Both received glowing reviews and Gilead won the 2004 Pulitzer prize.
They are not books of plot-driven excitement.
The main protagonist in Gilead is John Ames, a good and gentle 76-year-old Congregationalist minister who is writing a long letter to his 7-year-old son, explaining his family's history, philosophising and exploring questions of theology.
The son's mother is Lila, a younger ill-educated second wife who seems an unlikely match for Ames.
It's obvious her husband loves and respects her, but she remains in the background.
Now, in this book, the creator of Lila is fleshing out her character, her past and the events leading to her union with Ames.
A woefully neglected child, she was pushed outside her home into the cold, when ''the people in the house fought themselves quiet'' and is rescued by Doll, an itinerant worker.
Life is hand-to-mouth; a life on the road, harsh, but lightened by the strong loving bond between the two.
Writing to his son, John Ames compares him to his mother: ''so serious about everything, she seemed to be half sadness and half fury, and I wondered what in her life could have put that expression in her eyes''.
What led to the expression is revealed in Lila by a series of flashbacks, interspersed with episodes leading to their marriage and the birth of their son.
As a reader, you feel privileged to share Lila's mind and history, given that she hugs her thoughts to herself and fiercely guards her privacy.
Robinson is an expert at observing an everyday phenomenon and writing about it in a fresh way.
She's equally good at insights into people.
While the book can stand alone as a lyrical revelation into a nomadic American life, it is out of sequence with the Gilead series.
But this is a small consideration because Robinson is a fine writer who provides something to savour on every page.
• Patricia Thwaites is a retired Dunedin schoolteacher.
