About this title: Set the late 1950s, in the small town of West Annett, Maine, this long-awaited new novel by the author of "Amy and Isabelle" tells the story of a minister struggling to regain his calling, his family, and his happiness in the wake of profound loss.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Description: Good. Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Random House Large Print Publishing
ISBN-13:9780739325919ISBN:0739325914
Description: Good. Purchasing this book supports the King County Library System Foundation. Thriftbooks and KCLSF have partnered to help raise additional funds for the library system. Ex-Library book-will contain library markings. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Good. Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Random House Trade
Date Published: 2007
ISBN-13:9780812971828ISBN:0812971825
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. store stamp on top edge. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 302 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Random House Trade
Date Published: 2007
ISBN-13:9780812971828ISBN:0812971825
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Clean, uncreased and unmarked, shelf wear only, apapears unread. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 302 p. Audience: General/trade. Ships from US-NE. Support Independent Booksellers! Omahabooks offers same or next day shipping-satisfaction guaranteed. Priority, Expedited, APO, International may require additional postage-contact seller. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Date Published: 2007-03-13
ISBN-13:9780812971828ISBN:0812971825
Description: Good. Map directions written on blank back page, otherwise clean. Light cover wear including top front corner fold. Good binding with a slight lean and a mild spine crease. Trade paperback. Random House, New York, 2007. 302 pages. read more
Description: Random House Trade Paperbacks, New York, 2007; Very Good; no d/j; Second Printing; Includes Reader's Circle discussion guide and other special features at back of book. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Pocket Books
Date Published: 2007
ISBN-13:9780743462280ISBN:0743462289
Description: Good. Crease to cover. EXCELLENT value for money and ready for dispatch. Delivery usually within 3/5 days. Our reputation is built on our Speedy Delivery Service and our Customer Service Team. read more
"Sometimes I think books shouldn't be blurbed. It sets up an unrealistic expectation on the part of the reader, especially since this reader has already been blown away by Elizabeth Strout's previous work. Vanity Fair proclaims that Abide with Me is "an answered prayer," which immediately raised my readerly hackles. Really? Really?
I actually quite liked Abide with Me by the time I got through the end, but the first half of the book was very touch-and-go. Tyler Caskey is the reverend of the Congregational Church of West Annett, the sort of small Maine town that Strout excels in imagining, full of stoic New Englanders and their tamped-down feelings and secret passions. Caskey undergoes a crisis of spirit after his wife's death, struggling with the demands of his parish and caring for his young daughter, Katherine, who becomes a silent, brooding presence. Caskey thinks about and quotes a lot of theologians as he wrestles with his inner demons, one in particular who he seems to idolize, and it becomes a little wearying to see yet another pithy comment from his idol interrupting the page.
Thankfully, Caskey breaks through his meditative state and actually begins to interact with the other characters, ending a long cycle of inner bafflement. Strout handles the novel's resolution with grace and a quiet authority, breaking down her characters' emotional detachments and allowing them to reach (however tentatively) for each other. As in her other books, Strout really seems to understand and illuminate the walls we build around ourselves, which not only keep others at a distance, but also keep us from knowing our own true selves."
"I loved Elizabeth Strout's Olive Kitteridge, which I read earlier this year, and was eager to get my hands on Elizabeth Strout's other books. Abide with Me takes place in the same small town in Maine where Amy and Isabelle (another Strout novel) is set, and centers on Tyler Caskey, a young minister whose family has been upended by the death of his wife. His baby daughter now lives with his domineering mother, his other daughter is at home with him, but has problems he feels unequipped to handle. And to make matters worse, his church community, who welcomed him with open arms only six years ago, seems eager to find fault with him, even if it's just so they have something exciting to talk about.
There were a lot of things I really liked about Abide with Me. Strout's prose is beautiful, and I loved the way they tied the hymn of the same title through the book. Caskey is also a rich, complex character, and Strout does a great job of showing how grief can be complicated, especially when tragedy befalls someone who wasn't always all that easy to love. In other ways, the book felt like something I'd read before. It reminded me a lot, in fact, of Tova Mirvis's The Ladies Auxiliary, in which a religious community doesn't know what to do with an outsider with a small child whose spouse recently died. The judgmental chit-chat of the women of the congregation was something I could both identify with (she talks at one point about a rush of excitement one of the people felt when they gossiped in the name of "helping") and something that felt a bit reductive."
"This is one of those books where not that much happens, but it's riveting anyway. The writing is gorgeous and the characters are so vividly drawn, they're like real people. The real joy of this book is the insight Strout shows into people going through difficult times. The plot centers around a New England minister who's trying to survive one year after his wife has died, leaving him to raise their two girls. Strout does keep a couple surprises up her sleeve, which pack a wallop when they arrive. Somehow, this strikes me a good book for winter - it's melancholy, but has a thread of sweetness too."
"Ths is my least favorite book of Strout's three books. I did enjoy the book, but liked Amy & Isabelle and especially, Ollie Kitteridge much better. I always like the places Strout takes me to and most often I find one character in the book I feel I know. Not this one. So before you read this book of Strouts be sure you read the other two first."
We guarantee every item's condition, as described on Alibris. If you are not satisfied that an item is as described, return your purchase for a refund.
rating
