When I Was a Child I Read Books

Marilynne Robinson has built a sterling reputation not only as a major American novelist but also a rigorous thinker and incisive essayist. In this lucid but impassioned collection, Robinson expands upon the themes that have preoccupied her work with renewed vigor. Here she tackles the charged political and social climate in this country, the deeply embedded role of generosity in Christian faith, and the nature of individualism and the myth of the American West. Clear-eyed and forceful as ever, Robinson demonstrates once again why she is regarded as one of our essential writers.