The chapterless format and narrative style of weaving between different time periods at first takes some getting used to, but once you do you will be swept up in this beautiful novel.
Who was Lila? She didn't know herself. The only person she knew was an old woman named Doll who rescued her from the cold as she sat on a stoop outside a house. Doll was tough but loving and raised Lila the best she could roaming from place to place, working when work was to be found and eating when food was available. At one point Doll insists that Lila go to school to learn her numbers and how to read.
The book turns to Lila sitting on another set of the steps in front of a church. Doll has vanished. What happened to Lila between Doll's disappearance and the church is left for later telling. We know only that Doll killed a man and disappeared while in custody. Lila wonders if the dead man was her father and is angry with Doll.
At the church an old man asks if Lila wishes to be baptized. Apprehensive about religion, she shies from baptism but is drawn to the old preacher. From this point the author explores Lila's life in depth as the relationship with the preacher grows. Much of the book finds Lila pondering what has gone on in her life as she marries the preacher and pursues a quite different life. Always she wonders if she will return to the nomadic life and whether she should tell the preacher about all that happened to her.
The book turns to Lila sitting on another set of the steps in front of a church. Doll has vanished. What happened to Lila between Doll's disappearance and the church is left for later telling. We know only that Doll killed a man and disappeared while in custody. Lila wonders if the dead man was her father and is angry with Doll.
At the church an old man asks if Lila wishes to be baptized. Apprehensive about religion, she shies from baptism but is drawn to the old preacher. From this point the author explores Lila's life in depth as the relationship with the preacher grows. Much of the book finds Lila pondering what has gone on in her life as she marries the preacher and pursues a quite different life. Always she wonders if she will return to the nomadic life and whether she should tell the preacher about all that happened to her.
