The Givenness of Things: Essays

By Marilynne Robinson

Book Overview

WITH A TWO-PART INTERVIEW BETWEEN MARILYNNE ROBINSON AND PRESIDENT OBAMA THAT FIRST APPEARED IN THE NEW YORK REVIEW OF BOOKS The incomparable Marilynne Robinson has delivered an impassioned critique of contemporary society--our addiction to technology, our materialism--while arguing that reverence must be given to who we are and what we are: creatures of singular interest and value, despite our errors and depredations. Robinson has plumbed the depths of the human spirit both in her novels, including the National Book Critics Circle Award-winning Lila and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Gilead , and in her new essay collection she trains her incisive mind on our modern predicament and the mysteries of faith. These seventeen essays examine the ideas that have inspired and provoked one of our finest writers throughout her life. Whether she is investigating how the work of the great thinkers of the past--Calvin, Locke, Bonhoeffer, and Shakespeare--can infuse our lives, or drawing attention to the rise of the self-declared elite in American religious and political life, Robinson's peerless prose and boundless humanity are on display. Exquisite and bold, The Givenness of Things is a necessary call for us to study our cultural heritage in search of both wisdom and guidance and to offer grace to one another.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1250097312
• ISBN13: 9781250097316
• Release Date: October 2016
• Publisher: Picador USA
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.69 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.4" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

Essays That Stimulate, Enrich And Provoke

I first discovered Marilynne Robinson in a Des Moines, IA bookstore in the form of a 1998 book of essays titled 'The Death of Adam: Essays on Modern Thought.' In that book I was introduced to an author who believed, "People who are blind to the consequences of their own behavior no doubt feel for that reason particularly suited to the work of reforming other people. To them morality seems almost as easy as breathing." And now, or rather 17 years later, she ends her book 'The Giveness of Things' by saying, "We know how deeply we can injure one another by denying fairness. We know how profoundly we can impoverish ourselves by failing to find value in one another. We know that respect is a profound alleviation, which we can offer and too often withhold... A theology of grace is a higher realism, an ethics of truth." I have been deeply affected by this woman's writing... and suspect you might be as well. She is not an easy author to read... donning your true thinking cap is a clear prerequisite before indulging in her thinking. But, then, how can you fault an author who encourages you to think? I highly recommend this book.