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Ever since the 1981 publication of her stunning debut, Housekeeping, Marilynne Robinson has built a sterling reputation as a writer of sharp, subtly moving prose, not only as a major American novelist (her second novel, Gilead, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize) but also a rigorous thinker and incisive essayist. Her compelling and demanding collection The Death of Adam-in which she reflected on her Presbyterian upbringing, investigated the roots of Midwestern abolitionism, and mounted a memorable defense of Calvinism-is respected as a classic of the genre, praised by Doris Lessing as "a useful antidote to the increasingly crude and slogan-loving culture we inhabit." In When I Was a Child I Read Books she returns to and expands upon the themes which have preoccupied her work with renewed vigor.
In "Austerity as Ideology," she tackles the global debt crisis, and the charged political and social political climate in this country that makes finding a solution to our financial troubles so challengin. In "Open Thy Hand Wide" she searches out the deeply embedded role of generosity in Christian faith. And in "When I Was a Child," one of her most personal essays to date, an account of her childhood in Idaho becomes an exploration of individualism and the myth of the American West. Clear-eyed and forceful as ever, Robinson demonstrates once again why she is regarded as one of our essential writers.
Praise for "Home"
"The language of "Home" ... enables [Robinson] to render relationships with a new depth. As the characters circle one another, the story moves from moment to moment of direct, gathered feeling . . . [Robinson] rules her fictional domain with absolute authority. Of the soul, and its wanderings, and its struggles to find a way home, she is a modern master." --William Deresiewicz, "The Nation"
"["Home"] is a stunning novel, meditative and compelling, incantatory, breathtaking and ultimately devastating. Who knew that novels could still be like this?" --Nicola Barr, "The Guardian"
Praise for "Gilead"
"At a moment in cultural history dominated by the shallow, the superficial, the quick fix, Marilynne Robinson is a miraculous anomaly: a writer who thoughtfully, carefully, and tenaciously explores some of the deepest questions confronting the human species . . . Poignant, absorbing, lyrical . . . Robinson manages to convey the miracle of existence itself." --Merle Rubin, "Los Angeles Times Book Review"
"So serenely beautiful and written in a prose so gravely measured and thoughtful, that one feels touched with grace just to read it." --Michael Dirda, "The Washington Post"
"Praise for The Death of Adam"
"One of Robinson's great merits as an essayist is her refusal to take her opinions secondhand. Her book is a goad to renewed curiosity." --Roger Kimball, "New York Times Book Review"
"Robinson's thinking is all in the service of humanity's survival, spiritually and environmentally." --Charles Baxter
Praise for "When I Was a Child I Read Books"
"Brilliant . . . As the credo of a liberal Christian, Robinson's new book of essays stands on its own. But it is also an illuminating commentary on her novels . . . This collection is a rewarding reminder that the author's faith infuses every word she writes . . . Like every good preacher, Marilynne Robinson judges others while including herself--in theory at least--in the judgment." --Andrew D
ISBN: 9780374298784
ISBN-10: 0374298785
Audience:
General
Format:
Hardcover
Language:
English
Number Of Pages: 206
Published: 13th March 2012
Dimensions (cm): 22.4 x 14.1
x 2.1
Weight (kg): 0.34
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