Author: Elizabeth Strout
One-sentence summary: A small-town preacher works through grieving the death of his wife, the difficulties of his young daughter and the selfishness and gossip of his parishioners.
B.A.D. Girls Book Rating: 7
Our favorite thing about it: Insights into the 1950s and the genuine representation of grief and brokenness.
Our least favorite thing about it: The details of Charlie’s affair with the Boston woman.
Main Topics of Discussion: Grieving, Relationships, Gossip, Vulnerability, Church, Death, Compassion
Our favorite quote: "If the world's relationship to God was changing, well, Tyler's own relationship to God was changing too. He thought of the words of the hymn he had always loved: Help of the helpless, O abide with me. He knew one could say that this was merely a plea of a frightened child reaching up in the dark to hold the hand of Parent God. But Tyler, softly humming the tune as he stood beneath the elm, thought God existed in the hymn itself, in the yearning and sorrowful acknowledgement of the lonliness and fears that arrived in life."
Notes: We talked a lot about the grieving process and how Tyler was or was not dealing with it. We discussed Katherine and everyone’s misunderstanding about what she was dealing with and the general attitude of the time toward grief, children and expectations of a preacher. We analyzed almost all of the characters and wondered at the relationship of Lauren and Tyler – how their lives were ill suited for each other among other things – and Tyler and his mother (and in-laws). We also talked about a perceived connection between Connie and Tyler since they had both aided in the deaths of dying people. We briefly discussed the timeframe of the late 1950s and how that impacted the story and characters. Fathers were not equipped to care for children; they were expected to remain strong and not succumb to their feelings, etc.
Special Note: We were able to talk to Amberly in the Philippines via speakerphone. It was in the morning for her.
Memorable Meeting Moments: Celebrating Becky’s birthday, donated books from Rachel Everette, Dara’s Chocolate Bar Cake!
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3 comments:
great job Rachel- you are always able to capture our meetings perfectly. Looking forward to next month already.
Rachel, thanks for typing that up! I appreciate it even more now that I can't physically be at the meetings with you all.
I enjoyed talking on the phone with you girls! Thank you for taking the time to do that!
Love reading your summaries, Rachel! You do a fantastic job! Thanks for creating these wonderful records of our meetings.
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