Lilies Of The Field Novel

Lilies of the Field Novel: A Deep Dive into Faith, Forgiveness, and Finding Your Place

Have you ever felt lost, adrift in a sea of uncertainty, searching for purpose and belonging? The poignant tale of Lilies of the Field, whether you know it from the iconic film or the less-familiar novel, speaks directly to this universal human experience. This blog post will delve deep into the heart of this captivating story, exploring its themes, characters, and lasting impact. We'll uncover the nuances of the narrative, examining its literary merit and its enduring relevance in today's world. Prepare to be moved by the power of faith, forgiveness, and the unexpected beauty found in the most unlikely of places.

Unpacking the Narrative: A Story of Unexpected Encounters

Lilies of the Field, while seemingly simple on the surface, is a richly layered story exploring themes of faith, community, and the transformative power of human connection. The narrative centers around Homer Smith, a disillusioned construction worker drifting through life after a turbulent past. His journey takes an unexpected turn when he encounters a group of Catholic nuns attempting to build a chapel in the remote Arizona desert. Initially hesitant, Homer eventually agrees to help, and in doing so, embarks on a deeply personal transformation.

The novel masterfully portrays the contrast between Homer's secular cynicism and the nuns' unwavering faith. It's not a simplistic tale of religious conversion, but rather a nuanced exploration of how different belief systems can coexist and even complement one another. The nuns, each with their own unique personalities and struggles, demonstrate the strength and resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity. Their reliance on faith provides a powerful counterpoint to Homer's pragmatic approach to life. He, in turn, brings his practical skills and worldly wisdom to their project, enriching their lives in unexpected ways.

The setting itself – the vast and unforgiving Arizona desert – serves as a powerful symbol. It represents the barrenness of Homer's own inner landscape, a landscape gradually transformed by his interactions with the nuns and the act of building the chapel. The construction of the chapel becomes more than just a physical project; it becomes a metaphor for the spiritual rebuilding of Homer and, in some ways, the entire community.

Character Analysis: Exploring the Depth of Human Experience

The strength of Lilies of the Field lies not only in its overarching themes but also in its richly developed characters. Homer Smith, our protagonist, is a man burdened by past mistakes and disillusioned with the world. His gruff exterior masks a deep-seated vulnerability and a longing for connection. The nuns, too, are far from stereotypical representations of religious figures. They are flawed, complex individuals, each with their own strengths, weaknesses, and unique perspectives. Their interactions with Homer, and with each other, reveal the beauty of human diversity and the strength that comes from embracing differences.


Sister Clotilde, the outspoken and demanding leader of the nuns, initially pushes Homer to his limits. Yet, beneath her demanding exterior lies a deep well of faith and a surprising capacity for compassion. The other sisters, each with their own individual quirks and struggles, collectively demonstrate the supportive power of community. They face challenges with resilience and unwavering faith, providing a constant source of inspiration for Homer. Through their interactions, the novel highlights the importance of empathy, understanding, and the power of human connection to overcome adversity.

The Power of Forgiveness and Redemption

One of the most compelling aspects of Lilies of the Field is its exploration of forgiveness and redemption. Homer’s past weighs heavily on him, causing him to isolate himself and avoid genuine connection. The nuns, through their unwavering acceptance and gentle guidance, help him confront his past and find a path towards redemption. The act of building the chapel becomes a powerful symbol of this process—brick by brick, he rebuilds not just a physical structure but also his own sense of self-worth and purpose.


The film adaptation masterfully captures this element. The silent moments, the shared glances, and the unwavering faith of the nuns convey the profound impact they have on Homer's journey. His gradual transformation is not forced; it's a slow, organic process, reflecting the complexities of personal growth and the enduring power of human connection.

The Enduring Legacy of Lilies of the Field

Lilies of the Field transcends its time, speaking to contemporary audiences through its timeless themes of faith, community, and the search for meaning. The film's enduring popularity, in particular, speaks volumes about the story's universal appeal. The simplicity of the narrative, combined with its powerful portrayal of human resilience, creates a story that resonates deeply. In a world increasingly fragmented and polarized, the story offers a powerful message of hope, forgiveness, and the transformative power of human connection. The emphasis on community building and mutual support in the face of adversity is especially relevant today.

Novel Outline: Lilies of the Field

Title: Lilies of the Field

Author: William E. Barrett (novel)

Outline:

Introduction: Sets the scene, introduces Homer Smith and his disillusionment, hints at his past.
Chapter 1-5: Homer’s encounter with the nuns; initial resistance and gradual acceptance of the job. Introduction of the key nuns and their personalities.
Chapter 6-10: The process of building the chapel; challenges faced and solutions found. Deepening relationship between Homer and the nuns. Exploration of Homer’s past trauma.
Chapter 11-15: Homer’s spiritual awakening; his growing acceptance of faith and community. Confronting his past and finding forgiveness.
Conclusion: The completion of the chapel and the lasting impact on Homer and the nuns’ lives. A sense of peace and fulfillment achieved through shared purpose.

Detailed Explanation of the Outline Points:

Introduction: The opening chapters introduce Homer Smith, a jaded and cynical construction worker drifting through life after a personal tragedy. The reader is given glimpses of his past without explicit detail, creating a sense of mystery and intrigue. The setting is introduced: the stark beauty of the Arizona desert, contrasting with Homer’s internal turmoil. The nuns and their ambitious project—building a chapel—are introduced, creating the central conflict of the narrative.

Chapters 1-5: These chapters detail Homer's initial encounter with the nuns and his reluctance to assist them. The author skillfully portrays the clash between Homer's secular worldview and the nuns' unwavering faith. Individual nuns are introduced, each with their distinct personalities and challenges. The seed of a developing relationship between Homer and the nuns is planted.


Chapters 6-10: This section focuses on the construction of the chapel. The process is fraught with challenges, reflecting both the physical difficulties of the task and the internal struggles of the characters. Through the shared labor, Homer's relationship with the nuns deepens, and flashbacks begin to reveal more about his past. The narrative begins to subtly explore the concept of faith and redemption.

Chapters 11-15: The climax of the story. Homer begins to experience a spiritual transformation, prompted by his interactions with the nuns and the shared experience of building the chapel. His past trauma is directly confronted and addressed. He begins to find peace and acceptance, achieving a sense of forgiveness for himself and others.

Conclusion: The final chapters depict the completion of the chapel and the lasting impact of the experience on Homer and the nuns. The resolution is not about a grand revelation or a dramatic conversion, but rather about the quiet sense of fulfillment and community that arises from shared purpose and mutual support. The reader is left with a feeling of hope and the enduring power of human connection.

FAQs about Lilies of the Field

1. Is Lilies of the Field based on a true story? While inspired by real-life events, the novel is a work of fiction.


2. What is the main theme of Lilies of the Field? The main themes are faith, forgiveness, redemption, community, and finding purpose in unexpected places.


3. What is the significance of the chapel in the story? The chapel serves as a powerful metaphor for spiritual and personal rebuilding.


4. Who are the main characters in Lilies of the Field? Homer Smith and Sister Clotilde are the central characters.


5. Is Lilies of the Field suitable for all ages? While generally suitable, some mature themes might be better suited for older readers.


6. How does the desert setting contribute to the story? The desert symbolizes the barrenness of Homer's inner landscape, which is gradually transformed throughout the story.


7. What is the relationship between Homer and the nuns? It’s a complex relationship evolving from initial resistance to deep respect and affection.


8. What makes Lilies of the Field a classic? Its timeless themes, relatable characters, and powerful message of hope contribute to its enduring appeal.


9. Where can I find Lilies of the Field? It's available in print and ebook formats from various online retailers and libraries.

Related Articles:

1. The Power of Faith in Literature: An exploration of faith as a central theme in various novels.


2. Redemption Arcs in Classic Novels: A look at character transformations and journeys of redemption.


3. The Impact of Setting on Storytelling: How setting enhances narrative and contributes to character development.


4. Community Building in Fictional Narratives: Exploring the importance of community and mutual support.


5. Film Adaptations of Literary Classics: Comparing and contrasting the novel and the film adaptation of Lilies of the Field.


6. The Legacy of Sidney Poitier: Discussing the impact of his portrayal of Homer Smith on the film’s success.


7. Exploring Themes of Forgiveness and Acceptance: A broader look at forgiveness as a literary theme.


8. The American Southwest in Literature: An analysis of how the desert landscape is portrayed in various works.


9. Building a Better World: Social Responsibility in Literature: Connecting Lilies of the Field's theme of community to broader societal issues.


  lilies of the field novel: The Lilies of the Field William Edmund Barrett, 1984
  lilies of the field novel: A Lily of the Field John Lawton, 2010-10-05 Inspector Troy of Scotland Yard returns in “one of the best thrillers of the year” (Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review). Spanning the tumultuous years 1934 to 1948, John Lawton’s A Lily of the Field is a brilliant historical thriller from a master of the form. The book follows two characters—Méret Voytek, a talented young cellist living in Vienna at the novel’s start, and Dr. Karel Szabo, a Hungarian physicist interned in a camp on the Isle of Man. In his seventh Inspector Troy novel, Lawton moves seamlessly from Vienna and Auschwitz to the deserts of New Mexico and the rubble-strewn streets of postwar London, following the fascinating parallels of the physicist Szabo and musician Voytek as fate takes each far from home and across the untraditional battlefields of a destructive war to an unexpected intersection at the novel’s close. The result, A Lily of the Field, is Lawton’s best book yet, a historically accurate and remarkably written novel that explores the diaspora of two Europeans from the rise of Hitler to the post-atomic age. “Lawton’s thrillers provide a vivid, moving and wonderfully absorbing way to experience life in London and on the Continent before, during and after World War II.” —The Washington Post
  lilies of the field novel: In the Beauty of the Lilies John Updike, 2009-07-22 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.
  lilies of the field novel: Remember the Lilies Liz Tolsma, 2015-02-10 How will two very different people find love—and survive the impossible circumstances of war? In 1941 Rand Sterling was a wealthy, womanizing club owner and an American of note among ex-pats and locals alike. Now two years later, Rand is just another civilian prisoner of war—one whose planned escape from the Santo Tomas Internment Camp could put him and others in grave danger. Irene Reynolds grew up as a missionary kid in the Philippine jungle. Now she works for the paranoid Japanese authorities, delivering censored messages to the other American prisoners in Santo Tomas. When Irene’s negligence leads to Rand’s failed escape attempt, Rand is sent to the torture chambers of Fort Santiago—and Irene suffers under the weight of her guilt. Yet when she crosses paths with Rand again after his unexpected return to the camp, something more than mere survival draws the unlikely pair together. As life in Manila becomes more and more desperate, and another threatening letter finds its way from Irene’s hands to Rand’s, the reluctant couple struggles to find a way to stay alive . . . and to keep their growing feelings for each other from compromising the safety of everyone around them.
  lilies of the field novel: Sidney Poitier Aram Goudsouzian, 2004 The life and career of Sidney Poitier are analyzed in this biography of the actor, highlighting his work as the only black leading man during the civil rights era and the honors he has received for his work for racial equality in Hollywood.
  lilies of the field novel: Field Book of Western Wild Flowers Margaret Armstrong, 2021-12-02 Field Book of Western Wild Flowers by J. J. Thornber, Margaret Armstrong. Published by Good Press. Good Press publishes a wide range of titles that encompasses every genre. From well-known classics & literary fiction and non-fiction to forgotten−or yet undiscovered gems−of world literature, we issue the books that need to be read. Each Good Press edition has been meticulously edited and formatted to boost readability for all e-readers and devices. Our goal is to produce eBooks that are user-friendly and accessible to everyone in a high-quality digital format.
  lilies of the field novel: Consider The Lilies Iain Crichton Smith, 2015-04-15 The eviction of the crofters from their homes between 1792 and the 1850s was one of the cruellest episodes in Scotland's history. In this novel Iain Crichton Smith captures the impact of the Highland Clearances through the thoughts and memories of an old woman who has lived all her life within the narrow confines of her community. Alone and bewildered by the demands of the factor, Mrs Scott approaches the minister for help, only to have her faith shattered by his hypocrisy. She finds comfort, however, from a surprising source: Donald Macleod, an imaginative and self-educated man who has been ostracised by his neighbours, not least by Mrs Scott herself, on account of his atheism. Through him and through the circumstances forced upon her, the old woman achieves new strength.
  lilies of the field novel: Tiger-lilies Sidney Lanier, 1867 Tiger-Lilies is actually a somewhat autobiographical book. In it, Lanier analyzes the relationship between a Northerner and a Southerner throughout the Civil War. As a Southerner who had fought for the Confederate army, Lanier had experienced the war firsthand, both on the battlefield and as a prisoner of war. These experiences are recognizable in the battle scenes especially, which are considered some of the most realistic representations of Civil War combat in literature. Ultimately, Tiger-Lilies can be interpreted as an anti-war novel and one of Lanier's less successful endeavors in the course of his career.--The History Engine
  lilies of the field novel: Montaro Caine Sidney Poitier, 2013 The first novel from the beloved actor and director. A baby is born with a coin in her hand. An orphan crafts a mysterious wooden object. The CEO of a large corporation is under extraordinary pressure. And on a remote island, a medicine man understands the meaning of all these events.
  lilies of the field novel: The Lily of the Field and the Bird of the Air Søren Kierkegaard, 2018-04-03 A masterful new translation of one of Kierkegaard's most engaging works In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells his followers to let go of earthly concerns by considering the lilies of the field and the birds of the air. Søren Kierkegaard's short masterpiece on this famous gospel passage draws out its vital lessons for readers in a rapidly modernizing and secularizing world. Trenchant, brilliant, and written in stunningly lucid prose, The Lily of the Field and the Bird of the Air (1849) is one of Kierkegaard's most important books. Presented here in a fresh new translation with an informative introduction, this profound yet accessible work serves as an ideal entrée to an essential modern thinker. The Lily of the Field and the Bird of the Air reveals a less familiar but deeply appealing side of the father of existentialism—unshorn of his complexity and subtlety, yet supremely approachable. As Kierkegaard later wrote of the book, Without fighting with anybody and without speaking about myself, I said much of what needs to be said, but movingly, mildly, upliftingly. This masterful edition introduces one of Kierkegaard's most engaging and inspiring works to a new generation of readers.
  lilies of the field novel: Consider the Lilies John Barstow Paterson, Katherine Paterson, 1998 Presents botanical illustrations of familiar and exotic flowers, trees, and plants mentioned in the accompanying Bible verses and selections.
  lilies of the field novel: The Lilies of the Field William Edmund Barrett, 1962 This refreshing and haunting novellette relates how an amiable southern black man stops to help four German refugee nuns build a church.
  lilies of the field novel: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan Lisa See, 2011-10-17 Lily is the daughter of a humble farmer, and to her family she is just another expensive mouth to feed. Then the local matchmaker delivers startling news: if Lily's feet are bound properly, they will be flawless. In nineteenth-century China, where a woman's eligibility is judged by the shape and size of her feet, this is extraordinary good luck. Lily now has the power to make a good marriage and change the fortunes of her family. To prepare for her new life, she must undergo the agonies of footbinding, learn nu shu, the famed secret women's writing, and make a very special friend, Snow Flower. But a bitter reversal of fortune is about to change everything.
  lilies of the field novel: The Big Fisherman Lloyd C. Douglas, 2022-08-01 DigiCat Publishing presents to you this special edition of The Big Fisherman by Lloyd C. Douglas. DigiCat Publishing considers every written word to be a legacy of humankind. Every DigiCat book has been carefully reproduced for republishing in a new modern format. The books are available in print, as well as ebooks. DigiCat hopes you will treat this work with the acknowledgment and passion it deserves as a classic of world literature.
  lilies of the field novel: Surprised by Oxford Carolyn Weber, 2013-02-04 When Carolyn Weber set out to study Romantic literature at Oxford University, she didn't give much thought to God or spiritual matters—but over the course of her studies she encountered the Jesus of the Bible and her world turned upside down. Surprised by Oxford chronicles her conversion experience with wit, humor, and insight into how becoming a Christian changed her. Carolyn Weber arrives at Oxford a feminist from a loving but broken family, suspicious of men and intellectually hostile to all things religious. As she grapples with her God-shaped void alongside the friends, classmates, and professors she meets, she tackles big questions in search of truth, love, and a life that matters. From issues of fatherhood, feminism, doubt, doctrine, and love, Weber explores the intricacies of coming to faith with an aching honesty and insight echoing that of the poets and writers she studied. Surprised by Oxford is: The witty memoir of a skeptical agnostic who comes to a dynamic personal faith in God Rich with illustration and literary references Gritty, humorous, and spiritually perceptive An inside look at Oxford University Weber eloquently describes a journey many of us have embarked upon, grappling with tough questions and doubts about the meaning of faith—and ultimately finding it in the most unlikely of places.
  lilies of the field novel: THE SHAPE OF ILLUSION William E. Barrett, 1972
  lilies of the field novel: Flower Diary Molly Peacock, 2021-09-14 “Graceful yet precise, poetic yet deeply rooted in research, this exploration of an overlooked painter is gorgeous — a joy to read. Molly Peacock’s insights and empathy with her subject bring to life both Mary Hiester Reid and her luscious flower paintings.” — Charlotte Gray, author of The Massey Murder Molly Peacock uncovers the history of neglected painter Mary Hiester Reid, a trailblazing artist who refused to choose between marriage and a career. Born into a patrician American family in the middle of the nineteenth century, Mary Hiester Reid was determined to be a painter and left behind women’s design schools to enter the art world of men. After she married fellow artist George Reid, she returned with him to his home country of Canada. There she set about creating over 300 stunning still life and landscape paintings, inhabiting a rich, if sometimes difficult, marriage, coping with a younger rival, exhibiting internationally, and becoming well-reviewed. She studied in Paris, traveled in Spain, and divided her time between Canada and the United States where she lived among America’s Arts and Crafts movement titans. She left slender written records; rather, her art became her diary and Flower Diary unfolds with an artwork for each episode of her life. In this sumptuous and precisely researched biography, celebrated poet and biographer Molly Peacock brings Mary Hiester Reid, foremother of painters such as Georgia O’Keefe, out of the shadows, revealing a fascinating, complex woman who insisted on her right to live as a married artist, not as a tragic heroine. Peacock uses her poet’s skill to create a structurally inventive portrait of this extraordinary woman whom modernism almost swept aside, weaving threads of her own marriage with Hiester Reid’s, following the history of empathy and examining how women manage the demands of creativity and domesticity, coping with relationships, stoves, and steamships, too. How do you make room for art when you must go to the market to buy a chicken for dinner? Hiester Reid had her answers, as Peacock gloriously discovers.
  lilies of the field novel: The Measure of a Man Sidney Poitier, 2009-10-13 I have no wish to play the pontificating fool, pretending that I've suddenly come up with the answers to all life's questions. Quite the contrary, I began this book as an exploration, an exercise in selfquestioning. In other words, I wanted to find out, as I looked back at a long and complicated life, with many twists and turns, how well I've done at measuring up to the values I myself have set. In this luminous memoir, a true American icon looks back on his celebrated life and career. His body of work is arguably the most morally significant in cinematic history, and the power and influence of that work are indicative of the character of the man behind the many storied roles. Sidney Poitier here explores these elements of character and personal values to take his own measure--as a man, as a husband and father, and as an actor. Poitier credits his parents and his childhood on tiny Cat Island in the Bahamas for equipping him with the unflinching sense of right and wrong and of selfworth that he has never surrendered and that have dramatically shaped his world. In the kind of place where I grew up, recalls Poitier, what's coming at you is the sound of the sea and the smell of the wind and momma's voice and the voice of your dad and the craziness of your brothers and sisters ... and that's it. Without television, radio, and material distractions to obscure what matters most, he could enjoy the simple things, endure the long commitments, and find true meaning in his life. Poitier was uncompromising as he pursued a personal and public life that would honor his upbringing and the invaluable legacy of his parents just a few years after his introduction to indoor plumbing and the automobile, Poitier broke racial barrier after racial barrier to launch a pioneering acting career. Committed to the notion that what one does for a living articulates who one is, Poitier played only forceful and affecting characters who said something positive, useful, and lasting about the human condition. Here, finally, is Poitier's own introspective look at what has informed his performances and his life. Poitier explores the nature of sacrifice and commitment, pride and humility, rage and forgiveness, and paying the price for artistic integrity, What emerges is a picture of a man seeking truth, passion, and balance in the face of limits--his own and the world's. A triumph of the spirit, The Measure of a Man captures the essential Poitier.
  lilies of the field novel: The Mountain Lion Jean Stafford, 1992-01-01 Coming of age in pre-World War II California and Colorado brings tragedy to Molly and Ralph Fawcett in Jean Stafford's classic semi-autobiographical novel, first published in 1947.
  lilies of the field novel: Salem Falls Jodi Picoult, 2007
  lilies of the field novel: Other Voices, Other Rooms Truman Capote, 2007-12-18 Truman Capote’s first novel is a story of almost supernatural intensity and inventiveness, an audacious foray into the mind of a sensitive boy as he seeks out the grown-up enigmas of love and death in the ghostly landscape of the deep South. “Intense, brilliant . . . . Capote has an astonishing command . . . a magic all his own.” —The Atlantic At the age of twelve, Joel Knox is summoned to meet the father who abandoned him at birth. But when Joel arrives at the decaying mansion in Skully’s Landing, his father is nowhere in sight. What he finds instead is a sullen stepmother who delights in killing birds; an uncle with the face—and heart—of a debauched child; and a fearsome little girl named Idabel who may offer him the closest thing he has ever known to love.
  lilies of the field novel: Sesame and Lilies John Ruskin, 1879
  lilies of the field novel: Breathing Room Marsha Hayles, 2012-06-05 Evvy Hoffmeister is thirteen years old when her family brings her to Loon Lake Sanatorium to get cured of tuberculosis (TB). Evvy is frightened by her new surroundings; the rules to abide are harsh and the nurses equally rigid. But Evvy soon falls into step with the other girls in her ward. There's Sarah, quiet but thoughtful; Pearl, who adores Hollywood glamour; and Dina, whose harshness conceals a deep strength. Together, the girls brave the difficult daily routines. Set in 1940 at a time of political unrest throughout the U.S. and Europe, this thought-provoking novel sheds light on a much-feared worldwide illness. Hundreds of thousands of people died each year of TB, and many ill children were sent away to sanatoriums to hopefully recover. This is a masterful novel—both eloquent and moving—that gives voice to those who fought hard to overcome the illness.
  lilies of the field novel: Bella Tuscany Frances Mayes, 2003-08-05 Frances Mayes, whose enchanting #1 New York Times bestseller Under the Tuscan Sun made the world fall in love with Tuscany, invites readers back for a delightful new season of friendship, festivity, and food, there and throughout Italy. Having spent her summers in Tuscany for the past several years, Frances Mayes relished the opportunity to experience the pleasures of primavera, an Italian spring. A sabbatical from teaching in San Francisco allowed her to return to Cortona—and her beloved house, Bramasole—just as the first green appeared on the rocky hillsides. Bella Tuscany, a companion volume to Under the Tuscan Sun, is her passionate and lyrical account of her continuing love affair with Italy. Now truly at home there, Mayes writes of her deepening connection to the land, her flourishing friendships with local people, the joys of art, food, and wine, and the rewards and occasional heartbreaks of her villa's ongoing restoration. It is also a memoir of a season of change, and of renewed possibility. As spring becomes summer she revives Bramasole's lush gardens, meets the challenges of learning a new language, tours regions from Sicily to the Veneto, and faces transitions in her family life. Filled with recipes from her Tuscan kitchen and written in the sensuous and evocative prose that has become her hallmark, Bella Tuscany is a celebration of the sweet life in Italy. Now with an excerpt from Frances Mayes's latest southern memoir, Under Magnolia.
  lilies of the field novel: White Noise Don DeLillo, 1999-06-01 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER • An “eerie, brilliant, and touching” (The New York Times) modern classic about mass culture and the numbing effects of technology. “Tremendously funny . . . A stunning performance from one of our most intelligent novelists.”—The New Republic The inspiration for the award-winning major motion picture starring Adam Driver and Greta Gerwig Jack Gladney teaches Hitler Studies at a liberal arts college in Middle America where his colleagues include New York expatriates who want to immerse themselves in “American magic and dread.” Jack and his fourth wife, Babette, bound by their love, fear of death, and four ultramodern offspring, navigate the usual rocky passages of family life to the background babble of brand-name consumerism. Then a lethal black chemical cloud floats over their lives, an “airborne toxic event” unleashed by an industrial accident. The menacing cloud is a more urgent and visible version of the “white noise” engulfing the Gladney family—radio transmissions, sirens, microwaves, ultrasonic appliances, and TV murmurings—pulsing with life, yet suggesting something ominous.
  lilies of the field novel: Humble Roots Hannah Anderson, 2016-09-16 Feeling worn thin? Come find rest. The Blue Ridge Parkway meanders through miles of rolling Virginia mountains. It’s a route made famous by natural beauty and the simple rhythms of rural life. And it’s in this setting that Hannah Anderson began her exploration of what it means to pursue a life of peace and humility. Fighting back her own sense of restlessness and anxiety, she finds herself immersed in the world outside, discovering a classroom full of forsythia, milkweed, and a failed herb garden. Lessons about soil preparation, sour mulch, and grapevine blights reveal the truth about our dependence on God, finding rest, and fighting discontentment. Humble Roots is part theology of incarnation and part stroll through the fields and forest. Anchored in the teaching of Jesus, Anderson explores how cultivating humility—not scheduling, strict boundaries, or increased productivity—leads to peace. “Come unto me, all who labor and are heavy laden,” Jesus invites us, “and you will find rest for your souls.” So come. Learn humility from the lilies of the field and from the One who is humility Himself. Remember who you are and Who you are not, and rediscover the rest that comes from belonging to Him.
  lilies of the field novel: The Rings of Saturn W. G. Sebald, 2016-11-08 The book is like a dream you want to last forever (Roberta Silman, The New York Times Book Review), now with a gorgeous new cover by the famed designer Peter Mendelsund A masterwork of W. G. Sebald, now with a gorgeous new cover by the famed designer Peter Mendelsund The Rings of Saturn—with its curious archive of photographs—records a walking tour of the eastern coast of England. A few of the things which cross the path and mind of its narrator (who both is and is not Sebald) are lonely eccentrics, Sir Thomas Browne’s skull, a matchstick model of the Temple of Jerusalem, recession-hit seaside towns, wooded hills, Joseph Conrad, Rembrandt’s Anatomy Lesson, the natural history of the herring, the massive bombings of WWII, the dowager Empress Tzu Hsi, and the silk industry in Norwich. W.G. Sebald’s The Emigrants (New Directions, 1996) was hailed by Susan Sontag as an astonishing masterpiece perfect while being unlike any book one has ever read. It was one of the great books of the last few years, noted Michael Ondaatje, who now acclaims The Rings of Saturn an even more inventive work than its predecessor, The Emigrants.
  lilies of the field novel: Under the Glacier Halldor Laxness, 2007-12-18 Nobel laureate Halldór Laxness’s Under the Glacier is a one-of-a-kind masterpiece, a wryly provocative novel at once earthy and otherworldly. At its outset, the Bishop of Iceland dispatches a young emissary to investigate certain charges against the pastor at Snæfells Glacier, who, among other things, appears to have given up burying the dead. But once he arrives, the emissary finds that this dereliction counts only as a mild eccentricity in a community that regards itself as the center of the world and where Creation itself is a work in progress. What is the emissary to make, for example, of the boarded-up church? What about the mysterious building that has sprung up alongside it? Or the fact that Pastor Primus spends most of his time shoeing horses? Or that his wife, Ua (pronounced “ooh-a,” which is what men invariably sputter upon seeing her), is rumored never to have bathed, eaten, or slept? Piling improbability on top of improbability, Under the Glacier overflows with comedy both wild and deadpan as it conjures a phantasmagoria as beguiling as it is profound.
  lilies of the field novel: Blue Diary Alice Hoffman, 2002-08-06 Alice Hoffman, the bestselling author of The Rules of Magic, asks how we can find the courage to face the unthinkable in this compelling New York Times Notable Book. When Ethan Ford fails to show up for work on a brilliant summer morning, none of his neighbors would guess that for more than thirteen years, he has been running from his past. His true nature has been locked away, as hidden as his real identity. But sometimes locks spring open, and the devastating truths of Ethan Ford's history shatter the small-town peace of Monroe, affecting family and friends alike. Now, the police are at the door. Ethan Ford's life as an irreproachable family man and heroic volunteer fireman has come to an end—and Jorie Ford's life is coming apart. Some of the residents of Monroe are rallying behind Ethan. But others, including his wife and son, and wondering what remains true when so much is shown to be false—and how capable we really are of change.
  lilies of the field novel: I Am Not Sidney Poitier Percival Everett, 2011-08-02 I Am Not Sidney Poitier is an irresistible comic novel from the master storyteller Percival Everett, and an irreverent take on race, class, and identity in America I was, in life, to be a gambler, a risk-taker, a swashbuckler, a knight. I accepted, then and there, my place in the world. I was a fighter of windmills. I was a chaser of whales. I was Not Sidney Poitier. Not Sidney Poitier is an amiable young man in an absurd country. The sudden death of his mother orphans him at age eleven, leaving him with an unfortunate name, an uncanny resemblance to the famous actor, and, perhaps more fortunate, a staggering number of shares in the Turner Broadcasting Corporation. Percival Everett's hilarious new novel follows Not Sidney's tumultuous life, as the social hierarchy scrambles to balance his skin color with his fabulous wealth. Maturing under the less-than watchful eye of his adopted foster father, Ted Turner, Not gets arrested in rural Georgia for driving while black, sparks a dinnertable explosion at the home of his manipulative girlfriend, and sleuths a murder case in Smut Eye, Alabama, all while navigating the recurrent communication problem: What's your name? a kid would ask. Not Sidney, I would say. Okay, then what is it?
  lilies of the field novel: Killers of the Flower Moon David Grann, 2018-04-03 #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A twisting, haunting true-life murder mystery about one of the most monstrous crimes in American history, from the author of The Wager and The Lost City of Z, “one of the preeminent adventure and true-crime writers working today.—New York Magazine • NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST • NOW A MARTIN SCORSESE PICTURE “A shocking whodunit…What more could fans of true-crime thrillers ask?”—USA Today “A masterful work of literary journalism crafted with the urgency of a mystery.” —The Boston Globe In the 1920s, the richest people per capita in the world were members of the Osage Nation in Oklahoma. After oil was discovered beneath their land, the Osage rode in chauffeured automobiles, built mansions, and sent their children to study in Europe. Then, one by one, the Osage began to be killed off. The family of an Osage woman, Mollie Burkhart, became a prime target. One of her relatives was shot. Another was poisoned. And it was just the beginning, as more and more Osage were dying under mysterious circumstances, and many of those who dared to investigate the killings were themselves murdered. As the death toll rose, the newly created FBI took up the case, and the young director, J. Edgar Hoover, turned to a former Texas Ranger named Tom White to try to unravel the mystery. White put together an undercover team, including a Native American agent who infiltrated the region, and together with the Osage began to expose one of the most chilling conspiracies in American history. Look for David Grann’s latest bestselling book, The Wager!
  lilies of the field novel: Consider the Lilies of the Field Erico Verissimo, 1969
  lilies of the field novel: Sophie's World Jostein Gaarder, 2007-03-20 A page-turning novel that is also an exploration of the great philosophical concepts of Western thought, Jostein Gaarder's Sophie's World has fired the imagination of readers all over the world, with more than twenty million copies in print. One day fourteen-year-old Sophie Amundsen comes home from school to find in her mailbox two notes, with one question on each: Who are you? and Where does the world come from? From that irresistible beginning, Sophie becomes obsessed with questions that take her far beyond what she knows of her Norwegian village. Through those letters, she enrolls in a kind of correspondence course, covering Socrates to Sartre, with a mysterious philosopher, while receiving letters addressed to another girl. Who is Hilde? And why does her mail keep turning up? To unravel this riddle, Sophie must use the philosophy she is learning—but the truth turns out to be far more complicated than she could have imagined.
  lilies of the field novel: Beneath the Water Lilies Matt Forester, 2019-08-08 A 2017 Claymore Award finalist, Beneath the Water Lilies challenges southern norms of race, gender, sexuality, and love with a braided plot of ghosts, escaped convicts, violence, and voodoo. A romance sparks between Detective Brad Buchanan and Forensic Scientist Callie Crenshaw as they embark on a voodoo-laden trail of clues and close encounters to uncover the supernatural murder of an old man and a 70-year-old unlikely love story interrupted by unfathomable evil.There beneath the water lilies lies her silent frame. Let's see if we can summon her by calling out her name. . . In the muddy bottoms of Gould, Arkansas, the children hold hands and circle round and round chanting Beneath the Water Lilies. They know Ring around the Roses and London Bridge Is Falling Down and even Lizzy Borden, but they don't sing those nearly as much. Celia was real, and she was theirs-one of them-a fourteen-year-old girl who mysteriously vanished one brisk November night in 1948. A rumor spread that her body had been dumped in Wolf Slough, one side of which is covered with a green carpet of lily pads. The authorities never dredged the slough looking for remains because no credible evidence suggested that her body was there-only a rumor and a chant that every child in Gould for the past 70 years learned when they were young. No one knows who made it up. Someone did, though. Someone taught it to children.
  lilies of the field novel: Restless William Boyd, 2012-12-01 It is 1939. Eva Delectorskaya is a beautiful 28-year-old Russian émigrée living in Paris. As war breaks out she is recruited for the British Secret Service by Lucas Romer, a mysterious Englishman, and under his tutelage she learns to become the perfect spy, to mask her emotions and trust no one, including those she loves most. Since the war, Eva has carefully rebuilt her life as a typically English wife and mother. But once a spy, always a spy. Now she must complete one final assignment, and this time Eva can't do it alone: she needs her daughter's help.
  lilies of the field novel: The Book of Longings Sue Monk Kidd, 2020-04-21 “An extraordinary novel . . . a triumph of insight and storytelling.” —Associated Press “A true masterpiece.” —Glennon Doyle, author of Untamed An extraordinary story set in the first century about a woman who finds her voice and her destiny, from the celebrated number one New York Times bestselling author of The Secret Life of Bees and The Invention of Wings In her mesmerizing fourth work of fiction, Sue Monk Kidd takes an audacious approach to history and brings her acclaimed narrative gifts to imagine the story of a young woman named Ana. Raised in a wealthy family with ties to the ruler of Galilee, she is rebellious and ambitious, with a brilliant mind and a daring spirit. She engages in furtive scholarly pursuits and writes narratives about neglected and silenced women. Ana is expected to marry an older widower, a prospect that horrifies her. An encounter with eighteen-year-old Jesus changes everything. Their marriage evolves with love and conflict, humor and pathos in Nazareth, where Ana makes a home with Jesus, his brothers, and their mother, Mary. Ana's pent-up longings intensify amid the turbulent resistance to Rome's occupation of Israel, partially led by her brother, Judas. She is sustained by her fearless aunt Yaltha, who harbors a compelling secret. When Ana commits a brazen act that puts her in peril, she flees to Alexandria, where startling revelations and greater dangers unfold, and she finds refuge in unexpected surroundings. Ana determines her fate during a stunning convergence of events considered among the most impactful in human history. Grounded in meticulous research and written with a reverential approach to Jesus's life that focuses on his humanity, The Book of Longings is an inspiring, unforgettable account of one woman's bold struggle to realize the passion and potential inside her, while living in a time, place and culture devised to silence her. It is a triumph of storytelling both timely and timeless, from a masterful writer at the height of her powers.
  lilies of the field novel: The Invisible Bridge Julie Orringer, 2010 A historical novel set in 1937 Europe tells the story of three Hungarian Jewish brothers bound by history and love, of a marriage tested by disaster, of a Jewish family's struggle against annihilation by the Nazis and of the dangerous power of art in the time of war.
  lilies of the field novel: The Passion According to G.H. Clarice Lispector, 2012-06-13 Lispector’s most shocking novel. The Passion According to G.H., Clarice Lispector’s mystical novel of 1964, concerns a well-to-do Rio sculptress, G.H., who enters her maid’s room, sees a cockroach crawling out of the wardrobe, and, panicking, slams the door—crushing the cockroach—and then watches it die. At the end of the novel, at the height of a spiritual crisis, comes the most famous and most genuinely shocking scene in Brazilian literature… Lispector wrote that of all her works this novel was the one that “best corresponded to her demands as a writer.”
  lilies of the field novel: My Life in Plants Katie Vaz, 2020-09-01 A “beautifully illustrated memoir, a deeply personal remembrance about the navigation into adulthood and the plants along the way. Touching and relatable.” (Lori Roberts, author of A Life of Gratitude) From Katie Vaz, author of Don’t Worry, Eat Cake, the beloved Make Yourself Cozy, and The Escape Manual for Introverts, comes My Life in Plants. Her newest book tells the story of her life through the thirty-nine plants that have played both leading and supporting roles, from her childhood to her wedding day. Plants include a homegrown wildflower bouquet wrapped in duct tape that she carried on stage at age three, to a fragrant basil plant that brought her and her kitchen back to life after grief. The stories are personal, poignant, heartwarming, and relatable, and will prompt readers to recall plants of their own that have been witness to both the amazing moments of life and the ordinary ones. This illustrated memoir covers the simplicity of home, the sharpness of loss, the lesson of learning to be present, and the journey of finding your way
  lilies of the field novel: Where the Lilies Bloom CLEAVER, Bill Cleaver, Vera Cleaver, 1989-10-06 Mary Call has promised her dying father to keep her brother and sisters together forever on the mountain, and never to take any help from strangers. She is determined to keep her word. No matter what. At first she is sure she can manage. Romey, Ima Dean, and Devola help gather herbs to sell in town; the riches of the mountains will surely keep the family clothed and fed. But then winter comes, fast and furious, and Mary Call has to learn that the land where the lilies bloom is also a cruel and unforgiving place, and it may take more than a promise to keep her family together.