March’s Title Pick for Adults: Lila by Marilynne Robinson

Inviting Lila into Shared Reading
by Esther Harsh, Shared Reading Practice Lead

‘Her name had the likeness of a name. She had the likeness of a woman, with hands but no face at all, since she never let herself see it. She had the likeness of a life, because she was all alone in it.’ Lila, p. 68

I remember the first time reading Lila and feeling as if I was getting to know someone who felt ordinary things quite deeply. I was in the middle of her thoughts that would be in the present time, then suddenly in memories. There was a constant feeling of strangeness in someone who suddenly found herself having to exist among people, even though she would rather be away and on her own, because that is all she has known.

Now I find myself preparing to invite Lila into Shared Reading. It feels important to think through how I will invite the group to get to know her. My first though is the importance of bringing readerly kindness and caring in the way we explore the feelings of this book. It seems difficult at first because it feels to me as if we are dropped into bits of Lila’s story which constantly moves around in time, as she tries to make sense of feelings, memories and new traditions.

One way to approach this novel is to think of Lila as a real person (she feels very real, so I suppose I mean a person in our reality, rather than that of the novel) someone who stumbles upon a Shared Reading group and tentatively decides to come in and sit down. We will not immediately know her story, and we may never really understand what she's been through. All we have is her presence as she tries to slowly make her way through what could be seen as the strange mess of things.

Her words might be abrupt or very unsure. She will feel like she does not have a language like the group members around her, so she may stay silent for awhile. You might have the courage to ask her, ‘Can you say any more about that feeling or idea?’ With time, there might be something in the text, especially when re-read to her that will spark natural curiosity and wonder. If given space, she may build the trust to be able to eventually share something with the group.

‘I seem to be getting used to things I never even knew about just a few months ago.’ Lila, p.172

She will notice the experience of those around her and will be a voice to those who give the appearance of being lost or mistrusted, those who seem side-stepped by society.

‘It couldn’t be fair to punish people for trying to get by, people who were good by their own lights, when it took all the courage they had to be good.’ Lila, p.259

A group member like Lila will find herself going back again and again to certain passages, because suddenly she’ll feel recognised or known by the language.

We would want to take time with the unsure and inarticulate moments with Lila where something feels to be happening implicitly, though not straightforward. We would want to be bold in getting in and staying in areas that feel out of the ordinary and unexplainable.

Lila is a book I have found to be deeply meaningful. I believe it holds such beautiful and complicated feelings, and evokes the perspective of an outsider so gracefully, all of which would be ideal to explore and give close attention to in a Shared Reading setting.