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Genesis #2
A Stone for a Pillow: Journeys with Jacob
Book #2 of The Genesis Trilogy. This special reissue of a classic work of spirituality from the author of A Wrinkle in Time offers life-transforming insights on the rich heritage of the Bible and shows how the characters of this ancient text are relevant for living the good life now. Includes a new reader's guide.
In this book for the curious, spiritual seeker, Madeleine L'Engle offers relevant lessons drawn from the life of Jacob from the Old Testament. Here, the son of Isaac becomes a spiritual companion to L'Engle, equipping her to deal with earthly and psychological struggles. Throughout her journey, L'Engle offers contemporary answers to questions that burden modern day readers and believers.
With her customary fearlessness and candor, she broaches such topics as the significance of angels, redemption, sexual identity, forgiveness, and the seemingly constant conflict between good and evil.
Madeleine L'Engle possesses the same ambidextrous skill of storytelling as other literary giants, including C. S. Lewis and George MacDonald. Her fictional stories appeal to generations of readers, and are equally embraced in both the secular and religious markets. But, it is her ability in her nonfiction to engage with the historical text of the Bible through a dynamic unpacking of protagonists, antagonists, and matters of faith that establishes the Genesis Trilogy as a highly treasured collection of spiritual writings. A Stone for a Pillow acts as a compass for those traveling through the tumultuous landscape of faith in our cynical and divisive modern culture.
In this book for the curious, spiritual seeker, Madeleine L'Engle offers relevant lessons drawn from the life of Jacob from the Old Testament. Here, the son of Isaac becomes a spiritual companion to L'Engle, equipping her to deal with earthly and psychological struggles. Throughout her journey, L'Engle offers contemporary answers to questions that burden modern day readers and believers.
With her customary fearlessness and candor, she broaches such topics as the significance of angels, redemption, sexual identity, forgiveness, and the seemingly constant conflict between good and evil.
Madeleine L'Engle possesses the same ambidextrous skill of storytelling as other literary giants, including C. S. Lewis and George MacDonald. Her fictional stories appeal to generations of readers, and are equally embraced in both the secular and religious markets. But, it is her ability in her nonfiction to engage with the historical text of the Bible through a dynamic unpacking of protagonists, antagonists, and matters of faith that establishes the Genesis Trilogy as a highly treasured collection of spiritual writings. A Stone for a Pillow acts as a compass for those traveling through the tumultuous landscape of faith in our cynical and divisive modern culture.
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
36 people are currently reading
1063 people want to read
About the author
Madeleine L'Engle
170 books9,192 followersMadeleine L'Engle was an American writer of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and young adult fiction, including A Wrinkle in Time and its sequels: A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Many Waters, and An Acceptable Time. Her works reflect both her Christian faith and her strong interest in modern science.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
July 30, 2020
Slightly odd to begin the trology with the second book but I thoroughly enjoyed it, and apparently with each reading of her books I love Madeleine L'Engle more and more. She is precious and praise God for her.
June 13, 2021
I struggle to find more to say about the second book in this trilogy other than my 5* rating. I read a lot and am not always aware how I find the books that end up on my TBR or that I read. This trilogy though I know the path. A good friend and so far 100% spot on book suggester recommended Rachel Held Evan’s Inspired. When browsing for more by her these came up because she wrote the introduction. Fortunately, I’m the kind of reader that is easily distracted from what I think is next in line by an appealing available book and started the first one immediately. I’m grateful. Having only read Wrinkle in Time (which I might have to reread as I read outloud with kids and didn’t love) I didn’t know what to expect. But in reading I got exactly what I needed.
January 31, 2017
The rating is easy; the review is more difficult. I love Madeleine L'Engle and her writing, but this book doesn't feel "right" to me. I guess it would be easier to list what I like and don't like about it.
What I like:
L'Engle's writing style
The passages about Jacob--the subtitle of the book is "Journeys with Jacob." L'Engle spends a fair amount of time tracing Jacob's story from his tussles in-utero with his twin brother to his reconciliation with his brother at the end of their father's life. She connects Jacob's story to our own stories in deep and moving ways.
L'Engle's unavoidance of her own flaws and shortcomings
Her embracing of God's love and Jesus's sacrifice
Her astounding knowledge of Scripture, theology, astrophysics, poetry...the woman was a genius
The time spent reading with my dad, which doesn't seem like it has anything to do with Madeleine, but it does. My dad really likes her writing, and when we're not reading one of her books, he says, "I miss Madeleine." We get into good conversations that are inspired by her writing.
What I don't like:
I just realized that the listing doesn't help because I still can't put into words why this book is three stars and not the typical L'Engle four. Part of it is, I think, a lack of depth, which seems weird to write because there's always a depth to L'Engle's writing...
I need to just write then possibly edit but begin by getting the odd thoughts out and see what I can keep and what I can scale back. L'Engle's husband died in the late eighties. When she wrote this book, he wasn't even sick yet. Still, there's a weird sort of undercurrent in the book of impending doom. I know that sounds silly, but I feel it. It's as if L'Engle is trying to make peace with a world in which bad things happen. You know, she's lived through World War II, the Cold War, the Soviet Union still exists, computers haven't taken over the world yet but are about to, terrorists strike all over the world, her beloved Manhattan has become a hotbed for crime (even her church is robbed by a seemingly respectable new employee). She does claim that there are evil forces in the world and that the reason we have sin and suffering is that creation hasn't been redeemed, yet there seems to be a part of her that's only exposing it, so she can hide from it. It's uncomfortable to read in a way that her book about her husband's illness and death (Two-Part Invention: The Story of a Marriage) isn't. Maybe it's the fact that so many of the ills destroying L'Engle's world are still destroying ours. There are devastation and destruction at every point in history since history began, but there's an otherworldy quality to the ones impacting ours. There's hope of redemption ultimately, but...I guess this is the plainest way to say it: if God gives us free will, that freedom extends even to the decision to be saved or not to be saved, to be redeemed in the end or not, and L'Engle hopes that even the devil will be redeemed, but then, has he not been denied his choice to "reign in hell rather than to serve in heaven"? Yes, God promises redemption, but He won't force even that on any of us, humans or angels. There's nothing wrong with hope, but the refusal to see the truth that not everyone wants to be saved is difficult to get past. Again, it's a sort of willful closing of the eyes, one that acknowledges the devastation to turn away from it.
I don't know what else to say about this book. I do like it as a continuation of L'Engle's analysis of and association with the major stories in Genesis, and I would recommend it as a linking book, but it didn't add much to the depth of insight I've gotten from most of her other books, including And It Was Good: Reflections on Beginnings, the first book in the Genesis Trilogy.
What I like:
L'Engle's writing style
The passages about Jacob--the subtitle of the book is "Journeys with Jacob." L'Engle spends a fair amount of time tracing Jacob's story from his tussles in-utero with his twin brother to his reconciliation with his brother at the end of their father's life. She connects Jacob's story to our own stories in deep and moving ways.
L'Engle's unavoidance of her own flaws and shortcomings
Her embracing of God's love and Jesus's sacrifice
Her astounding knowledge of Scripture, theology, astrophysics, poetry...the woman was a genius
The time spent reading with my dad, which doesn't seem like it has anything to do with Madeleine, but it does. My dad really likes her writing, and when we're not reading one of her books, he says, "I miss Madeleine." We get into good conversations that are inspired by her writing.
What I don't like:
I just realized that the listing doesn't help because I still can't put into words why this book is three stars and not the typical L'Engle four. Part of it is, I think, a lack of depth, which seems weird to write because there's always a depth to L'Engle's writing...
I need to just write then possibly edit but begin by getting the odd thoughts out and see what I can keep and what I can scale back. L'Engle's husband died in the late eighties. When she wrote this book, he wasn't even sick yet. Still, there's a weird sort of undercurrent in the book of impending doom. I know that sounds silly, but I feel it. It's as if L'Engle is trying to make peace with a world in which bad things happen. You know, she's lived through World War II, the Cold War, the Soviet Union still exists, computers haven't taken over the world yet but are about to, terrorists strike all over the world, her beloved Manhattan has become a hotbed for crime (even her church is robbed by a seemingly respectable new employee). She does claim that there are evil forces in the world and that the reason we have sin and suffering is that creation hasn't been redeemed, yet there seems to be a part of her that's only exposing it, so she can hide from it. It's uncomfortable to read in a way that her book about her husband's illness and death (Two-Part Invention: The Story of a Marriage) isn't. Maybe it's the fact that so many of the ills destroying L'Engle's world are still destroying ours. There are devastation and destruction at every point in history since history began, but there's an otherworldy quality to the ones impacting ours. There's hope of redemption ultimately, but...I guess this is the plainest way to say it: if God gives us free will, that freedom extends even to the decision to be saved or not to be saved, to be redeemed in the end or not, and L'Engle hopes that even the devil will be redeemed, but then, has he not been denied his choice to "reign in hell rather than to serve in heaven"? Yes, God promises redemption, but He won't force even that on any of us, humans or angels. There's nothing wrong with hope, but the refusal to see the truth that not everyone wants to be saved is difficult to get past. Again, it's a sort of willful closing of the eyes, one that acknowledges the devastation to turn away from it.
I don't know what else to say about this book. I do like it as a continuation of L'Engle's analysis of and association with the major stories in Genesis, and I would recommend it as a linking book, but it didn't add much to the depth of insight I've gotten from most of her other books, including And It Was Good: Reflections on Beginnings, the first book in the Genesis Trilogy.
November 22, 2020
This author always astounds me with her brilliance-from physics to scripture to world religions. She was so ahead of her time with this book that covered some very relevant topics for today. I also appreciate her openness yet no nonsense approach.
December 4, 2024
love u maddi but what tf was this
May 13, 2017
First sentence: In the late afternoon, when the long December night had already darkened the skies, we opened Christmas cards, taking turns, reading the messages, enjoying this once-a-year being in touch with far-flung friends. There, incongruously lying among the Christmas greetings, was an official-looking envelope addressed to me, with Clerk of Court, New York County, in the upper left-hand corner. A call to jury duty. Manhattan does not give its prospective jurors much notice. My call was for the first week in January. To the notice inside had been added the words, Must Serve.
Premise/plot: Stone for a Pillow is the second in the Genesis trilogy. The best way to describe the book is that it's reflective "theology" written in a stream of consciousness style. It is loosely-inspired by the middle of the book of Genesis--the chapters focusing on Jacob and Esau.
My thoughts: In my review of And It Was Good, I wrote that L'Engle's theology was dangerous. I would definitely say that is still the case. If anything, the years between 1983 and 1986 led L'Engle even further from the Christian path. The more I read, I more I realize that it's just not a misconception or misunderstanding on my part, but, that she did indeed believe some mighty strange, actually heretical things.
For example, this is L'Engle's writing on the topic of the atonement. She rejects the doctrine out and out.
She continues,
She is more influenced by the theory of the butterfly effect than the words of Christ--or the Word of God. Here are a few of her statements about the Bible.
Though she ridicules people who make God into their own image instead of looking for the image of God within them. She seems to have no problem defining God herself throughout the book. She doesn't use the revealed Word of God as a primary source--but herself, her instincts, her insights, her biases.
That being said, there were still some good statements--sentences. (Even a stopped clock is right twice a day. But a ticking-working clock set to the wrong time, is never going to be right.)
Premise/plot: Stone for a Pillow is the second in the Genesis trilogy. The best way to describe the book is that it's reflective "theology" written in a stream of consciousness style. It is loosely-inspired by the middle of the book of Genesis--the chapters focusing on Jacob and Esau.
My thoughts: In my review of And It Was Good, I wrote that L'Engle's theology was dangerous. I would definitely say that is still the case. If anything, the years between 1983 and 1986 led L'Engle even further from the Christian path. The more I read, I more I realize that it's just not a misconception or misunderstanding on my part, but, that she did indeed believe some mighty strange, actually heretical things.
For example, this is L'Engle's writing on the topic of the atonement. She rejects the doctrine out and out.
In a vain attempt to make people see God as an avenging judge, theologians have even altered the meaning of words. Atonement, for instance. A bad word, if taken forensically. In forensic terms, the atonement means that Jesus had to die for us in order to atone for all our awful sins, so that God could forgive us. In forensic terms, it means that God cannot forgive us unless Jesus is crucified and by this sacrifice atones for all our wrongdoing. But that is not what the word means! I went to an etymological dictionary and looked it up. It means exactly what it says, at-one-ment. I double-checked it in a second dictionary. There is nothing about crime and punishment in the makeup of that word. It simply means to be at one with God. Jesus on the cross was so at-one with God that death died there on Golgotha, and was followed by the glorious celebration of the Resurrection… Sin, then, is discourtesy pushed to an extreme, and discourtesy is lack of at-one-ment.
She continues,
We are all going to face God’s judgment, but we will not receive forensic judgment from the throne of heaven. God is not going to abandon Creation, nor the people up for trial in criminal court, nor the Shiites nor the communists nor the warmongers, nor the greedy and corrupt people in high places, nor the dope pushers, nor you, nor me. Bitter tears of repentance may be shed before we can join the celebration, but it won’t be complete until we are all there. This is the God of Scripture, the God of forbearance, forgiveness, and unqualified love. We have been living in a world where we have viewed God and each other in a forensic way for too long, and it should be apparent that it is not working, and that it is not going to work. This forensic world is not a scriptural world, but a clever projection of the Tempter. Our only hope for peace, within our own hearts, and all over our small green earth, is for us to open ourselves to the judgment of God, that judgment that makes the waters and the hills to sing. For God’s judgment is atonement, at-one-ment, making us one with the Lord of love.
She is more influenced by the theory of the butterfly effect than the words of Christ--or the Word of God. Here are a few of her statements about the Bible.
It is a living book, not a dead one. It urges us to go beyond its pages, not to stop with what we have read. It is a book not only of history, and of the prohibitions of the commandments and laws, but of poetry and song, of fantasy and paradox and mystery and contradiction. It is not the only book in which I will look for and find truth.
The Bible is a book which urges us to keep our concept of God open, to let our understanding grow and develop as we are illumined by new discoveries. If we stopped where Scripture leaves us, in the New Testament as well as the Old, we could still, with clear consciences, keep slaves.
What a passage says to us today may not be what the same passage will say when we next encounter it. We must strive to be open to the deeply mythic quality, expressing the longings and aspirations and searchings of the human race.
If we are willing to live by Scripture, we must be willing to live by paradox and contradiction and surprise.
Once I remarked that I read the Bible in much the same way that I read fairy tales, and received a shocked response. But fairy tales are not superficial stories. They spring from the depths of the human being. The world of the fairy tale is to some degree the world of the psyche. Like the heroes and heroines of fairy tales, we all start on our journey, our quest, sent out on it at our baptisms. We are, all of us, male and female, the younger brother, who succeeds in the quest because, unlike the elder brother, he knows he needs help; he cannot do it because he is strong and powerful. We are all, like it or not, the elder brother, arrogant and proud. We are all, male and female, the true princess who feels the pea of injustice under all those mattresses of indifference. And we all have to come to terms with the happy ending, and this may be the most difficult part of all. Never confuse fairy tale with untruth. Alas, Lucifer, how plausible you can be, confusing us into thinking that to speak of the Bible as myth is blasphemy.
Though she ridicules people who make God into their own image instead of looking for the image of God within them. She seems to have no problem defining God herself throughout the book. She doesn't use the revealed Word of God as a primary source--but herself, her instincts, her insights, her biases.
That being said, there were still some good statements--sentences. (Even a stopped clock is right twice a day. But a ticking-working clock set to the wrong time, is never going to be right.)
It is not a simple thing to accept God’s love, because if we do, we must return love.
Fiction draws us into participating in other lives, other countries, other ways of life or thinking.
It was a sad moment when I had to admit to myself that I was not going to be able to read, in this lifetime, all the books I need to read!
January 20, 2011
This book delves into Madeleine L' Engle's faith in the grace of God and her views on the extent of God's grace. The book also touches a little bit on what used to make her such a polarizing figure in both Christian and Secular subcultures. Some reviewers in the secular community found her works to be too overtly "Christian" for their tastes, while many in evangelical and fundamentalist circles rejected her for her belief in Christian Universalism/universal atonement. Over-all, she is a fascinating author, and I always like reading what she has to say.
August 30, 2025
This book series continues to inspire me and stir me to Jesus. The way Madeleine writes is comforting; the ideas she wrestles with are profound and precious. This series thus far has given me feelings of freedom and openness and restfulness and joy. I look forward to the next one!
March 23, 2018
L'Engle once again took me out of my "comfort rut" with this book. I wanted the jerks on trial to be found guilty for what they had done. I too have a lot more questions than certainties and the questions multiply with the years. But answers can be frightening if they become set in stone. They can preclude further insights and make me feel like I have God figured out. As a historian, I know the last word has never been said about any era/person/incident/etc. so I can continue to look for new meanings and insights beyond what has been said or written before. And so with God and his creation. The last word has not been said.
L'Engle's book puts forward the paradox of free will in creation up against the hope that all will be brought into atonement in the end. I'm not sure she meant to set it up that way but she talks about free will in man and angels but holds out the hope that Satan/Lucifer will one day bow his knee to God. Is it wishful thinking because she cannot envision a scenario in which any of God's creation chooses to finally be cut off from Him forever? God makes it possible that all may come to him but we still have to choose to do so or we are finally no more than automatons. If my final choice is not free, are any of my preceding choices free? It's a tough question and I may have arguments but I have no definitive answer.
I did enjoy the book and the walk with Jacob who was sometimes a manipulating jerk and at other times a patient, loving husband and father. Good and no-so-good, just like all of us.
L'Engle's book puts forward the paradox of free will in creation up against the hope that all will be brought into atonement in the end. I'm not sure she meant to set it up that way but she talks about free will in man and angels but holds out the hope that Satan/Lucifer will one day bow his knee to God. Is it wishful thinking because she cannot envision a scenario in which any of God's creation chooses to finally be cut off from Him forever? God makes it possible that all may come to him but we still have to choose to do so or we are finally no more than automatons. If my final choice is not free, are any of my preceding choices free? It's a tough question and I may have arguments but I have no definitive answer.
I did enjoy the book and the walk with Jacob who was sometimes a manipulating jerk and at other times a patient, loving husband and father. Good and no-so-good, just like all of us.
June 27, 2022
Very interesting treatment of Jacob through his story and L'Engle's interpretation. Some repetition if you've read a lot of her work. The foreword by Rachel Held Evans is a gem and closes with the Nicene Creed in a beautiful form [contrast with BCP p.358].
p.44: Why is it so hard to understand that in this world everything is not going to turn out all right, all strings neatly tied, and justice triumphant?
p.88: Here I am, caught up in this fragment of chronology, in this bit of bone and flesh and water which makes my mortal body, and yet I am also part of that which is not imprisoned in time or mortality.
p.95: We are not all called to go to El Salvador, or Moscow, or Calcutta, or even the slums of New York, but none of us will escape the moment when we have to decide whether to withdraw, to play it safe, or to act upon what we prayerfully believe to be right, knowing that with all our prayers we may be wrong, and knowing that we will probably be punished by those who do not want universe-disturbers to stand up and be counted.
p.108: Our lacks in language are a reflection of our brokenness.
p.136: In that desert land wells were so important that they were given names. There was an honouring of the reality of water and stone, of tree and sand. Everything in the created order belonged to God, and what is God's is named.
p.247: God does not promise protection any more than he promised it to Jesus. Or Jacob. We are not given protection. We are given vulnerability.
p.44: Why is it so hard to understand that in this world everything is not going to turn out all right, all strings neatly tied, and justice triumphant?
p.88: Here I am, caught up in this fragment of chronology, in this bit of bone and flesh and water which makes my mortal body, and yet I am also part of that which is not imprisoned in time or mortality.
p.95: We are not all called to go to El Salvador, or Moscow, or Calcutta, or even the slums of New York, but none of us will escape the moment when we have to decide whether to withdraw, to play it safe, or to act upon what we prayerfully believe to be right, knowing that with all our prayers we may be wrong, and knowing that we will probably be punished by those who do not want universe-disturbers to stand up and be counted.
p.108: Our lacks in language are a reflection of our brokenness.
p.136: In that desert land wells were so important that they were given names. There was an honouring of the reality of water and stone, of tree and sand. Everything in the created order belonged to God, and what is God's is named.
p.247: God does not promise protection any more than he promised it to Jesus. Or Jacob. We are not given protection. We are given vulnerability.
July 21, 2022
Just adored this<3 Madeleine L’Engle’s words are a gift and a light.
A couple things rubbed me a bit the wrong way, but I imagine that it is a product of the socio-historical constraints of this text.
“Look! Here I am, caught up in this fragment of chronology, in this bit of bone and flesh and water which makes up my mortal body, and yet I am also part of that which is not imprisoned in time or mortality. Partaker simultaneously of the finite and the infinite, I do not find the infinite by repudiating my finiteness, but by being fully in it, in this me who is more than I know. This me, like all of creation, lives in a glorious dance of communion with all the universe. In isolation we die; in interdependence we live.”
“I cannot explain angels, nor do I need to. But I want to hear the lovely swish of their wings, to know that they are they are there, God‘s messengers of love and hope.”
“To hold someone lovingly in my hands, my hands held out to God, is to share, even in an infinitesimally tiny way, some of the agony of the cross.”
A couple things rubbed me a bit the wrong way, but I imagine that it is a product of the socio-historical constraints of this text.
“Look! Here I am, caught up in this fragment of chronology, in this bit of bone and flesh and water which makes up my mortal body, and yet I am also part of that which is not imprisoned in time or mortality. Partaker simultaneously of the finite and the infinite, I do not find the infinite by repudiating my finiteness, but by being fully in it, in this me who is more than I know. This me, like all of creation, lives in a glorious dance of communion with all the universe. In isolation we die; in interdependence we live.”
“I cannot explain angels, nor do I need to. But I want to hear the lovely swish of their wings, to know that they are they are there, God‘s messengers of love and hope.”
“To hold someone lovingly in my hands, my hands held out to God, is to share, even in an infinitesimally tiny way, some of the agony of the cross.”
May 10, 2017
A Stone for a Pillow
Journeys with Jacob
by Madeleine L'Engle
Crown Publishing
Convergent Books
Christian
Pub Date 23 May 2017
I am voluntarily reviewing A Stone For A Pillow by Crown Publishing/Convergent books and Netgalley:
In the second book of the Genesis trilogy Madeline L Engle draws life lessons, relevant today, from the life of Jacob. She talks about serving time on a New York Jesus in which she read a book called Revelation and Truth by by Nicholas Berdyaev.
She goes on to show us that too Jacob the house of God was not an enclosure or a building but an open place. She reminds us that despite his shortcomings Jacob was a lovable man.
She goes on to remind us that if we are good, it is not because of us, but God in us.
I give A Stone for A Pillow five out of five stars.
Happy Reading.
November 10, 2022
I have not come to decide if I agree fully with the theology of L’Engle, and nor will I (decide), for I do not feel need to agree or defend. What I do love is the way L’Engle makes stories of the Bible, familiar as the length of my childhood, anew. She causes me to look at life and Scripture from different angles and through different lenses. And this I am sure, she and I love the same God. She also gives me permission to relinquish the need to understand God and the ways of God. She, like no other, frees up my mind to wander in ways I won’t normally allow in my very rigid and linear way of trying to process life.
December 12, 2023
Inspiring and Challenging
I read A Stone for a Pillow as a one-chapter-per-day devotional. That way my mind and heart had time to absorb the thoughts and lessons writer Madeleine L'Engle sets out. In this second book of the series she writes mostly about how to bless, to be blessed, and what it really means. When do we give a blessing? How do we receive one? What does it really mean? L'Engle is not shy about saying what she believes and doesn't believe. Her writing style, however, opens the door to thought, rather than forcing beliefs in the reader's brain. I'm eager to move on to book three.
I read A Stone for a Pillow as a one-chapter-per-day devotional. That way my mind and heart had time to absorb the thoughts and lessons writer Madeleine L'Engle sets out. In this second book of the series she writes mostly about how to bless, to be blessed, and what it really means. When do we give a blessing? How do we receive one? What does it really mean? L'Engle is not shy about saying what she believes and doesn't believe. Her writing style, however, opens the door to thought, rather than forcing beliefs in the reader's brain. I'm eager to move on to book three.
October 26, 2017
"I don't have any answers here, just a lot of questions and hopes, about a God of love who prefers parties to punishments."
Looking forward to finishing this series along with about everything else L'Engle has written. I've barely scratched the surface...
"What is our part in keeping this planet alive? Working towards stopping the folly and horror of atomic devastation? To say that nuclear warfare is inevitable is defeatism, not realism. As long as there is anybody to care, to pray, to turn to God, to be willing to be el's messenger even in unexpected ways, there is still hope."
Looking forward to finishing this series along with about everything else L'Engle has written. I've barely scratched the surface...
"What is our part in keeping this planet alive? Working towards stopping the folly and horror of atomic devastation? To say that nuclear warfare is inevitable is defeatism, not realism. As long as there is anybody to care, to pray, to turn to God, to be willing to be el's messenger even in unexpected ways, there is still hope."
January 24, 2022
God can take anything and redeem it. This book is a perfect reflection on the life of Jacob, especially because I’m currently in the part of Genesis in my Bible reading.
I love Madeleine and this book is just like sitting with her while we talk about all the ins and outs of life. She makes me curious. She makes me think about the tiny things. I love her love for science and how it comes out in her amazement of Christ.
I love Madeleine and this book is just like sitting with her while we talk about all the ins and outs of life. She makes me curious. She makes me think about the tiny things. I love her love for science and how it comes out in her amazement of Christ.
November 15, 2024
I was on a seesaw throughout this book. One moment, I would be thinking, "Oh, that is good, so rich." And the next I would be thinking, "Hmm, that just doesn't seem quite right." Sometimes I felt she strayed quite a distance from the "Journeys With Jacob" theme, and I had to remind myself how it related. I didn't like it as well as the first in the series, and probably will not read the third. But an interesting read, all told.
February 25, 2025
I read this book a few years after it came out. Reading it again all these years later, was a different experience. What I like most about Madeleine L’Engle is her high view of God. Shoulder replacement stopped me from reading because the three books of the Genesis Trilogy in one volume were too cumbersome to hold during recovery from shoulder replacement. But I am glad I persevered to the end.
May 30, 2018
Thought provoking spiritual read
This book offers another interesting exploration of Genesis while including bits of memoir, science, and philosophy. If you like C.S. Lewis you should try Madeline L’Engle. Her conclusions may be unsatisfactory to some evangelicals, but are challenging and thought-provoking and worth reading deeply.
This book offers another interesting exploration of Genesis while including bits of memoir, science, and philosophy. If you like C.S. Lewis you should try Madeline L’Engle. Her conclusions may be unsatisfactory to some evangelicals, but are challenging and thought-provoking and worth reading deeply.
November 10, 2019
Yes, much that she wrote is right, but there are statements that fly in the face of the scriptures...just not right; whether she was deliberately tossing scripture aside or just mistaken in understanding, I don’t know. L’Engle was a human, not perfect. I admire her creativity and wish she were still around to talk to, because I’d like to ask her.
November 20, 2024
Madeleine L'Engle shares some thoughtful insights into the story of Jacob in this book. Sometimes she meanders a bit, and because it was written in the 80's some of her observations (about computers and science) are dated, but her essays brought our church study group some very interesting discussion. Worth a try, especially if you're looking for a not-so-typical essays on religion.
March 28, 2019
I really enjoyed this second book in Madeleine L'Engle's Genesis series. I plan to read the third book at some point. I read this very slowly and used it as part of my morning devotionals. She discusses certain Biblical stories relating to Jacob on a very deep level.
June 6, 2020
It took me forever to finish. I enjoyed the beginning and then it got preachy preachy. I made myself finish it because I kept hoping for some insight other than what was preached at me. So disappointed because Wrinkle in Time is one of my favorite books to teachin the classroom.
May 3, 2021
Lovely L’Engle, inviting readers deeper into the folds of Genesis. She brings to life the ancient characters in God’s
old story. I appreciate how she ties the ancient into her contemporary life in thoughtful and wise ways.
old story. I appreciate how she ties the ancient into her contemporary life in thoughtful and wise ways.
May 5, 2021
I have a lot of questions in this book
January 16, 2024
Madeleine L’Engle is one of my very favorite authors and yet, while I enjoyed this book, it did not move me or expand my thinking as some of her other nonfiction books have. Still a worthy read.
March 2, 2024
Timeless classic
March 10, 2024
This genre defying work is a bit all over the place, but included some very inspiring and challenging passages, as well as some I found confusing or non-sequitur.
April 5, 2025
as always, brilliant.
December 29, 2020
I loved the first book in the series but just couldn't get into this one.
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