Fountaindale Public Library

The dearly beloved, a novel, by Cara Wall

eng

no index present

novels

The dearly beloved

1083181414

by Cara Wall

a novel

Charles and Lily, James and Nan. They meet in Greenwich Village in 1963 when Charles and James are jointly hird to steward the historic Third Presbyterian Church through turbulent times. Their personal differences, however, threaten to tear them apart. Charles is destined to succeed his father as an esteemed professor of history at Harvard, until an unorthodox lecture about faith leads him to the ministry. How then can he fall in love with Lily - fiercely intellectual, elegantly stern - after she tells him with certainty that she will never believe in God? James, the youngest son in a hardscrabble Chicago family, spent much of his youth angry at his alcholic father and avoiding his anxious mother. Nan grew up in Mississippi, the beloved daughter of a minister and a debutante. James's escape from his desperate circumstances leads him to Nan, and, despite his affirmed skepticism, Nan's constant and gentle devotion to God changes the course of his life. In The Dearly Beloved, we follow these two couples through decades of love and friendship, jealousy and understanding, foregiveness and commitment. Against the backdrop of turbulent changes facing the city and the church's congregation, these four forge imporbably paths through their evolving relationships, each struggling with uncertainty, heartbreak, and joy. A poignant meditation on faith - faith in God, in family, in marriage, in friendship, in self, and in humanity

adult