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Loading... Gileadby Marilynne Robinson
Gilead (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2004) is a powerful story of an ailing father attempting to say goodbye to the son he will never have the opportunity to see become a man. Written in letter form from the Reverend John Ames to his seven-year-old child, the story begins in an account of past experiences that are embedded in memory although they seem insignificant when put into words. "I'm writing this in part to tell you that if you ever wonder what you've done in your life, and everyone does wonder sooner or later, you have been God's grace to me, a miracle, something more than a miracle." (Page 52) The concept is simple: What would you want your child, family, friends, even strangers to know about your life when you are no longer here to represent yourself? Read more at http://thekeytothegate.blogspot.com/2013/05/gilead-by-marilynne-robinson.html (  ) rebeccaskey | May 1, 2013 |  John Ames, the fourth in a generation of preachers writes a letter to his very young son, to leave behind as he himself states "the begats". His family history is an interesting one, and shows the humannesss and frailties of even holy men. Beautifully written and the dialect is great. The story however interesting, did not move me. (  ) CarterPJ | Apr 30, 2013 | This is the story of an old preacher with a young wife and child. He has a heart condition, and doesn’t expect to be around much longer, and so he writes an extended letter to his child. He describes his days and recalls the past, deals with his passions and fears, and lets go of some of them. His voice is unique and interesting, and all the characters come alive. It’s a gentle, slow-moving, ruminative novel. (  ) astrologerjenny | Apr 25, 2013 | Here's my review: http://kammbia1.wordpress.com/2013/04/20/book-review-37-gilead-by-marilynne-robi... ( ) Kammbia1 | Apr 20, 2013 | I rate this book 2.5 Stars. I wanted to like this book so much, unfortunately I just didn't love it. I enjoyed certain moments, certain sentences but, overall, I found it quite repetitive. I liked the characters and the premise for the story seemed promising however I was never fully engaged or excited about the story. Robinson's style and prose were clean and beautiful, that's for sure. (  ) BookishJoJo | Apr 10, 2013 |
 It detracts not at all, I hope, from the grave loveliness of Robinson's prose and the lucid profundity of John Ames' reflections, religious and secular, to say that the novel is suffused with emotional suspense that makes a reader's heart say, as the Rev. Ames hears his ailing one thump, "Again, again, again."
Amazon.com Amazon.com Review (ISBN 031242440X, Paperback)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 (retrieved from Amazon Wed, 02 Jan 2013 15:54:19 -0500) As the Reverend John Ames approaches the hour of his own death, he writes a letter to his son chronicling three previous generations of his family. |
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