Updike's message is not as clear as his vibrant words, but it is certainly as accessible. In spite of the glaring similarities, the story itself is still well-told (if not, in some parts, a tad hazy) and bristling with import. One of the latter things is a son, Clark, who headlines the final part of the book, a tale overtly inspired by the Branch Davidian disaster. Bred with a 'private God' and an insatiable desire for filmdom's fame, Essie grows into a famous film actress who, amazingly, gets everything she prays for, although she doesn't necessarily pray for everything she gets. He moves from here, though, into the life of Teddy's daughter, Essie, within whom the book finds its strongest thematic purchase. Updike's compelling writing keeps Teddy's rather uneventful tale from devolving into something mundane, although there are points where it is a bit redundant. This section functions most obviously as a chrysalis, giving the story (and the country) time to mature into something bigger.

The book loses some steam in the second part, during the story of Teddy, Clarence's clawless son. From here, Updike strolls through eighty years like a seasoned tour guide, showing us the bits and pieces that matter as this Wilmot family struggles to find its faith again in a world ever more obsessed with the superficial and unreal. In fact, the book begins with two simultaneous incidents: a starlet passing out from heat exhaustion in the middle of filming a movie scene, and a pastor - Clarence Wilmot - losing his faith in God with equal suddeness.

Likewise, Updike's story itself, although it focuses on four individuals from the same clan, effectively utilizes two contrasting symbols that could very easily have become heavy-handed icons: religion and the movies. Although the details of America's growing pains are ever-present and, even more important, amazingly done, they never overshadow the story of the Wilmot clan, never seem tacked on just for authenticity's sake. The balance between the two is delicate, but Updike's sparkling prose never loses its focus. It follows in intricate detail the pulses and patterns of an entire family through four generations, giving us not just a powerful look at the evolution of the family, but of the country in which they live. But this is Updike, an author who could write riveting and gorgeous VCR instruction manuals. The plot of 'In the Beauty of the Lilies' is as ambitious as the title itself, and in the hands of a lesser author, I daresay the story would've run out of steam by page 30.

In the beauty of the lilies