Lila in community

At the end of Marilynne Robinson’s latest novel Lila, the title character envisions heaven in an intensely communal way. In light of that communal vision, Century associate editor Amy Frykholm gathered together three avid Robinson readers—Rachel Stone, Peter Boumgarden, and Amber Noel—for a conversation about the novel. If you haven’t read the novel yet, you might want to wait to read what’s below. Amy’s review of Lila has fewer spoilers. —Ed.

Amy: All of you are regular readers of Marilynne Robinson and have read and reviewed her work. What were you expecting from this novel? 

Rachel: My Marilynne Robinson obsession started many years ago when a friend sent meThe Death of Adam and Housekeeping. I loved Gilead, but when I first read it, I found myself irritated with Ames for finding everything “remarkable.” Why is this old man exclaiming over ordinary things all of the time? Birth, cats, water...