Patricia Anders
All Content by Patricia Anders
“Jack,” by Marilynne Robinson
JackBy Marilynne RobinsonFarrar, Straus and Giroux, 2020309 pages (hardcover), $27.00 “Ah, look at all the lonely people.” These opening lyrics to the Beatles’ 1966 song “Eleanor Rigby” came to me while reading Jack, the latest book in Marilynne Robinson’s Gilead series. This is probably because the title character is so lonely. In fact, all the […]
“The Overstory” by Richard Powers
The OverstoryBy Richard PowersW. W. Norton, 2018502 pages (paperback), $18.99 It has long been known that powerful storytelling helps us become more sympathetic toward others. Thousands of years ago, Aristotle demonstrated the importance of using drama to create compassion in us toward the plight of others through what he called “catharsis”—a purification of our emotions. […]
“After Such Knowledge, What Forgiveness?” T. S. Eliot’s Search for Salvation
Out of the deep have I called unto thee, O Lord: Lord, hear my voice. [1] April is the cruellest month, breedingLilacs out of the dead land, mixingMemory and desire, stirringDull roots with spring rain.Winter kept us warm, coveringEarth in forgetful snow, feedingA little life with dried tubers. [2] Thomas Stearns Eliot was born in […]
“The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers” by Maxwell King
The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers by Maxwell King Harry N. Abrams, 2018 320 pages (hardback), $30.00 There are three ways to ultimate success: The first way is to be kind. The second way is to be kind. The third way is to be kind. —Fred Rogers Earlier this year, PBS […]
“A Gentleman in Moscow” by Amor Towles
There’s an older gentleman I see every summer at the beach. With his striking white hair and serious tan, clad only in swim shorts, he walks up and down our local six-mile beach, reading. Every time I see him, he’s reading—reading and walking, walking and reading. One day, I saw him reading the New York […]
