Reviews

Home by Marilynne Robinson

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birdwatching's review against another edition

4.0

Only Marilynne Robinson can make such a quiet, ordinary story shimmer so. Home is beautiful and heartbreaking - it strikes that spot in your heart that aches whenever you consider the consolation and expectations of family, the place you come from, and human mortality.

erin_jones's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

qualp_'s review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Beautifully written; incredibly sad, but not exactly bleak. The kind of sorrow that's inherent to life on this earth, that touches all of us, even those with the best intentions and hearts full of kindness. Compassionate to all its characters. Basically wanted to cry the last 1/3 of the book, but I couldn't put it down after things got going.

Content Warnings

lindsayorme's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

I really loved the first book in this series and had high hopes for this one. Unfortunately, I mostly didn't find that this retelling of the events of the first book from the perspective of the Baughman family added much for me. I really wanted to empathize with the characters in this family, but ultimately I had a very hard time connecting with them. In particular, I never felt that the story got to the root of the thoughts/emotions/motivations behind Jack's actions for me to fully feel for him. I will probably pick up "Lila" eventually just because I enjoyed "Gilead" so much, but I won't be in such a hurry as I was to continue the series after the first book.

Content Warnings