Thursday I had my book club meeting and we discussed Gilead, by Marilynne Robinson. This is the author's first book in twenty-five years and only her second novel of her entire career. That is a long time to wait for a book and not all books are worth it but this one certainly is. I loved this book but I have to tell you it wasn't exactly an immediate love. At first, I wasn't even sure if I liked the book. The pace is extremely slow and there is no real plot and very few characters. It was about 100 pages in when I realized this book is much like listening to an instrumental song for me; I always anticipate the lyrics to start and it takes me a while to realize it is just music. Essentially, the novel is structured as a letter a dying pastor is writing to his young son telling him all the things he will not be around to tell him as the boy grows up. Sounds depressing, I know, but it is actually quite a life-affirming book.
For next month, we are reading I'Claudius by Robert Graves. I thought this book would be very esoteric and dry about Roman history. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it reads a lot like a Mafia story. Those Romans were full of alliances and betrayals and bloody assasinanations. My favorite line so far which I think is very famous is "Augustus ruled the world and Livia ruled Augustus."
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