Brett Malcolm Grainger

The Beauty of Souls

Arts & Literature

“Mark Scott's careful, ruminative readings of Marilynne Robinson's celebrated novels offer much more than literary or theological analysis: they recover a nascent spirituality. A Robinsonian spirituality, he argues, follows no singular path, since it must accommodate our unique pasts, personal pains, and yearning for authenticity. Yet, her overarching theme, what Scott calls "the beauty of souls," connects us through a brokenness overcome by our shared participation in the boundless beauty of the Eternal. By the time readers have finished Scott's peerless study, not only will they understand Robinson's characters much better: they will be better equipped to carry on the work of soul craft in their own lives.”