My name is Ruth. I grew up with my younger sister, Lucille, under the care of my grandmother, Mrs. Sylvia Foster, and when she died, of her sisters-in-law, Misses Lily and Nona Foster, and when they fled, of her daughter, Mrs. Sylvia Fisher. These first sentences of Marilynne Robinson's novel Housekeeping (aside from being some… Continue reading Book Review: Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson
Tag: Marilynne Robinson
What I Read – February 2016
Music for Wartime - Rebecca Makkai (Viking, 2015) The Givenness of Things - Marilynne Robinson (HarperCollins, 2015) (Truth be told, I only read half of this before I had to return it to the library. But I really enjoyed what I read and I hope to borrow it again.) When panic on one side is… Continue reading What I Read – February 2016
What I Read – January 2016
Daydreams of Angels - Heather O'Neill (Harper Collins, 2015) Transatlantic - Colum McCann (Harper Perennial, 2013) The Humans - Matt Haig (Harper Collins, 2013) Fifteen Dogs - André Alexis (Coach House Books, 2015) A God in Ruins - Kate Atkinson (Doubleday Canada, 2015) Thirteen Ways of Looking - Colum McCann (Harper Collins, 2015) The Company… Continue reading What I Read – January 2016
What I Read – February and March 2015
Daddy Lenin and Other Stories - Guy Vanderhaeghe (McClelland & Stewart, 2015) I've read one book by Guy Vanderhaeghe (The Englishman's Boy) and, honestly, remember almost nothing about it. This short story collection focuses mostly on men, usually working class. They are well-crafted stories but I did find them repetitive. The Thing Around Your Neck… Continue reading What I Read – February and March 2015
Book Review – Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
Gilead (HarperCollins, 2004) is a novel that shouldn't work but does. And masterfully so. There's not much action and there's even less dialogue and yet Robinson keeps the tension tight and the reader engaged. John Ames is in his late seventies and he knows he will die soon. He doesn't have much in the way… Continue reading Book Review – Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

