What happens when we get the thing we desire most in life—only to find that it might destroy us? That's the question Margaret faces at the opening of Evensong. This tale, set in the mountains of North Carolina, faithfully examines marriage and vocation and calling through the eyes of Margaret, a thirtysomething Episcopal priest, who is forced to finally confront matters when three unexpected and—let's face it—unwelcome guests arrive in her sleepy North Carolina mountain town of High Balsam. This book, first published in 1999, has the fingerprints of the millennium all over it. If you love it, go back and read its predecessor, Father Melancholy's Daughter.

Ginger says: I adored this literary tour through the symbolism of the heart—including its place in various cultures and religions, famous letters, and fields of study like medicine and history. What a delightful compendium. I can barely sum it up better than this passage where she describes how an editor pitched the idea to her: "a lush, intimate book with a narrative arc. It should have world history and religion and psychology and the arts in it, but it shouldn't be a plodding survey... like a long conversation with that writer over drinks or tea, about books and lovers and mystics and animals and gardens — all sorts of weird and curious stories about the heart." She brings together a rich collection of prophets, poets, playwrights, and painters that I'll revisit again and again.

From the publisher: "This darkly beautiful novel about a child and a caretaker in isolation evokes shades of The Turn of the Screw and also harks back to Godwin's memorable novel of growing up The Finishing School. With a house on top of a mountain and a child who may be a bomb that will one day go off, Flora tells a story of love, regret, and the things we can't undo." Add Audible narration for $3.99.

Gail Godwin is the author of two books I love and have read numerous times each: Father Melancholy's Daughter and Evensong. Her newest was engaging and easy to keep reading, and her strong female character—this time an aging alcoholic artist who unexpectedly becomes an adoptive parent—kept me turning the pages.