Home by Marilynne Robinson

Truth to be told, I nearly abandoned this book and kept it till cows come home had not I packed this book together with another new book on one of my biz trips.

The story by itself has really simple plot; albeit a lengthy one. An old dad (Rev Boughton) clinging to the hope of seeing his long lost son (Jack) before he depart from this earth. With this premise, we're introduced to Jack's sister (Glory) who undertook the responsibility of caring for their old dad. Thrown into the mix is Rev Boughton's eccentric relationship with his old friend; Rev Ames (and his family) who took over the church's pulpit upon Boughton's retirement.

However, it is with this simple chemistry that Marilynne built her characters with warts and all. From the seemingly perfect Rev Boughton's inability to denounce his fatherly love for Jack despite him leaving them and not returning for his own Mom's funeral; Glory's unsuccessful relationship with her fiancé; Ames grappling with his consistent negative outlook on Jack. All right down to the reasons Jack left his home, loitered and wasted his life before he is able to redeem himself upon meeting Della (his wife).

One point worth noting is that the whole story revolves around Jack (who left again at the end), the supposedly antagonist in this lovingly written novel. Yes, lovingly... First time I used such term to describe a novel. I surprised myself this time :-P

"Home" is essentially a story about family coming together and helping each other to go through various diversities despite any shortcomings.

By the end part of the book (last quarter of it), I was basically glued to the pages as it reveals the realization that old people will eventually leave the world for good (that got me teary eyed and getting goose bumps on flight), the vacuum of seeing your family members leaving the "home nest" one by one; and finally, the ultimate realization that no matter how close a family is, there will always be distances and other priorities in life.

I can go on with all the subtleties and hints ingrained in this novel but it won't do any good because a good book like this is worth every minute of your time to savour.

A really well written story with emphasis on human flaws; strengthening the fact that we humans are sinners and are never perfect.

P/s: The ultimate shocker of this story is revealed at the very end of the novel in which Della is actually married to Jack with a son called Robert. Not only that, Della is a well raised good Christian of Negro descent; a fact almost unheard of during the anti-black movement in America.


Personal rating: 9 out of 10 (really slow opening part)

Cons:
1) Storyline is really too slow; but it picked up towards the end.

Pros:
1) Read my review as above :-P