Wow, just wow. I've read all of Robinson's other novels (I say all; this is her 4th, despite her first coming out 30 years or more ago - she's written non-fiction as well) and have thought them all just great, from her first, Housekeeping, into the rest of the Gilead trilogy, of which this is the third (Gilead, Home, Lila). I wish I remembered the details of the other Gilead books - definitely going to have to go back and re-read them. But this one is just so beautiful. Written straight through, without chapters, almost-but-not-quite stream of consciousness in that much of it is what narration comes into Lila's head, in the order it gets there, so that it's not always chronological, jumping from present to memory and back often quite spontaneously. The language is beautiful, Lila's story is heartbreaking and glorious and the theology dotted through is interesting, too. The first book, Gilead, is the story of Congregationalist preacher John Ames and his family, and of the prodigal son of his lifelong friend Boughton. The second book (Home) is about the Boughton family. This one is about Lila - her backstory and how she came to meet and marry John Ames. The three are quite intertwined, all beautiful, and I really must go back and read the others again. Man, that woman can write!
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