The Dearly Beloved truly made me think. About my religion, my God, my friendships and my marriage. Cara Wall presents many sides of religion without ever making you feel one is the correct way and the others are wrong. Just like marriages need to be worked out between partners, religion needs to be worked between you and God. I enjoyed every character even when I was mad at them. They all feel like friends. A book I will definitely read again and think about for a long time.

An interesting look at the way different aspects of faith affect relationships with friends, family, partner, the world, ourselves. As a nonreligious person, I found the idea that one can have a deeply spiritual connection with a church when one doesn't necessarily believe in God. A surprise gem for me!

Four disparate characters populate Cara Wall’s debut novel, The Dearly Beloved, as co-equal protagonists. In the prologue, Charles Barrett has died after forty years ministering together with James MacNally. Picturing Nan, outside her husband James’s office listening as he pours out his grief, knowing she can help neither him nor Charles’s wife Lily who wants only to be alone, the prologue gives a glimpse of the four people who will inhabit the forty years that comprise the novel.

Charles, destined to follow his professor father as an intellectual professor, makes a different turn into church ministry. He falls in love with and marries Lily, scarred by the loss of her parents in an accident when she was fifteen. She shares his intellectual curiosity but refuses to believe in God. James, youngest son in a dysfunctional family with an alcoholic father and fearful mother, also comes unexpectedly to a call to ministry with a passion for social justice. He marries Nan, the Mississippi daughter of a compassionate minister who has taken her with him as he cares for his congregants and taught her to love all people.

When the men are called to pastor together the historic Third Presbyterian Church in Greenwich Village in the changing times of 1963, they and their wives bring their divergent backgrounds into the mix. Faith crises, personality clashes, and unexpected life changes keep the narrative real without drifting into unchallenging assurance or dismissive cynicism.

The accuracy of Cara’s portrayal of the people and circumstances sent me looking to find out more about her. As the daughter of a Mississippi minister, I vouch for her accuracy in depiction of Nan and her father. She did what writers are often told to do and wrote what she knew. In a Shelf Awareness interview, she says, “Church was my community, my playground, my second home.” She goes on to describe the setting of the book, “Charles and James come into a divided church, in a divided time, in a divided society.” The epilogue comes back to Charles’s death, with the reactions of the other three, changed by life yet still the same.

I read the book, that will go on sale August 13th as an advance reading copy furnished by Net Galley, and highly recommend that you preorder it from your local independent book store or wherever you buy your books. In just a tad of nit-picking, the only flaw I found was the author’s honeysuckle blooming with lush trees shading the houses at Thanksgiving when Nan takes James to meet her Mississippi family. Even in South Mississippi, honeysuckle flowers are long gone by then and the shade trees have lost their leaves.

Hebrews 11:1 says, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."
Clara Wall explores the subject of faith and its impact on our lives in this debut novel. As demonstrated in the lives of Charles, Lily, Jim and Nan; the road to faith is different for each individual. Reading this book made me reflect on my own journey and the assumptions I may have made based on my cultural lens. The four are brought together in NYC in the turbulent times of the 1960's providing a proving ground for their faith. We clearly see God's grace in their stories. The exploration of autism was illuminating and heartbreaking. What was missing was an articulation of the gospel.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for providing a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Dearly Beloved is a masterpiece of literary fiction. There’s not a word out of place. It’s a gorgeous examination of what it means to exist side by side. I was hypnotized, heartbroken from the first page.

There are four characters:

- Charles, who grew up in an intellectual, university family and finds himself hit with a sudden, visceral calling to become a minister while studying history
- Lily, whose parents died when she was young, and so she buried herself in a life of risk-free isolation
- James, whose father dealt with his post-war PTSD by drinking heavily, and who just wants to escape that life for himself
- Nan, the daughter of a southern minister whose life has come easily, but whose faith and love for other people is strong

The first section follows Charles and Lily, and James and Nan, as they grow up, meet, and start their lives together. Then Charles and James are hired as co-pastors at the same Greenwich Village church, and their lives are irrevocably intertwined. We follow them all the way from childhood to middle age, and beyond.

This is not a book about religion; it’s a book about people whose lives are touched by religion. Charles and Nan believe in God whole-heartedly, James is unsure, and Lily does not believe in God at all. But the way that these characters fit together inside and around these differences in faith, and how they grow through it, is much more the focus than the idea of God itself.

This is also not a book centered on plot. It’s a book centered on the way people fit together like notches, and the way they grind against each other’s sharp edges at the same time. It’s about love between man and wife, man and friend, woman and not-friend, woman and friend, parents and children, people and their God. It’s about what it means to be human, to be a person in the world, one who loves and fears and hopes and cries.

It’s the kind of novel that makes you feel like you need to exhale all the air in your chest.

I was equally awed and baffled by Cara Wall's debut novel, The Dearly Beloved. Strongly character driven with weak relationships, this book is memorable, yet remains a frustrating read for me.

First, know that I filled pages of my journal with powerful quotes lifted from the pages of The Dearly Beloved and this is where its strength lies. Wall bleeds her faith onto the book’s pages without being preachy, the book laden with compassion and understanding for those who do-and don’t-believe.

I loved the four main characters, Charles, Lily, James, and Nan. Wall portrays them beautifully from their teenage years until their 30s, demonstrating intense character development amidst the shadows of WW2, the emerging Civil Rights movement, and the onset of the Vietnam War. Readers come to know these characters, their faith, or lack of it, in God, and their motivations in troubled times, both personal and societal. As a reader there was something in each of them I could connect with, even in the moments I disliked them.

It was in the relationships that The Dearly Beloved disappointed me. From the onset, I struggled to understand why Charles loved Lily. Even before he got to know the stoic, caustic young woman whose life was shattered by the death of her parents, Charles determined that Lily was his chosen one. I longed to understand why she married him as I never felt more than a sliver of affection from her, rather a settling due to his persistence. She put forth her atheism as a challenge to Charles, a man who had pledged his life to ministering to God's people. On the other hand, James and Nan made more sense and truly complemented each other in their partnership, leading each other in times of need and making each other better.

The Dearly Beloved does succeed in portraying the relationship between Charles and James, two very different ministers of God. The prologue begins with the death of one in the first sentence and the impact of that is felt immediately and every page supports that grief. These two, in my mind, were the love match of this book.

The story begins in the mid-1950s and follows the characters to New York City in the 1960s. While necessary for the character development, too much of The Dearly Beloved focused on their college years, leaving the most important parts of James' and Charles's ministry rushed in its telling. The last third of the book refocuses the story inward to family life following the birth of a child with a disability, abandoning many of the storylines and themes that had been built upon. I longed to know how Charles and James eventually impacted their parishioners as the world around them imploded with anti-war protests and the fight for equality. Instead we are mostly left to decide for ourselves.

Despite my criticisms, I absolutely recommend The Dearly Beloved. There are words that author Cara Wall wrote that have impacted my life and, honestly, you can’t ask for more when reading.

3.5 Stars for The Dearly Beloved.

I tried stepping out of my comfort zone to read this book as I am not a fan of Historical Fiction. Unfortunately, this book didn't change my mind. I did not enjoy this book and found much of it boring. The reviews I've read all rate this book highly, so I just don't think its for me.

The Dearly Beloved is a good debut novel dealing with religious faith, relationships and hardships. The characters were well developed, if the story was slow as a result. A good first novel.

It’s not very often that I feel like so can determine if I will recommend a book before the first 1/2 is completed....but I knew almost immediately that this book was going to be one that I would wholeheartedly recommend. I found myself telling several other readers they MUST read this book before I had even finished it. I can’t wait to tell more people how much I loved it! I hurried and looked up the author, hoping that they had an arsenal of other books I could dive into after completing this one. I was crushed to realize this is Cara Wall’s first published book, but I remain hopeful that she will write more. (And quickly too please?!?)

The characters in this beautiful book came to life in the pages. Their heartache was tangible through the beautiful scenes the author painted with her words, and their triumphs and joys became as real to me as if I had experienced them myself. I found comfort in the characters all facing uncertainty, and all finding their own ways to overcome their trials. I felt anger, abandonment, disappointment, hope, and most of all I felt human-ness and connection with each character.

An absolutely beautiful book, story, and experience.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an e-ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Dearly Beloved follows 2 couples over the years. Of each couple, one is a huge believer in God, while the other is not. The perspectives of the non-believers is interesting, as I am a believer myself. Even in fiction, hearing the thoughts of those that differ from me, fascinates me.

Through love, friendship, hardship, heartbreak, will these relationships stand the test of time?

I really enjoyed this debut novel and look forward to reading more from this author

The Dearly Beloved is the story of two friends, and their wives, the interweaving of their lives, and of faith.
Charles is the son of a Harvard professor; his upbringing is stern and practical, until he receives the calling to not only study religion, but ultimately become a pastor.
Lily comes from a very tight knit family; one where her mother and her aunts have houses on the same block, with multiple family dinners per week. One day, her world is turned upside down with the death of her parents. In order to get away from her grief, she submerses herself in college. She runs away from emotional attachments, grief, and any type of religion.
James grew up in a crowded home, with a loving, but submissive mother, an alcoholic father, and rowdy siblings. He jumps at the chance for something different when his uncle offers to pay for college.
Nan is a pastor’s daughter, and was raised in Mississippi. She has a quiet, but strong sense of family, music and God. Still her father wants more for her and insists that she attend college out of state in order to see what lies outside of the protective cocoon her parents have provided for her.
Together these four different backgrounds come together to live through the struggles of life, questions of belief, faith, love and loss.
After reading the Prologue I was eager to dive in, but the story is not at all what I initially expected. It’s a slow build to understand each character, but a worthy read that will make you think about your own upbringing, relationships and struggles. Sit back with a cup of tea, and enjoy, it’s time for some introspection.
*Many thanks to the publisher for providing my review copy via NetGalley.

As a non-religious person, I wasn't sure this book would be for me, but I loved it. The Dearly Beloved is an exploration into two couples whose lives are forever intertwined when the husbands become co-ministers tasked with saving a congregation at an NYC church in the 60s. It's a fascinating look into faith, marriage, and friendship. Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the ARC.

The book started off slow and at different periods of time seemed to drag. However, I liked the storyline of two pastors and their wives/families/church family. It gave me an insight to what a pastor does and and the worries a pastor has about the congregation and if he's giving enough to the church and he he sacrificing his family to do that. I enjoyed reading about the friendship between the men especially when their faith was called into question by events happening to each of them. I really didn't like Lily and even through the last half of the book kinda sorta redeemed her, she was my least favorite character in the book. She had ample reason to have the baggage that she did, but she was a selfish person until she became a mother.

Overall, I liked the journey the author took me on with the relationships of the 2 couples, but I always felt like I needed more, wanted to have more insight into why each of them were the way they were and acted the way they did.

I tend to steer clear of books that are heavily Christian/faith based but this was different than I expected. While faith is a central theme, the themes of friendship and family are also present throughout. I found the characters to be extremely interesting and well developed. A great read.

A beautifully rendered novel on the power of faith through the eyes of four very different individuals, two of whom chose the ministry as their profession. Or you might say they had a calling!

‘There are the trials we create for one another which are more complicated because it is impossible to know whose hand is guiding them.
‘Don’t ever shrink from those ... Run to them. Because only in the quality of your struggle with each other will you learn anything about yourself. Sometimes that struggle is nearly impossible to survive, but it is those trials which make a life.’
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The Dearly Beloved is a heart-rending novel in which two couples find themselves bound together in the husbands’ joint commitment to a ministry. These four characters are uniquely written, but as a foursome make up a beautiful unit.
It’s a story of love and friendship, commitment to marriage and God, faithlessness and devotion.
I’m in love with Cara Wall’s debut book and can’t wait to see what else she comes out with.
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

As "The Dearly Beloved" was not what was expected, it was the most thought provoking book for me in recent history. Whether a believer or a non-believer, one's beliefs may not change, but one is likely to contemplate and have a broader understanding of differences. There were times when I stopped reading to truly reflect on the author's message, often communicated through Charles. All four primary characters, Lily, Charles, Nan and James have distinct personalities, histories and beliefs. I found Lily to be the most complex of the four with behaviors and actions so unlike the Lily I thought I knew. 4 1/2 stars for an experience about faith, trust, commitment and love that will remain with me far longer than most other reads. However, I was left with far too many questions about the large gap of time between the book and the epilogue. I thank NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am really killing it with my choice of books this year! The Dearly Beloved was a beautiful, insightful, poignant read. I found myself highlighting entire passages of this book because it was so lyrically written. This was one of those books where I found myself stopping to re-read passages because they just took my breath away. It absolutely blows my mind that this was Wall's debut novel. Don't let the Christian theme turn you away--this was a stunning take on different types of faith, including non-faith, that was entirely objective and unbiased. Not only that, but this novel was also a perceptive rendition of the friendship between four almost completely different people. Readers will be able to find characters to relate to, as well as a depth that creates food for thought as the story follows Charles, Lily, Nan, and James throughout the years. Speaking of years, I loved how authentic the '50s and '60s felt while reading, too. Overall, The Dearly Beloved was a gorgeous debut novel not to be missed, and I'm already anticipating what Wall writes next.

Wall's debut novel follows the story of two pastors and their wives - how they meet, how their 'calling' to preach comes about, and how they work together to serve their church community. I liked the premise of two very different men joining together in faith to support their wives and their churchgoers. However, this novel fell really flat for me. It seemed like there were way too many conversations about believing in God and not believing in God. Instead of an interesting dissection of faith and religion, it felt like the same prose repeated over and over. I also felt like the setting of the novel (1960's New York) could have lent itself to way more action in the plot - the Civil Rights movement and the Vietnam War are only sort of mentioned in passing. Finally, I feel like the focus of the novel should have been shifted to cover more of the pastors adult years (less on their college years and early adulthood). The relationship and family struggles of these men were the most interesting to me, and just when this was getting explored, the novel ended. I feel like Wall has a gorgeous style of writing, but I wished for a plot with more remarkable events or turns in the story to keep things interesting.

Have you ever finished a book, and your foremost reaction is that it was a privilege to have read it? That is how I felt about this book.

Most writers are great at entertaining and storytelling. But then there are a few elite authors that just GET humans. It is clear that Cara Wall is an elite author. Ms. Wall has crafted a cast of completely different characters that are each so relatable. I have never identified so strongly with a character as I did with Lily. I have a new answer to “Who is your favorite literary character?”

I don’t want to go into the plot; not only is the book description pretty thorough, when I read saga’s like The Dearly Beloved, I like the tale to unfold for me as it does for the characters. I absolutely do not want any spoilers. But I will say this- do not pass this up because you don’t want to be “preached at”, because it doesn’t happen in this book.

This was an ARC, but I assure you, I will buy this the day it comes out. It will be reread, dog-eared, and covered in marginalia.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!