{"id":4821,"date":"2012-12-11T07:00:05","date_gmt":"2012-12-11T13:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jolenephilo.com\/staging\/?p=4821"},"modified":"2012-12-09T17:21:40","modified_gmt":"2012-12-09T23:21:40","slug":"top-ten-reasons-to-read-abide-with-me-by-elizabeth-strout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jolenephilo.com\/staging\/top-ten-reasons-to-read-abide-with-me-by-elizabeth-strout\/","title":{"rendered":"Top Ten Reasons to Read “Abide With Me” by Elizabeth Strout"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Elizabeth Strout’s second novel, Abide with Me<\/em><\/a>, was released in 2007. I recently finished listening to the audio version of this gem. It’s often eclipsed by the author’s third book, Olive Kitteridge<\/em><\/a>, for which she received a Pulitzer. Here are my top ten reasons to read or listen to Abide with Me<\/em>.<\/p>\n

10.\u00a0 Strout masterfully uses the weather and seasons to enhance the mood of characters and of West Annett where they live.<\/p>\n

9.\u00a0\u00a0 The Maine town in 1959 is accurate from the paste used by kindergarteners to the acceptance of smoking, from the bomb shelters in back yards to World War 2 vets burying their trauma.<\/p>\n

8.\u00a0\u00a0 She paints a vulnerable and painful picture of humanity: small town church life, complete with broken people trying to hide their brokenness by gossiping about the brokenness of others.<\/p>\n

7.\u00a0\u00a0 The climate of the elementary school and the attitudes of the teachers are spot on. As a former teacher I appreciated the teachers wearing high heels, dresses, and nylon stockings during playground duty on cold fall days\u2013something my mom complained about during her teaching career in the 1950s and 60s.<\/p>\n

6.\u00a0\u00a0 Five-year-old Katherine is an authentic and complex character. Her confused thoughts, guilt, fear, and loneliness are portrayed with compassion, but without sentimentality.<\/p>\n

5.\u00a0\u00a0 One of the characters confesses to something totally unexpected and believable.<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Lauren Caskey, the pastor’s wife, is not a normal pastor’s wife. Strout only hints about the source of her brokenness, enough to make readers curious and yet willing to grant her grace.<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Tyler Caskey, the young minister, isn’t portrayed as either sanctimonious or saccharinely sweet. When he goes through his faith crisis, he is like you and me, not like a minister. He can barely hang on, barely function, barely see beyond himself. He is disillusioned by the cruelty and foolishness of people and himself. He is saved by the actions of people who, in their weakness, display the kindness and forgiveness of Christ.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Abide with Me<\/em> demonstrates the power of and need for forgiveness on many levels in many lives.<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Abide with Me<\/em> is a story of redemption and hope. Our world is in sore need of both.<\/p>\n

Have you read Abide with Me<\/em>? Please, share your thoughts in the comment box.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Elizabeth Strout’s second novel, Abide with Me, was released in 2007. I recently finished listening to the audio version of this gem. It’s often eclipsed by the author’s third book, Olive Kitteridge, for which she received a Pulitzer. Here are my top ten reasons to read or listen to Abide with Me. 10.\u00a0 Strout masterfully […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[1981,1979,1980,1982],"class_list":["post-4821","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","tag-authentic-christianity","tag-elizabeth-strout","tag-faith-crisis","tag-new-england"],"yoast_head":"\nTop Ten Reasons to Read "Abide With Me" by Elizabeth Strout - Jolene Philo Staging<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Top Ten Reasons to Read "Abide With Me" by Elizabeth Strout - Jolene Philo Staging\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Elizabeth Strout’s second novel, Abide with Me, was released in 2007. 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