Lila

The novel of the year for me was Lila by Marilynne Robinson, revisiting the fictional Gilead of her three previous novels. The prose, as always, is magnificent, pitch-perfect, carrying a moral authority, a gravitas and a spiritual depth. There really is nobody else writing like this -- Alan Spence * Herald * Intricate and beautiful -- William Leith * Evening Standard * One of the finest writers in America * The Economist * Lila was the book of books this year, an amazing achievement -- Todd McEwen * Sunday Herald * Lila by Marilynne Robinson is the heartbreaking conclusion to her Gilead trilogy -- Robert McCrum * Observer * Exquisitely observed, an ultimately optimistic journey through the corrosive power of shame to divide and distort -- Naomi Alderman * Observer * My novel of the year can only be Lila by the inimitable Marilynne Robinson . . .my favourite living author and this once again demonstrates her remarkable gift for psychological depth -- Salley Vickers * Observer * The giant themes and big questions that sit beneath the surface of Lila's incredibly moving story are compelling -- Amma Asante * Observer * Subtle shifts of loyalties, strange moral priorities make [Robinson's] books compellingly powerful -- Joan Bakewell * New Statesman * Her questioning books express wonder: they are enlightening, in the best sense, passionately contesting our facile, recycled understanding of ourselves and of our world -- Sarah Churchwell * Guardian * Mesmerising . . . reminiscent of the great Victorian novelists . . . Robinson's exquisitely wrought prose resonates * Mail on Sunday * Lila has a power beyond words * Stylist * As a reader you feel very well looked after by Marilynne Robinson: you are knocked out by the weight of thought, the care, the worry she puts into her work. You find yourself wandering into vast new rooms, as if you're in a fabulous museum you've dreamt up for your own pleasure. There's really no one else writing like this today . . . Lila is just so damnably beautiful * Herald * The Gilead novels provide insights into a people whose fates are bound to the land they live on. Iowa must be proud to have such a chronicler among them -- Sarah Franklin * Sunday Express * Lila is a deeply affecting exploration of existence and love * List * Robinson's writing can light up consciousness, and make even the most passing thoughts feel indelible. Her older sister in American literature is Emily Dickinson * Prospect * Robinson explores eternity, and she does so in a quiet, ruminative style that takes over your heart as well as your head. Once you've fallen under her spell, she's not just mesmerising but indispensable -- Maggie Fergusson * Intelligent Life (The Economist) * Searching and full of grace * Daily Telegraph * Told with measured and absorbing elegance, this account of the growing love and trust between Lila and Reverend Ames is touching and convincing. * Scotland on Sunday * Robinson has made a world so palpable and full that each book can stand alone...Taken together, these books will surely be known as one of the great achievements of contemporary literature * Observer * A sumptuous, graceful, and ultimately life-affirming novel -- James Kidd * Independent on Sunday * Lila is a deeply affecting exploration of existence, love and the inevitability of loneliness. And although enriched by the two preceding books, it has the strength, beauty and originality to be read, enjoyed and appreciated as a standalone work. Written in beautiful, poetic prose, it's a remarkable achievement * List * This third novel in the sequence is, in many ways, the most adventurous of all . . . Lila is the work of an exceptional novelist at the peak of her capacity -- Rowan Williams * New Statesman * Measured and lyrical; the sound of this book is akin at times to the Cormac McCarthy of The Road . . . Robinson writes brilliantly about the way people dance warily around each other, never quite coinciding, stricken with longing and love * Lit

Marilynne Robinson was born in 1947. Her first novel, Housekeeping (1981) received the PEN/Hemingway award for best first novel as well as being nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. Gilead won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, and Home won the Orange Prize. She lives in Iowa.