The Givenness of Things
Marilynne Robinson
Rave
Positive
Mixed
Pan
The Givenness of Things
Marilynne Robinson
Rave
Positive
Mixed
Pan
Rave
Positive
Mixed
Pan
Robinson’s handiwork is capacious and serious, but also mysterious and wondrous; like the night sky, it deserves our attention..
Robinson’s variety of Christian faith is appealingly humane and broad-minded, but the dodgy way she often explicates it makes The Givenness of Things inspiring and infuriating in roughly equal measure..
Robinson’s heroic lamentation is magnificent. Yet for me something crucial was missing: There is no sustained discussion of America’s relationship with other nations..
Yet for all the intermittent flashes of brilliance throughout the book, The Givenness of Things exhibits little evidence of her tireless work ethic. It is, alas, an essentially lazy production. The essays are frequently ambulatory to the point of aimlessness. Ms. Robinson’s chosen topics are highly abstruse and deserve clear reasoning, but she approaches them indirectly, often not making a memorable point at all..
[T]o listen to Robinson's mind working in the prose rhythms she's spent a lifetime cultivating is a privilege no matter her theme..
Robinson’s worldview is far too benevolent for her writing to ever become nagging or hectoring. And at bedrock, her work always argues in favor of human decency and human progress..
Grace and generosity define Robinson's fiction, but this book reveals how much labor goes into understanding them..
[L]ittle escapes the fine mesh of Robinson’s mind or the sweep of her majestic, agile prose..