In the beauty of the lilies

by

491 pages

English language

Published Jan. 11, 1996 by A.A. Knopf.

ISBN:
978-0-679-44640-8
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OCLC Number:
32780446

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5 stars (3 reviews)

Faith ultimately bursts into flame as Updike's major new novel, charting the lives of one family through four generations, shows readers an America whose dream of perfection is translated into an obsession with God and the Moving Picture. Paterson, New Jersey, 1910: When a Presbyterian minister suddenly loses his faith and leaves the pulpit to become a salesman, he becomes a movie addict as well.From the Hardcover edition.

8 editions

reviewed In the beauty of the lilies by John Updike

Review of 'In the beauty of the lilies' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

I avoided reading John Updike for years but I like his work so much I'm sorry I did. On the other hand, there's still plenty left for me to read. This is a four-generation family saga, not my favorite genre, but in this case it is. Updike did a ton of research to make the times and what happened in them (it begins in 1910 and ends in 1989) authentic but it's not bogged down because of it. The research enhances his own powerful observations.

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4 stars
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5 stars

Subjects

  • Clergy -- Fiction
  • Cults -- Fiction

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