This book didn’t hit me as hard as the other books in the Gilead series. I think it’s because it’s more abstract, less concerned with Jack’s immediate surroundings and more concerned about the workings of his inner despair. So there is less of the “transcendence of the ordinary” that was so evocative in the first Gilead book.
It turns out that a soul at peace (John Ames) is a better read than a soul in torment (Jack)---who knew! Jack’s inability to connect with those around him, save for Della, and the sources of his torment lead to a kind of dulled repetition in the narration. Which might be Robinson’s aim all along, but it does not make for a bracing read. Unsurprisingly Jack’s best moments are with Della, especially in the amazing cemetery sequence in the beginning where they fall in love. When he is with her, he becomes expansive, and much more fun to behold.
So contra Milton being “of the Devil’s party” since he made Satan the most interesting character of Paradise Lost, Robinson here does not romanticize fallenness. It is boring and repetitive---exactly the kind of torment that you think it is. Only when Jack’s loneliness is pierced through with the grace of Della’s presence does he become someone we want to read about.