In the Beauty of the Lilies image
In the Beauty of the Lilies image

In the Beauty of the Lilies

Books | Fiction / Literary

3.8
John Updike
In the Beauty of the Lilies begins in 1910 and traces God’s relation to four generations of American seekers, beginning with Clarence Wilmot, a clergyman in Paterson, New Jersey. He loses his faith but finds solace at the movies, respite from “the bleak facts of life, his life, gutted by God’s withdrawal.” His son, Teddy, becomes a mailman who retreats from American exceptionalism, religious and otherwise, into a life of studied ordinariness. Teddy has a daughter, Esther, who becomes a movie star, an object of worship, an All-American goddess. Her neglected son, Clark, is possessed of a native Christian fervor that brings the story full circle: in the late 1980s he joins a Colorado sect called the Temple, a handful of “God’s elect” hastening the day of reckoning. In following the Wilmots’ collective search for transcendence, John Updike pulls one wandering thread from the tapestry of the American Century and writes perhaps the greatest of his later novels.
AD
More Details:
Author
John Updike
Pages
576
Publisher
Random House Publishing Group
Published Date
2009-07-22
ISBN
0307421333 9780307421333

Discussions

LATEST

Take Pix Everywhere

Add your phone number, and you can get instant, personalized recommendations anywhere, anytime via text message

By using our website you agree to our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience.