What Are We Doing Here? by Marilynne Robinson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“I talked once with a cabdriver who had spent years in prison. He said he had no idea that the world was something he could be interested in. And then he read a book.

In the history of the West, for all its achievements, there is also a persisting impatience with the energy and originality of the mind. It can make us very poor servants of purposes that are not our own.”

While reading these essays, I felt myself relating to the cabdriver from one of this book’s earlier essays and thinking about how I have been guilty of being a “poor servant to purposes that are not my own.” What Are We Doing Here? was edifying, enlightening, and terrifying. I love Marilynne Robinson for her unnerving ability to eloquently articulate thoughts that I can only vaguely construct within the confines of my woefully limited mind. ( “We can feel a deficiency in what we know or do, we can hear inadequacy in our most painfully considered phrases. And gracious and chimerical beauty will bless us with the certainty that there is more to be hoped for, more to be tried.” )

It was wonderful to read some of the most contextually considerate opinions I’ve ever seen on Puritanism. And while there wasn’t a single essay I disliked, I was especially moved by “Considering the Theological Virtues” and “Slander.” In fact, “Slander” was one of the most poignant sermons I’ve read discussing the state of Christianity in the modern political climate in the USA. I wish it could somehow be required reading for any Christian-identifying American, but unfortunately, we can’t even all get on board with a read-through of what we consider God’s Inspired Word. 😩

I already knew I loved Ms. Robinson’s fictional work, but her nonfiction is just as wonderful. I’m adding her other essay compilations to the to-read list.

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𝓟.𝓢. This review was crossposted from Goodreads because it contains actual thoughts rather than a typically facetious single-sentence remark. View all my book ratings and pointless takes on Goodreads or The StoryGraph.