Marilynne Robinson

The dying Reverend John Ames, whose father and grandfather were also ministers, writes a letter to his young son telling the story of his forbears, one an abolitionist who fought for the Unionists in the American Civil War, the other a committed pacifist.

Ruth and Lucille are orphans growing up in the desolate town of Fingerbone in northwest America. Abandoned by a succession of relatives, the sisters struggle towards adulthood and find themselves in the care of Sylvie, the remote and enigmatic sister of their dead mother.