JACK
By Marilynne Robinson
Virago. 320 pages. £18.99
ISBN 978 0 349 011 813
As a literature enthusiast married to a seller of Christian books, my bedside table reflects predictably seesawing reading habits.
Fiction, biographies of past saints and gospel-drenched wisdom jostle alongside each other and I swing from one to the other, juggling the different genres and storylines in my head. Engrossed in a compelling novel one evening, I’ll be chewing through a devotion on the psalms the next, and it feels like distinct, separate experiences. I’m not expecting to be edified by the secular read, and I’m not expecting literary flair or command from the ‘Christian’ book.