The Givenness of Things: Essays (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780374298470)

Long-listed for the 2016 PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay

The spirit of our times can appear to be one of joyless urgency. As a culture we have become less interested in the exploration of the glorious mind, and more interested in creating and mastering technologies that will yield material well-being. But while cultural pessimism is always fashionable, there is still much to give us hope. In The Givenness of Things, the incomparable Marilynne Robinson delivers an impassioned critique of our contemporary society while arguing that reverence must be given to who we are and what we are: creatures of singular interest and value, despite our errors and depredations.

Robinson has plumbed the depths of the human spirit in her novels, including the National Book Critics Circle Award-winning Lila and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Gilead, and in her new essay collection she trains her incisive mind on our modern predicament and the mysteries of faith. These seventeen essays examine the ideas that have inspired and provoked one of our finest writers throughout her life. Whether she is investigating how the work of the great thinkers of the past, Calvin, Locke, Bonhoeffer--and Shakespeare--can infuse our lives, or calling attention to the rise of the self-declared elite in American religious and political life, Robinson's peerless prose and boundless humanity are on display. Exquisite and bold, The Givenness of Things is a necessary call for us to find wisdom and guidance in our cultural heritage, and to offer grace to one another.

Author: Marilynne Robinson
ISBN-10: 0374298475
ISBN-13: 9780374298470
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Language: English
Published: 10/27/2015
Pages: 304
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 0.95lbs
Size: 8.30h x 5.80w x 1.30d
Award: Literary Award - Finalist

Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 08/01/2015
Publishers Weekly 08/10/2015
Library Journal 09/15/2015 pg. 84
Booklist 10/01/2015 pg. 10
Publishers Weekly Best Books 11/02/2015 pg. 44
New York Review of Books 12/17/2015 pg. 13
New York Times Book Review 12/13/2015 pg. 20
New York Times Book Review 12/20/2015 pg. 22