Home: A Novel

Robinson's limitations are on full display in this novel. Ironically, to understand home one must know the wild ride of homelessness or at least be able to imagine a darker side to community, as she did with Housekeeping, her first and brilliant novel. The lack of insight here is stifling.

The author creates an absorbing and totally engaging novel that held my attention from beginning to the end, which is saying a lot since this is an audiobook consisting of 10 CDs which equals 12.5 hours of listening time. The book is a study of the family bond and close relationship that develops between the three main adult characters, a brother and sister who return to the family home in Gilead, Iowa, each for reasons of their own, and their father, a retired Presbyterian minister, who is elderly and frail. What makes the novel so very interesting is that Glory, the 38 year old youngest of four daughters, was considered the obedient, pious and sensitive one which is in total contrast to Jack's personality and characeristics. He was the loner, troublemaker, and considered the "black sheep" of the family. Their father, the Rev. Robert Boughton raised eight children in the house they called home, four girls and four boys. Glory was 13 years old when Jack went to college and felt she never really got to know him. This novel explores their differences and the strong bonds of love and family unity which develop from spending close time together while caring for their father during his declining years. They share intimate details of their lives, deep heart felt secrets they never told anyone else, as they develop trust and respect for each other.

The book is a study in the emotional lives of these individuals as the two adult children show reverence, love and respect for their father and meet his physical and emotional needs during the last remaining years of his life. Glory, returned home to care for him, as she was the unmarried daughter. Although their father was misled to believe she had married the man to whom she had a long engagement. She had a thirteen year career as a high school English teacher and returned to help him live his last years with dignity. Without much warning or explanation, Jack also arrived home ... The fact that he was alive and relatively healthy was an immense relief to both Glory and her father, as Jack's life took a turn for the worse after he became an alcoholic. Yet, despite all his problems, Rev. Boughton clearly considered Jack his favorite child. It was evident by the teary eyed gleam in his eyes and the sound of his voice, when he recognized Jack. Despite his apparent self-neglect, we learn Jack is an intellectual, a very deep thinker who has pondered spiritual and religious matters. Most recently, he lived in St. Louis, Missouri and not long after his arrival, he received a phone call from a woman named Della. Unfortunately, he never got a chance to talk with her. It was evident to Glory, Della was an important part of Jack's life and perhaps one of the reasons he had returned home.

The author does a tremendous job in tying together Jack's troublesome youth and past with his relationship with his father in the present. They come to respect and love one another with new understanding. Also, Jack expressed progessive views on race relations for the times. He recognized the unChristian treatment most of society had towards the minority race. This novel represented the early 1950s. The relationship of Reverend Boughton with his neighbor and confident Reverend Ames is another fascinating study. Their friendship is strained nearly to the breaking point, after Rev. Ames provides an extemporaneous sermon about a sensitive subject when Jack attends the service at his church. Jack is not typically a church-goer but made an exception, to try and mend fences with Rev. Ames. While the ending may come as a surprise to many, there are hints provided by the author throughout the book and it is a totally satisfying conclusion to the novel. This audiobook is most highly recommended but keep in mind, one needs to devote a lot of free time to listening. I was amazed that I thoroughly enjoyed this medium of delivery. Erika Borsos [pepper flower]

I am looking at all the positive reviews for Gilead and they apply to Home as well: "written in a prose so gravely measured and thoughtful"; "complex thoughts and emotions expressed with a felicity as engaging as it is illuminating"; " demanding, grave and lucid". The problem is that Home is too static and redundant. Either the book should be shorter, or there needs to be a greater number of well developed characters.

I was a bit bothered by the ease with which Glory could be moved to tears; then I heard an interview with Joan Baez, who demonstrated and acknowledged that she has the same "affliction", tearing up over the interviewer's anecdote.

Marilynne Robinson has masterfully captured the anguish parents feel when a child fails to get his life together. They know they did not raise the child for this to happen. The fact that their other children turn out just fine does not ease the pain. To me, this is a very emotional book. I cried right along with old man Boughton. I like Gilead, but I love Home.
Jean Rhoads

Normally I enjoy literary novels and good writing. I don't require a lot of action, flashy settings, glamourous characters, or what have you.

I was disappointed to find Home simply tedious. Very little action, repetitive dialogue, nothing to enjoy in any of the characters, nothing even to look forward to for their futures (either for them or for us.)

If you enjoy reading about theological debates circa 1950, thinly veiled Bible-based racism, figurative hair-shirt-wearing, uncontrolled weeping, and crotchety but not feisty old men, by all means pick up Home.

I found it to be the literary equivalent of a big spoonful of cod liver oil: probably not without hidden healthful qualities, but requiring a good deal of determination to choke it down.