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The Dearly Beloved: A Read with Jenna Pick
- GenresFiction
Kindle Edition
Published August 13, 2019
209 people are currently reading
132 people want to read
About the author
Cara Wall
3 books517 followersCara Wall is a graduate of the Iowa Writer’s Workshop and Stanford University. While at Iowa, Wall taught fiction writing in the undergraduate creative writing department as well as at the Iowa Young Writer’s Studio in her capacity of founder and inaugural director. She went on to teach middle school English and history and has been published by Glamour, Salon, and the San Francisco Chronicle. She lives in New York City with her family.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 24, 2026
Book Club Must
Inspiring, encouraging and insightful. A good read prompting in-depth discussions regarding God, grief and doubt. Characters who will be remembered.
Inspiring, encouraging and insightful. A good read prompting in-depth discussions regarding God, grief and doubt. Characters who will be remembered.
March 21, 2026
Wow! What a read. Similar to a book I absolutely adore, ORDINARY GRACE by William Kent Krueger, this novel explores the lens of faith through four very different people. Read it. It's amazing!
Some lyrical sentences I particulary enjoyed:
"...he liked numbers, specifically their round weight, like that of marbles, sensible and clear."
"James finally knew what love was: the amazement of encountering someone astounding, like an ocean full of snow."
"She could say that it felt like she was a piece of muslin and the lessons were embroidered onto her."
"Nan was always half distracted by melodies in her head, notes stacking themselves up and down the treble clef."
"Charles felt odder than he had ever felt before. There was a lump inside his chest, solid and damp like wet clay, as if Father Martin had opened a door in his rib cage and slipped an unfinished piece of pottery inside of him, turned Charles into a kiln."
"She owned not one rabbit’s foot of comfort."
Characters statements of faith:
CHARLES:
“I believe in God. I think God gives us wisdom, infinite numbers of entirely different ways to understand the world. It’s an absolutely clear feeling for me, like walking into a room full of books all opened to exactly the page I want to read.”
"He knew God, but he did not need others to. How to explain that God was like a mentor, a person whom Charles admired, whose company he enjoyed and whom he asked for advice."
"My call isn’t one of proof. It’s one of possibility.”
LILY:
"There was no God. There was only circumstance and coincidence. Life was random, neutral, full of accidents. There was no redeeming value in her parents’ deaths, just debris to be cleared, trees in the driveway after a storm."
"How could she be the only one who knew that some experiences could not be translated into language, could only be measured or explained by the gaps left between the words? She left class with a silence inside of her, a memorial to what was missing."
JAMES:
"Every time I go to church, I wish I could believe wholeheartedly, without reservation, without any nagging doubt.”
“I believe in the urge to be good, to stay good, to do good in the world,” James continued. “But I don’t think God exists in the way people would like to believe; I don’t think God saves the day. I think it’s up to us."
"I may not believe in God, but I believe in ministry. I want to do for others what my mother and uncle did for me. I want to give them chances. I feel I have a debt to repay.”
NAN:
"God answered prayers that helped her help others. God did not change the circumstances of your life; God changed you. She had seen it happen too many times to doubt it."
"Her faith was an essential part of the person she wanted to be…. Whom would she thank for her blessings? How would she understand the workings of the world? How would she accept its mysteries?
Why NOT to go to church:
"When we look nice, we give them hope that there is a reward for giving up sin."
Some lyrical sentences I particulary enjoyed:
"...he liked numbers, specifically their round weight, like that of marbles, sensible and clear."
"James finally knew what love was: the amazement of encountering someone astounding, like an ocean full of snow."
"She could say that it felt like she was a piece of muslin and the lessons were embroidered onto her."
"Nan was always half distracted by melodies in her head, notes stacking themselves up and down the treble clef."
"Charles felt odder than he had ever felt before. There was a lump inside his chest, solid and damp like wet clay, as if Father Martin had opened a door in his rib cage and slipped an unfinished piece of pottery inside of him, turned Charles into a kiln."
"She owned not one rabbit’s foot of comfort."
Characters statements of faith:
CHARLES:
“I believe in God. I think God gives us wisdom, infinite numbers of entirely different ways to understand the world. It’s an absolutely clear feeling for me, like walking into a room full of books all opened to exactly the page I want to read.”
"He knew God, but he did not need others to. How to explain that God was like a mentor, a person whom Charles admired, whose company he enjoyed and whom he asked for advice."
"My call isn’t one of proof. It’s one of possibility.”
LILY:
"There was no God. There was only circumstance and coincidence. Life was random, neutral, full of accidents. There was no redeeming value in her parents’ deaths, just debris to be cleared, trees in the driveway after a storm."
"How could she be the only one who knew that some experiences could not be translated into language, could only be measured or explained by the gaps left between the words? She left class with a silence inside of her, a memorial to what was missing."
JAMES:
"Every time I go to church, I wish I could believe wholeheartedly, without reservation, without any nagging doubt.”
“I believe in the urge to be good, to stay good, to do good in the world,” James continued. “But I don’t think God exists in the way people would like to believe; I don’t think God saves the day. I think it’s up to us."
"I may not believe in God, but I believe in ministry. I want to do for others what my mother and uncle did for me. I want to give them chances. I feel I have a debt to repay.”
NAN:
"God answered prayers that helped her help others. God did not change the circumstances of your life; God changed you. She had seen it happen too many times to doubt it."
"Her faith was an essential part of the person she wanted to be…. Whom would she thank for her blessings? How would she understand the workings of the world? How would she accept its mysteries?
Why NOT to go to church:
"When we look nice, we give them hope that there is a reward for giving up sin."
May 3, 2026
heartbreakingly beautiful read!
I didn’t know what to expect with this book. But it was a inspired piece of American history, and an intricate portrayal of how interwoven four, unique people’s lives became. Love, heartbreak, joy- this author takes us on a worthy journey.
I didn’t know what to expect with this book. But it was a inspired piece of American history, and an intricate portrayal of how interwoven four, unique people’s lives became. Love, heartbreak, joy- this author takes us on a worthy journey.
May 4, 2026
This is a great book about 2 couples lives become intertwined when their husbands become co-pastors at New York congregation in 1960’s
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews