Friday Favorites: Marilynne Robinson

The Maxwell Podcast recently interviewed author, Marilynne Robinson. I only just discovered her work when the book club I belong to read her novel Lila, a book I was deeply impressed with. I wrote the following about it on my Goodreads review. 

I was moved by the story of Lila-her challenges and her fear of loving and being loved. I was humbled by her intimate reflection on difficult biblical texts which were informed by her painful experiences. She felt the Bible in a way that scholarly attention could not duplicate. Her relationship with John Ames was transforming.
I felt like the spiritual aspects of the book were powerful as Lila grappled with her past and the people she knew. Her questions could be the questions of anyone who struggles with their past. Put in context they are meaningful. John Ames' compassion, loving, and mercy toward Lila had me openly weeping in places. 

Marilynne Robinson is a deeply spiritual writer. It was fitting that Blair Hodges interviewed her on his show. She said a lot of profound and interesting things in the podcast both on spiritual topics and secular ones. Her comment about writer's block looks at the malady in a way I had never before considered.

ROBINSON: You know, I talk to my students about writer’s block, the idea that they simply come to a point where they can’t proceed, which happens to every writer. But what it really means is that you have to stop and consider that there are things that you have not yet understood, and that can be a very good thing. The ideas that you have after what feels like a drought are often very strong, very complex. This campus which I walk around on all the time is sort of dotted with places where I was not thinking about my fiction and then suddenly I think, “Oh, of course.” And then I don’t let myself get any farther until I get home and can write. [Laughing]

She also talks about wonder of living on this earth and sees it as a visionary experience.

ROBINSON: That it’s a question, not of having isolated religious visions, but of being sensitive to the fact that that character of experience is always available, waiting to be perceived, in effect. And so one of the things I think that’s striking about Calvin is he doesn’t talk about heaven very much at all, he says we can’t know anything about it. We’re given this world. This world is essentially visionary and it is a waste of what we are given to try to dwell on what we have not been given in this instance, we have not been shown or told, you know? So, I’m very aware of John Ames as seeing the sacred as implicit in the ordinary. And I think that’s truly important frankly.

I highly recommend listening to the podcast, reading the transcript, and going to the library to read Marilynne Robinson's books--especially if you want to have a trans-formative and meaningful experience reading literature.

© 2007-2016 TIFFANY WACASER ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

A Case for Accuracy in Historical Fiction

Last night I read a very clean historical romance. It was spooky, mysterious, romantic, and kept me up until I finished it. It was set in a very specific time and place. Because the author included a time period, I found myself hunting for period details to flesh out the setting--to take it from a sketch to a full technicolor background. Instead anachronisms littered throughout the book kept throwing me from the period. Normally, I would have stopped reading to do some searching on the internet, but it was late, my bed was warm and cozy, and my tablet was in the other room. This morning after fixing my kids breakfast, I started searching and within a few minutes found that my instincts were right. The author hadn't even bothered to do basic research on the time period for her novel. It irritated me enough to write a long Goodreads review pointing out the inaccuracies, then a FB discussion, and finally this blog post.

So why the heck does it even matter if an author works to get historical detail right? Why does it bug me enough to write a review, discuss it on Facebook, and now write a blog post? First, it shows me that the author is lazy. In this case, it did not require a lot of time or effort for the author to do some basic research. If she had done so, she would have discovered she needed to push her timetable forward by at least 10-15 years. Secondly, it demonstrates an arrogance on the part of the author in assuming her readers won't care or won't catch the mistakes. Sadly, based on the reviews I read of the book, no one seemed to catch the inaccuracies and didn't care. Third, it cheapens the whole experience of the book for me. Part of the pleasure of reading a period piece is being immersed in the details of that period.

Why does an author choose a historical setting? In my opinion, an author should choose a historical setting because it is significant to the plot and characters. The culture of the period, the geography of the place, the inventions and technology are all going to affect the outcome of the story. In the story I read yesterday, the anachronisms did affect the story in relation to travel, communication, and religion--and it was set in the wrong period. In other words, the ways the characters communicated, traveled, and practiced their beliefs did not exist in the time period the author chose--which changes the action and movement of the story.

I understand that it is impossible for an author to get every single historical detail right. However, an author should work carefully to be as accurate as possible. Ignoring the importance of historical accuracy in fiction indicates an author unsuited for the genre.

© 2007-2016 TIFFANY WACASER ALL RIGHTS RESERVED