Home

I just finished reading Marilynne Robinson's new novel, Home, which is essentially a retelling of the parable of the prodigal son set in 1960s Iowa, in the town of Gilead where her novel of the same name took place. In Home, she explores what happens after the prodigal son returns, after the banquet, when he sticks around for a while. How does it all play out? It's a quiet but searing novel about the intricacies of Family.

Having had my own prodigal experience of estrangement and return, as well as witnessing my brother's and now my stepdaughter's, I found Home profoundly accurate in its portrayal of each person's hopes, fears, resentments, confusion, and attempts to communicate without crossing the bounds of familial restraint. This Iowa Scottish Presbyterian family is very like my own in that regard. Very restrained. Respectful of each other's emotional privacy. To the point of alienation at times, but always with the undercurrent of love.

Given that respect for privacy, I won't say much more here about this. Except to quote these words from the novel that I found especially wise:


There is a saying that to understand is to forgive, but that is an error, so Papa used to say. You must forgive in order to understand. Until you forgive, you defend yourself against the possibility of understanding. … If you forgive, he would say, you may indeed still not understand, but you will be ready to understand, and that is the posture of grace.

Amen.