate the falibility and perfection of human nature and the illusion that perception does in fact equal reality.

I have two wishes; that I could start over and read these both for the first time all over again and that Marilynne Robinson had written more books for me to read!

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Home - Another Treat from Robinson

If you enjoyed Robinson's previous books, you will like this one also. Reading Home is for savoring each page - basking in her beautiful language, contemplating her ideas. Thank goodness it is NOT a page turner because I wanted it to never end!

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

All about home

I liked Robinson's previous book, Gilead, and I enjoyed this book as well. Love, family forgiveness, religion (the best and worst of it) and guilt are themes that Robinson, with her very capable writing, handles well in this novel. Many of the characters are lovable, some are not, an the mix is just right.

Though there was a melancholic and sometimes depressing tone to this book, it was enjoyable just the same. The relationship between Glory and Jack is a wonderful study in humanness, and I found myself contemplating both of their personalities and hidden desires and fears.

The story unfolded a bit on the slow side, but still it held my attention from beginning to end.

I will read Robinson's next works for certain.

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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