Abide With Me by Elizabeth Strout

The take-away from this book is that bad things can happen to good people and none of us should get too comfortable in life as you don't always end up where you expected to be.

Faith and religion are tricky subjects to tackle in a novel, but Elizabeth Strout understands her subject, and her portrayal of a young Christian Minister in his first church perfectly captures how theological expectation does not always survive contact with real people.

Tyler Caskey is an idealist who has to learn that not everyone's moral compass is set in the same way, and even his young wife surprises him sometimes when she makes judgemental remarks about people in the congregation. He is also aware that the women in town like to gossip and the slightest hint of scandal is enough to get their telephones ringing as there's nothing they like better than building something out of nothing. Tyler doesn't like to correct people individually and hopes to get his teaching across through thoughtful sermons and by example, but a good man is an easy target especially when there appears to be no risk of retaliation.

The book deals with many moral issues and no-one, not even Tyler, is completely without sin. It feels a little like the film 'It's a Wonderful Life' in the way that when one bad thing happens, more bad things follow and there doesn't seem to be any way to stop it. As you would expect from Elizabeth Strout, it is beautifully written and a compelling storyline.

Comments

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