To answer questions about
Lila,
please sign up.
Evelyn
I read Lila first and it blew me away. It is definitely a standalone. Lila had the most profound effect on me. I felt as if I were walking hand in hand with the author as she walked us gently through Lila's life. A beautiful, beautiful book. It should be mandatory reading. I picked up 'The Givenness of Things' today Ms. Robinson's essays - they too are incredible. Her soul sings off the page. She is truly blessed - I christen her my Mother Abigail.
Diane
I have read all three of her other books. They are beautiful and part of their beauty is their deliberate slowness and development of internal lives of the characters. Housekeeping is a stand alone novel. Gilead and Home will set up the world of Lila. I can't wait to read it. Robinson is a superlative writer and has explored the world of faith but also the world of the pioneer on the edge of civilisation in the American West. Read it when you have time to savour it.
Matt Ely
It's much better if you've at least read one of the previous books. From the beginning, she makes passive reference to people and events that are introduced in Gilead. It can be hard to track if you don't immediately know who she means when she talks about the "old man" or "the Reverend". Also, Gilead is a great book and you should read it regardless
Carol Anne
Yes, definitely
Nell Schwartz
It can, but in my opinion you will get more out of it if you read Gilead first.
Kerilyn
I'm 3/4 of the way through Lila. This is the first time I have read this author. I am REALLY enjoying it. Based on the other comments I've seen to this question, I'm sort of glad that I'm reading Lila first. What an intriguing character!
Ruth
It's so hard to answer this question, since I read all her other novels several times before this came out! I think you could read it without having read the other two books. It would still be a compelling story if you didn't have two other characters' points of view on the town. Lila is a character with a wonderful voice. You might think that her tendency to refer to Reverend Ames as "the old man" or "the Reverend" is a problem, but in Gilead, Ames refers to her as "your mother" throughout the entire book. I am pretty sure he either never uses her name, or lets it slip only once. I can't imagine that you'd have trouble figuring out who they are to each other, even if you only read one of the three books.
Sandie
This book works as a stand alone. Personally, I don't know if I would even be interested in reading the first two. This one was just a little too slow and disjointed for my taste.
About Goodreads Q&A
Ask and answer questions about books!
You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.
See Featured Authors Answering Questions
Learn more