he writing in this book is just beautiful. Reminds me of Ann Patchet. So many lovely sentences to highlight and savor.

I enjoyed the first half of the book immensely. The focus was on the different ways Charles and James came to become co-pastors of Third Presbyterian Church in New York City in the late 50s and early 60s. I thought this was going to be a 5 star book for sure.

However the second half of the book veers dramatically in a different direction and the focus is no longer on the pastors, how they grew a parish together, how they balanced their ideologies with the civil unrest of the 1960s, how they grew as men and as spiritual leaders. .

While the second half of the book was relatively interesting in terms of the female characters trying to redefine their places and purposes, it felt like a completely different book. It didn't bring the characters together, it didn't make the story richer. And I just felt so bad for Bip and Nan during all that time since they are constantly cast to the side.

I wanted more focus on Charles and James especially as they moved from young men and fathers into middle age. I wanted to know more about the forty years they spent together as pastors. How did they challenge and complement each other? We get very little insight of their ministries until the unsatisfactory epilogue.

*I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher and I am required to disclose that in my review in compliance with federal law.*

This delightful debut novel by Cara Wall is the story of a 50 year friendship between two men who co-pastor a church in New York but don't be fooled... this is not a Christian novel. I don't mean that as positive or negative, Don't presume what it might be because the two men are pastors because you will miss out on an amazing story of four people in all their humanness and relationships. The novel is messy but very real. I found it to be an engaging read that pulled me right in. I found myself caring about the characters and was invested. I can't wait until August when many of my friends can read it too.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC and a wonderful read!

This is a debut novel that will fill you with joy. It is a story of faith and God is one of the main characters. Two couples meet by chance and the story follows them for years through their trials and their joys. The characters are very enjoyable.
May thanks to Simon & Schuster and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

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!

Debut novel which piqued my interest from the beginning. However, a little too much religious theme for my taste. The author draws on her family background throughout the book. The author does a fine job tying up all threads for a satisfying ending. I look forward to her next book.

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