By: Marilynne Robinson Publisher: Picador Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Picador Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 256 Publication Date: January 10, 2006 Release Date: January 10, 2006
Twenty-four years after her first novel, Housekeeping, Marilynne Robinson returns with an intimate tale of three generations from the Civil War to the twentieth century: a story about fathers and sons and the spiritual battles that still rage at America's heart. Writing in the tradition of Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman, Marilynne Robinson's beautiful, spare, and spiritual prose allows "even the faithless reader to feel the possibility of transcendent order" (Slate). In the luminous and unforgettable voice of Congregationalist minister John Ames, Gilead reveals the human condition and the often unbearable beauty of an ordinary life.
Amazon.com Review: In 1981, Marilynne Robinson wrote Housekeeping, which won the PEN/Hemingway Award and became a modern classic. Since then, she has written two pieces of nonfiction: Mother Country and The Death of Adam. With Gilead, we have, at last, another work of fiction. As with The Great Fire, Shirley Hazzards's return, 22 years after The Transit of Venus, it was worth the long wait. Books such as these take time, and thought, and a certain kind of genius. There are no invidious comparisons to be made. Robinson's books are unalike in every way but one: the same incisive thought and careful prose illuminate both.
The narrator, John Ames, is 76, a preacher who has lived almost all of his life in Gilead, Iowa. He is writing a letter to his almost seven-year-old son, the blessing of his second marriage. It is a summing-up, an apologia, a consideration of his life. Robinson takes the story away from being simply the reminiscences of one man and moves it into the realm of a meditation on fathers and children, particularly sons, on faith, and on the imperfectability of man.
The reason for the letter is Ames's failing health. He wants to leave an account of himself for this son who will never really know him. His greatest regret is that he hasn't much to leave them, in worldly terms. "Your mother told you I'm writing your begats, and you seemed very pleased with the idea. Well, then. What should I record for you?" In the course of the narrative, John Ames records himself, inside and out, in a meditative style. Robinson's prose asks the reader to slow down to the pace of an old man in Gilead, Iowa, in 1956. Ames writes of his father and grandfather, estranged over his grandfather's departure for Kansas to march for abolition and his father's lifelong pacifism. The tension between them, their love for each other and their inability to bridge the chasm of their beliefs is a constant source of rumination for John Ames. Fathers and sons.
The other constant in the book is Ames's friendship since childhood with "old Boughton," a Presbyterian minister. Boughton, father of many children, favors his son, named John Ames Boughton, above all others. Ames must constantly monitor his tendency to be envious of Boughton's bounteous family; his first wife died in childbirth and the baby died almost immediately after her. Jack Boughton is a ne'er-do-well, Ames knows it and strives to love him as he knows he should. Jack arrives in Gilead after a long absence, full of charm and mischief, causing Ames to wonder what influence he might have on Ames's young wife and son when Ames dies.
These are the things that Ames tells his son about: his ancestors, the nature of love and friendship, the part that faith and prayer play in every life and an awareness of one's own culpability. There is also reconciliation without resignation, self-awareness without deprecation, abundant good humor, philosophical queries--Jack asks, "'Do you ever wonder why American Christianity seems to wait for the real thinking to be done elsewhere?'"--and an ongoing sense of childlike wonder at the beauty and variety of God's world.
In Marilynne Robinson's hands, there is a balm in Gilead, as the old spiritual tells us. --Valerie Ryan
Extremely Boring I rate this one star only because there are not negative stars. As another reviewer said there is no beginning, no middle, and no end. It is simply a rambling monologue with no plot or purpose; except to make money for the author. This was a gift so at least I did not spend the money; but it is a shame anyone did. I read it all the way through (which makes me more stupid than those that quit at half way), thinking it would get better; it did not.
Another book you can't put down to you finish it. Gilead : A Novel
A man of the cloth who has a child later in life writes a letter to his young son. The father's death is soon and he reviews life by writing this letter. He tells his son about the love he has for his mother, friends and family he has lost and realizations about himself.
Quotes: "The moon actually moves in a spiral, because while it orbits the earth it follows the earth's orbit around the sun."
"It was like on of those dreams where your filled with some extravagance you might never have in life."
A Beautiful Novel, Well Worth Your Time I bought this book simply because it won the Pulitzer and I wanted to read something a little deeper than my usual beach read fare.
It took me some time to get into it, after about 50 pages I realized that I had to slow down and read it more carefully. I went back to the beginning and started to read it like a letter and then I got it. Ms. Robinson has a way with words, if you allow them to they can transport you to the time and place she's writing about.
I spent a lot of time reading and re-reading this short book and by the time I was done I felt I was a part of the family. I've since lent this book to several people and received varying reviews from them but everyone loves the use of language.
Sentimental and boring. I guess the title says it all. I liked the writing style. However, this is probably one of the most boring books I have ever read. I couldn't even finish it. So maybe it picks up in the second half. I will never know and have no interest in finding out.
Grace This book is full of grace. An old minister, who knows he is dying, writes letters to his young son, telling him who he is, what he observes and believes. The epistlatory format and slow moving narrative might put off some readers who crave overt conflict and action in a novel. For me, reading this book was like spending a summer evening on my grandfather's porch, listening to his stories, and watching fireflies.
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