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mariab27's review against another edition
3.0
Although this may seem like a book about God, it is instead a book about love. Wall's depiction of love is magical and illuminating; it is certainly the best part of this book. However, while I thoroughly enjoyed the first third of the book -- Wall carefully develops and details the courtship of the respective characters -- the second two thirds of the book felt a bit more forced.
sarabamanda's review against another edition
3.0
… I don’t get the hype. The book was fine, but it wasn’t life-changing and I won’t read it again. I have no idea what I was supposed to walk away with. Mostly I walked away with frustration over who the Christian characters paired themselves with. I guess it’s realistic, but I didn’t like it and it bothered me through the whole book. Maybe I’m just not the target audience.
heidilreads's review against another edition
5.0
I was intrigued to see how the relationships in this book would develop and grow... I liked that the characters weren't perfect. They had struggles and they grew.
efm511's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
raygersh's review against another edition
4.0
The Dearly Beloved will sneak up on you. In the first part of the novel, four characters are coming of age and learning who they are. It is interesting enough, but not really a compelling tale. But as the novel continues to unfold, we see their journeys weave together in a new and unique way.
The novel hits its stride as the characters must overcome some of life's biggest struggles. Cara Wall does not pull any punches and there is a beauty in the harshness of each of their realities. With the backdrop of the Civil Rights Movement, these characters must overcome loss, infertility, life at the time with a nonverbal autistic child, and most importantly, questions of faith. The value of friendship and interpersonal relationships through it all cannot be overstated.
Overall: a thought-provoking and heart-wrenching story of love and loss.
The novel hits its stride as the characters must overcome some of life's biggest struggles. Cara Wall does not pull any punches and there is a beauty in the harshness of each of their realities. With the backdrop of the Civil Rights Movement, these characters must overcome loss, infertility, life at the time with a nonverbal autistic child, and most importantly, questions of faith. The value of friendship and interpersonal relationships through it all cannot be overstated.
Overall: a thought-provoking and heart-wrenching story of love and loss.
shannontay's review against another edition
4.0
4.5. Reading the book description I thought this would be a book about faith. In my opinion however, this was about the hard emotional work of creating a family and community - with faith or without faith - whatever path you take. I loved this story about commitment, endurance and genuine love
genthebookworm's review against another edition
5.0
I wasn’t sure what book should follow The Most Fun We Ever Had but I knew I wanted to read another family saga. The Dearly Beloved by Cara Wall fit into this category so I decided to give it a go.
Wall introduces us to two couples, Charles and Lily and James and Nan. The beginning of the book gives us a rich background for each character starting from their childhoods through early adulthood. These couples lives then become intertwined when Charles and James become pastors at a New York City Presbyterian church. Over the years we see them struggle with their faith, beliefs, marriage, parenthood, and friendships.
This book is a deep dive into these four characters, who navigate many joys and heartaches over the decades we follow along with them. I loved seeing their evolving relationships with both themselves and one another and having the rich backstory to these multi-dimensional characters made this storyline even more rewarding.
While there are religious themes in The Dearly Beloved, Wall presents them without judgment or bias toward any belief system and the writing never feels preachy. I appreciated that it showed the struggles of all four characters at some point within their own belief systems.
Wall introduces us to two couples, Charles and Lily and James and Nan. The beginning of the book gives us a rich background for each character starting from their childhoods through early adulthood. These couples lives then become intertwined when Charles and James become pastors at a New York City Presbyterian church. Over the years we see them struggle with their faith, beliefs, marriage, parenthood, and friendships.
This book is a deep dive into these four characters, who navigate many joys and heartaches over the decades we follow along with them. I loved seeing their evolving relationships with both themselves and one another and having the rich backstory to these multi-dimensional characters made this storyline even more rewarding.
While there are religious themes in The Dearly Beloved, Wall presents them without judgment or bias toward any belief system and the writing never feels preachy. I appreciated that it showed the struggles of all four characters at some point within their own belief systems.
lilyethington's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25