This is a wonderfully written story of the friendship between two men, and of two long marriages. It explores questions of Christian faith and doubt within the narrative, but this never felt overbearing. I found the opposite natures of the two female protagonists interesting and it helps to keep in mind the era in which the bulk of the story takes place to understand them. Nan is very much a product of her upbringing and wants to be a homemaker and mother while Lily is pursuing a career at a time when it was still not usual for women to have advanced degrees. The book took a downward turn for me when Lily and Charles had their children, and Lily was involved in persistent pursuit of therapies for the son who had autism.


Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

I absolutely loved this book, in the most sincere, hug it to your chest, type of way. This is what Anne Bogel would call a quiet novel, and I wouldn't expect a story in which God is the fifth main character to captivate me, but it did. The writing is restrained but there are some really poignant paragraphs and the whole book is just beautiful.

I so enjoyed this story of two couples and their lives together and their journeys as individuals. The book is very readable and at the same time has a wonderful depth as it follows the faith journeys of the characters. I appreciated the lack of cliche’ answers or too easy resolutions. Highly recommend.
I received an advance copy of this book from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a beautifully written novel. It takes place in the 1960s in New York City. A time of turbulence in our country.. two very different couples come together, linked by a struggling church. The two men, Charles and James are young pastors. Their wives Lily and Nan are two very different women. This is a book about faith, friendship, it makes the reader ponder how at times life can be so unfair, so painful and harsh.. This novel stayed with me for a long time. The characters were unforgettable. What I liked most about this novel is that I learned so much from it. I so look forward to reading the next great story this wonderful author has to tell .

This is a reflective look at four very different characters who are defined by their upbringing and the times in which they live. The prose is lovely and the characters well-defined. The themes include love, marriage, friendship and, of course, religion. the author shows a side of ministry that is very human. Excellent book to contemplate.

This exquisitely beautiful novel covers 50 years of friendship between two couples. However it’s so much more than a novel of friendship. Each of the four people brings specific human emotions and frailties to light. Each person and each emotion is portrayed with the greatest empathy by the author. Nothing is tawdry nor maudlin. Cara Wall allows her characters to grow within those boundaries, recognize their own self imposed prisons and work through the self defeating response to their own traumas.

The author touches on many issues like autism, grief and doubt, but does so humanely and within the confines of the framework she has established in her story.

This novel was simply outstanding on every level. It’s not a quick read nor does it subscribe to the common elements in current pop fiction. This is a story that will be digested in the heart of the reader.

I appreciate having received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher, Simon & Schuster, in exchange for an honest review. I will definitely hope for additional books from Cara Wall.

I really enjoyed this book! It is set through the 1960s, 2 pastors, their wives and eventually their children are woven together - sometimes much to the chagrin of the wives and congregation. They experience trials of faith, trials of preaching and the times, trials of change, and trials of parenthood together. Just when I thought I knew which way the story was going, it would surprise me and I really liked that.
As Charles so eloquently states, there are three trials in the end. Trials against God, against our selves and against each other. I'll let you discover which one he marks as most important.....great read!

Dearly Beloved came highly recommended by a friend and deservedly so. This is a quiet, contemplative story that will stay with a reader long after they’ve finished it. Charles and James are two ministers with different beliefs in their calling. When they are hired to co-minister a congregation they become fast friends but their wives are nothing alike and have a very chilly start to their relationship. Dearly Beloved follows the lives of these two couples and the individuals that comprise them to show where each has weakness and how they learn to draw strength from each other. It’s been a while since the end of a book brought me to tears.

A slow-paced, deeply interior book about love, marriage, and faith. It follows a linear progression through the lives of four individuals, two marriages, and a forty-year shared ministry.

The real center of the book is the place of God in people’s lives. Each character has his or her own relationship (or lack thereof) with God: Charles knows absolutely that there is a God and that he has a calling to the ministry; his wife Lily is equally certain that there is no God and has no affinity with the tasks expected of a minister’s wife, preferring an academic life. Nan is a minister’s daughter and has never questioned her faith; James is not religious and has doubts about God, but feels the ministry would be a good platform for his drive towards social justice.

As each character grows into his or her life and faces difficulties both large and small, God is at the center of many thoughts and actions and is present on most pages. This was surprisingly non-repetitious, and the arguments, discussions, reflections, and historical references were balanced and intriguing, even to someone like myself who has no interest in religion.

The characters are all very earnest — even in their doubt and questioning, there is no cynicism (or any humor which I’m now realizing is often predicated on cynicism). It was somewhat refreshing and made me realize how very cynical the world feels today and how it wasn’t always that way.

The prose is beautiful, though at times over wrought. It is a philosophical and reflective look at life and marriage and documents the details of a healthy approach to personal growth — listening, discussing, reflecting, and resolution.

I was initially quite put off by the number of references to God and faith — it really isn’t my thing — but I found myself quite taken by the four individuals and their personal quests for understanding and a fulfilling life. I learned quite a bit more than I expected.

Cara Wall’s debut novel The Dearly Beloved is the story of two couples, fresh out of college and newly married. The men have been assigned to jointly serve the congregation of Third Presbyterian Church in 1960s New York City.

Charles and Lily fell head-over-hills for each other in a library. Their wit and intellect make them a perfect match except that Lily doesn’t believe in the God that Charles has committed to giving his life to serve as a church minister.

James and Nan also meet in college when Nan, daughter of a minister and a music major, is the accompanist at a recital. James, struggling for the Cs he earns in class, is trying to figure out a career that will suit his wife-to-be and her family while meeting his own needs to feel useful and ease the world's suffering.

What results is a story about pursuing a person in spite of their calling. And about pursuing a calling in spite of a lack of faith.

The Dearly Beloved reads much more like an old soul than a debut. Wall's wisdom suggests experience beyond her years and leads readers through an exploration of marriage, faith, friendship, grief, loss and suffering. She tackles barrenness and autism; justice, race and feminism. Her writing is frank and honest, but with much grace and tenderness.

In this debut, Wall's writing has been compared to that of Ann Patchett. I would add to that Wallace Stegner and Graham Green as I was constantly reminded of Stegner's study of relationships in Crossing to Safety as well as Green's examination of faith in The End of the Affair.

With The Dearly Beloved, Wall exerts herself as a new, yet mature, voice of literary fiction.

This book grabbed me on so many levels. It is a love story, a story of redemption, a chronicle of 4 intertwined lives learning to live and love. I was touched by Nan and James and Lily and Charles—their hopes, dreams, trials and successes. Two couples who married for love but seemed to be with the wrong partner and who wind up working together in New York City coming from different areas of the country and different experiences. Love carries them through their lives despite problems and misunderstandings and they emerge stronger and more tightly connected. Thank you #netgalley for the chance to read #thedearlybeloved ahead of publication.

The Dearly Beloved is the first novel by Cara Wall; I am pretty certain that it will not be her last. The Dearly Beloved is the story of Charles, Lily, James and Nan. Each is an adult with a unique upbringing. Charles has faced many parental expectations; Lily has suffered much loss; James had a hardscrabble background, while life seemed sweet for Nan. While in college, Charles and Lily meet as do James and Nan.

Both Charles and James are "called" to the church; they have different approaches to God and activism, as demonstrated over the course of the book. Charles and James are appointed as co-ministers of a New York City church on lower Fifth Avenue. Their strengths and weaknesses come to light and are not the same. The reader watches as the two families' lives unravel and knit over a period of many years.

This book includes discussion about what faith (or lack of it) means to each protagonist. I found these sections enhanced the novel for me.

This is not perhaps a perfect book, just as James, Charles, Nan and Lily are not prefect but it IS might good.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this e galley in exchange for my honest review.

The writing, the characters, the storyline! Everything about this book was magnificent! I loved the way the relationship between the women changed over time and how that was reflected in the prologue and epilogue. I need to read more of this author’s work.

This is the best book I have read all year so far, it’s luminous, and the writing is so beautiful, and robust. Ms. Wall is a triumph, and a major new voice for literary fiction. This is the kind of novel that is so rich, but accessible, so human. This, to me is the great American novel, and should win prizes, accolades and be an instant bestseller. I adored it!

This book tells the story of two pastors, their wives, and families, over the span of about 30 years, give or take.

While the story starts out strong as James and Charles become pastors in a church in Manhattan, it quickly bogs down in a trite narrative of predictable, periodic hand-wringing, political activism and crises of faith. The only likable characters are the children, and they are tangential to the story. There’s just too much stuff to sort out in this book, and, in retrospect, the way the characters deal with the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune that is life is actually laughable.

I don’t know if the author meant this story to be facetious or satire: if she did, it’s brilliant; if she didn’t, reading it is akin to watching clothes dry on the line.

I received this book as an ARC from the publisher and NetGalley.

This is a beautiful well written book! I just loved all the characters. Beautiful character development, well thought out plot line and gorgeous writing. Loved it

When I read the synopsis for The Dearly Beloved, I just knew it would wow me! I think it’s definitely safe to say it did so much more than that!

Set in New York City during the 1960’s, this novel centers around two ministers and their wives. The men are hired to co-lead the Third Presbyterian Church, a church that is looking for fresh inspiration. Although the men think and lead very differently, they form a fast friendship because they share a common goal to better their congregation. Their wives on the other hand are complete opposites, their personalities clash as well as just about everything else about them! They all begin to adjust to their new normals and eventually start to put down roots and then life happens and both couples face unforeseen situations that may either bring them together or push them apart.

I will promise you this is a novel people will be talking about! If you’re in need of a fantastic book club selection, this is your book!! I found the storyline fascinating and thought provoking, I honestly cannot not stop thinking about it! This 5 star novel has some of the best character development I’ve come across in a while!!! So, so, so good!!! The Dearly Beloved is absolutely on my 2019 favorites list and a novel I am recommending everyone read! Being that this is Cara Wall’s debut novel, I am ecstatic to see what she comes out with next!

What a lovely book this turned out to be. A serious complex gorgeously told dramatic work of fiction following two couples for decades through all the trials and tribulations of their lives. Charles and James are connected through their work, when they become co ministers of a New York City church. But we meet them before that, when they are young men, we follow them through college, as they discover their calling and fall in love and look for their place in the rapidly changing world of the early 1960s. Charles and James are very different, both as ministers and as men, but their differences mesh well together, allowing for a great friendship and working relationship. Their wives, though, are different in a way that can’t be reconciled, which creates for some turbulence throughout the years. Charles marries an emotionally distant academic who doesn’t share his faith, James marries a wealthy Southerner, a preacher’s daughter, a devout family minded woman who thrives in a church environment. Charles believes in preaching in a more traditional way, James is dead set on social reforms. All these differences lead to some fascinating dynamics and dramatic scenarios that are depicted with terrific precision and emotional intelligence. The novel contemplates the nature of love and faith and community and purpose and meaning…all the major ones and yet it stays compelling as a story, never veering into proselytizing, easy as that might have been. Or at least it does until both couples inevitably reproduce. And then it becomes also heavily about the children, the dynamics shift dramatically and, frankly, it isn’t necessarily an improvement. Charles’ wife, for one, a woman who has so valued her independence and intellectual pursuits that it actually made her a somewhat challenging spouse, especially for a minister, is effectively and immediately turned into a mother and a caretaker. She didn’t even want to have kids in the first place, but then not only does she have twins, but also one of them turns out to be severely on the spectrum (something so new it’s barely heard of in those days), so that’s pretty much her entire life from there on. Granted she’s the least likeable character in the book, by far the most contentious and not even an entirely pleasant woman, permanently shaped into emotional severity by the death of her parents when she was young. But within the context of the narrative, it’s almost as if she got punished with this kid. It’s especially noticeable because the rest of the characters, James and Nan and Charles and co. are so immediately likeable, charming and charismatic. So yeah, maybe the baby making, raising, etc. taking up the last third or so of the book diminished the entire experience somewhat for me, but only very marginally. I still enjoyed the book very much and I loved the way it contemplated personal faith in the grand scheme of things. A proper novel this is, intelligent, compelling, well written, and meditative and absolutely lovely. With genuinely great characters. Quite a feat, especially for a debut. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.

Beautifully written and insightful, rich with family history and dynamics, this debut novel brings four protagonists and a host of minor characters to life. Line after line was so good, I kept highlighting these lovely, memorable words in my kindle.

At times I grew weary of these people. About a third of the way in Charles marries Lily, and James marries Nan. In the romance genre, that be the "The End" for two great romance stories. Here, it is just the beginning. In the middle section, James and Charles share a church as dual pastors with dueling wives. Lily takes an immediate dislike to Nan, which makes Lily even harder to like than she was before. Charles was so patient and persisent trying to win her over in their college years. Not until the final page does she seem to grasp what he meant to her. From the first page, we know that Charles is recently deceased, and Nan knows better than to phone Lily with condolences. The ending is delivered upfront because plot is not the primary focus her, but character development. Why does Nan know she shouldn't phone Lily? The unspooling of these relationships is deftly written with a gradual (some might say glacial) account of how these four people evolve and mature.

Parenthood is the biggest game-changer for these two couples. In the first section, we see Charles, Nan, and James as teenagers whose parents have rigid expectations of them. Lily's parents die young, leaving her shattered and walled off from normal human relationship. Watching Charles break through is fabulous. In the middle section, becoming parents will change everything for these four.

Lily's son Will is ultimately diagnosed with autism, and the chapters describing the horrors of how autism and other "mental" or intellectual conditions were dealt with (usually by shipping the child to a "home") are horrifying.

Most readers will hate Lily sometimes yet admire her at others. James champions one "lost cause" after another, annoying many parishioners, but his compassion prevails. Seeing what he builds is half the fun of reading the novel.

Beautiful and insightful prose notwithstanding, the novel started dragging for me after the two couples settled into place. Be careful what you wish for--I have complained for years that thrillers, romances and suspense novels rely on contrived conflict and stupid plot devices. Cara Wall is guilty of no such nonsense. Her characters are true and authentic. Not once does the story feel contrived. Everything is authentic, from Jane the church secretary to her successor, who is almost too cool to believe, except that people like him really do exist.

I'm not sure I like the way the opening chapter and the final chapter frame this story, but I've never been a fan of frame stories, so there's that. I am however a great fan of "literary," and "The Dearly Beloved" will not disappoint.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this tenderly wrought, moving, and believable story.

Not at all what I was expecting. Good storyline, just a bit off. Characters were not complimentary. Not a favorite, for sure.

Thanks to author, publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book. While I got the book for free, it had no bearing on the rating I gave it.