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The Testament of Gideon Mack

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Martin Buber asserted, "The atheist staring from his attic window is often nearer to God than the believer caught up in his own false image of God." And Friedrich Nietzsche observed, "A casual stroll through the lunatic asylum shows that faith does not prove anything."

In The Testament of Gideon Mack, Scottish writer James Robertson deals with these themes: faith and doubt, orthodoxy and heresy, the overlap of myth and history, and life's uncanny conjunctions.

Gideon Mack is the minister of Old Kirk, in the small Scottish coastal town of Monimaskit, near Dundee. A pastor beloved by his parishioners (most of them), he has raised thousands of dollars for charity by running in various marathons.

Judging from appearances, one would esteem Gideon a successful servant of the (Presbyterian) Church of Scotland, toiling faithfully in the Lord's vineyard.

Trouble is, Gideon is an atheist (or agnostic) whose apparent faith in God is a theatrical performance. He is also carrying on a torrid affair with the wife of his best friend.

Nevertheless, all goes well for Gideon until one day, while he is running in the Keldo Woods, he stops abruptly when he sees an ancient standing stone, a stone that had not been there before. From that moment, his life begins to go downhill.

While walking again in the Keldo Woods, this time with a female minister friend, Gideon attempts to rescue his friend's dog that, in chasing a rabbit over the cliff, is perched precariously on a narrow outcropping in the rock.

Gideon saves the dog, but cannot save himself. He plummets into the treacherous depths of the Black Jaws, a gulf or ravine of great depth, through which cascades the furious torrent of the Keldo River.

Missing for three days, and presumed dead, Gideon miraculously survives the ordeal, fished out of the river by a fellow villager. Gideon has quite a story to tell, one that causes many people in Monimaskit to be shocked by his heresies and blasphemies.

Gideon writes a "testament," a manuscript of approximately a hundred thousand words, in which he describes his encounter with the devil, spending three days and nights walking and talking with God's great adversary.

The devil appears to him as a forlorn, world-weary man who is tired of playing the game, and who reveals to him that there is no grand scheme of things, no eternal plan. Human beings, he asserts, are deserted by the deity, left to their own floundering devices.

The devil also tells him that people believe what they want to believe. The proliferation of world religions, with their conflicting claims, indicates that one man's faith is another man's fiction, that one man's persuasive myth is another man's preposterous legend.

Gideon learns the truth spoken by John Milton: "The mind is its own place, and in itself, can make heaven of Hell, and a hell of Heaven."

Seeing the folly of his hypocrisy, Gideon resolves to speak the whole truth to his congregation--his lack of faith in God and his erotic liaison with Elsie Moffat--which he proceeds to do. Definitely not a brilliant career move.

Robertson's novel alludes to the movie E.T., to Pascal's wager argument and its fatal logical flaw, to Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, to Captain Ahab's obsession with the white whale, and to Goethe's Faust.

Is Gideon Mack's account of his visit to the netherworld the diary of a madman or the memoirs of a supreme truth teller? Although reading Gideon's incredible document requires a sustained suspension of disbelief, one becomes convinced that Gideon, even if he is pitifully delusional, firmly believes in the truth of his revelations.

Although of dubious worth philosophically and theologically, The Testament of Gideon Mack, the devil's advocate, is a fascinating and captivating psychological character study--of the conflict of head vs. heart, thinking vs. feeling, faith vs. unbelief.

Reading this novel is an unsettling experience. Such is the artistry of James Robertson, one occasionally forgets that this is indeed a work of fiction, and is caught up in the passion of a real-life drama. Like Gideon Mack himself, Robertson has engineered a powerful theatrical performance that leaves his audience stunned and nonplussed.

James Robertson is the author of two previously critically acclaimed novels published in the U.K., The Fanatic (2000) and Joseph Knight (2003). The latter was awarded the two major Scottish literary awards in 2003/4--the Soltire Book of the Year and the Scottish Arts Council Book of the Year. He has also published stories, poetry, anthologies, essays, and a Scottish Dictionary of Quotations. He served as the Scottish Parliament's first writer in residence in 2004 and was selected for a prestigious Creative Scotland Award in 2006. He lives in Angus, Scotland.

James Robertson's "The Testament of Gideon Mack" is quite the most wonderfully engaging and satisfying work of fiction I have read in a long, long while. Considering the duds that made the Booker shortlist last year, I'm baffled as to why it made the longlist but went no further.

Gideon Mack, son of a Calvinist minister and himself a Presbyterian minister in the small Scottish village of Old Kirk, is a secret unbeliever. He ministers faithfully to his parishioners and preaches every Sunday to his flock without believing a word of what he's saying. In short, he is a spiritual imposter and a charlatan. Being a minister is just his day job. Yet, why is it that we can't help but come away with the feeling that he isn't remotely the hypocrite the above suggests he should be ? Could it be that we ask ourselves, how could anyone growing up in a family where the father (himself a man of the cloth) is as unnaturally severe and closed-minded and the mother as downtrodden and deflated as Gideon's be expected to believe in the institution of marriage and family and have faith in the existence of a loving God ? Sadly perhaps, the instruments of God are often his worst advocates.

Ironically, it is Gideon and not his religious colleagues or openly agnostic friends who are chosen to experience the spiritual awakening vis-à-vis an amazing encounter with the Devil during those missing hours between the time he fell off a cliff into the gushing waters whilst trying to rescue a friend's dog and the time he's delivered back into the arms of the living. The sudden appearance of a standing stone in Keldo Woods, a phenomenon though not exclusively visible to him but in fact observed only by him - is a spooky precursor of his strange encounter with the horned one. His conversation with the Devil reveals a message of abandonment by God, which in turn propels him to come clean with his community. His confession is unwelcome as it upsets the studied and ordered lives of those around him. His best friend's wife, Elsie, whom he lusts after and had a tryst with proves faithless even as a friend. His fellow minister, Lorna, who has long nursed a secret crush on him proves equally adept at shutting him out when the message of his strange encounter flies in the face of her religious belief. Are these people - religious or agnostic - in any sense better or morally superior to Gideon ? At least, Gideon was open and had the honesty and humility to confess his ignorance as a human being who may not know the truth but is vulnerable to revelations from the world beyond.

"The Testament of Gideon Mack" doesn't tell one to believe or not to believe. It does however nail religious belief to the realm of the unknown. People believe what they believe or want to believe. Regardless of the truth, with openness and humility, one is more likely to behave like a decent human being.

Robertson has written an incredibly rich and absorbing novel that is full of literary flourishes, wit and imagination. It makes for a thoroughly satisfying read. I can't recommend it highly enough.

It was mystifying and powerful all in one and I'm not even sure why. It draws you in and builds to the breakng point and yet it doesn't let you down when it's over. The author left the end open for interpretation and didn't spoon feed it to us. The whole time I was reading it a somber feeling was in the air. It felt like one of those fall days when it seems to have a constant drizzle and the only thing to do is curl up in a corner and relax, that's the feeling I got with that book. Whether that helps somebody want to read it, I couldn't say.

This is the story of Gideon Mack, a son of the manse, raised in a cold and stark childhood and who is dominated by a minister father. He claims to have met the Devil during a period when he falls into a river and is missing for 3 days. The ensuing manuscript he writes, of his life and metamorphosis, is the basis for the book.

James Robertson has taken a story of the supernatural, religion and myth and wove it into the tapestry of a small Scottish village. The results are a mesmerising novel that I had a hard time putting down! It was thought-provoking and reverberated with me for days after the last page was turned.

James Robertson has written the most interesting, poignant, and thought-provoking novel I have read this year. His use of writing the novel as a sort of annotated manuscript provokes, in addition to its plot, the theme of faith. His characters are superbly conceived. The dichotomy of Gideon Mack, the protagonist minister who may be more devout than he would like himself to be, and his father, who Gideon so stubbornly insists he is nothing like, is interesting, especially near the end of the novel. These and many other qualities that other reviewers have given for you to read this novel, SO READ IT!

After reading the Testament of Gideon Mack, I am amazed by the depth of the book and the meticulous research that went into creating this modern Gothic tale. It's refreshing to read a book that allows the reader to arrive at her own conclusion.

While the book is a first person account of trials and tribulations of Gideon Mack, it is also an indirect account of Scotland's identity crisis over the last 30 years.

While there are many doubts surrounding the accuracy of Gideon Mack's account, the fundamental question that the book made me ask is the following: What is the role of religion in a society where anyone who converses with god or the devil is considered mad?

Superbly narrated with a range of Scottish accents by Tom Cotcher, "The Testament Of Gideon Mack" is a compelling fantasy novel by James Robertson that is completely original and inherently fascinating from beginning to end. A manuscript of Gideon Mack's experiences growing up a preacher's son, his basic atheism, his becoming a minister of the Scottish church despite his disbelief in God, his encounter with a mysterious Standing Stone where no such stone should be, his near death by drowning, his encounter with the Devil, his attempt to reveal what he has experienced and the catastrophic consequences that result, all this and more are delivered into the hands of a publisher after Gideon's sudden disappearance followed by the discovery of his body. The publisher commissions an investigation into the Gideon's life and the claims of his biographical manuscript. The results leave the listener spellbound and, in the end, confronted with their own decision to make as to whether Gideon's story was real, or the result of madness. Wonderfully entertaining from beginning to end, and very strongly recommended for community library collections, "The Testament Of Gideon Black" is a superbly recorded, 12-cassette audiobook with a total running time of 16.25 hours.

I loved this book when I read it in 2006 and have been thinking about it off and on since. I recently picked it up and reread it to see if I would still love it 5 years later. I do, it's the sort of book that leaves you with more questions than answers, for me this is the hallmark of a good book. I feel like the characters really exist and I really want to travel to the scottish highlands someday because of this book. Whenever you have a "testament" type of book it brings with it the most delicious wild card, the reliability of the narrator. Books like this one keep you wondering and revisiting them for years, possibly a lifetime.

Several reviewers, both amateur and professional, remarked on how this book stays with you for awhile after you've finished reading. That was my experience also. The book isn't quite "finished". It's one of those books that requires the reader to put some personal energy into the ending, the author seems to leave before it's finished. There are a number of loose ends dangling when you get to the last page.

Usually I don't care for books like this, but this one was different. It wasn't that the author couldn't finish what he started, that he couldn't pull off the ending, that he bit off more than he could chew -- it is more along the lines of, there are many alternative endings, all legitimate, according to the reader's beliefs, place, history and time of life.

There is massive confusion at the ending, in the "afterword" written not by the Gideon Mack character but by the investigative journalist. This initially leaves the reader (that would be me) slipping and grasping for solid ground, because the supporting characters, especially Elsie Moffat, seem to deny the validity of the most important themes of Gideon Mack's narrative. I was left thinking it was a waste of energy reading the book, even though I did have to admit, the description of the Devil, and Gideon's conversations with the Devil were alone well worth the read.

But the next morning, all seemed more clear. There are many deeper themes in the book, it is more than simply a fascinating and thoughtful treatment of religion, faith and the lack thereof. It seemed to me after sleeping on it that the book deals with betrayal, on several levels. It deals with alienation, especially related to the war. It has something to say to people of James Robertson's generation, people who were children of that war, people whose parents were altered by the war.

Many readers and professional reviewers brought up the idea of "mental illness" to explain the story of Gideon Mack, but to me it wasn't mental illness. It was something more along the line of a psychological breakdown. It requires tough-mindedness I think, to get along in a world without the usual fallback on religion as a supporting framework that organizes and makes sense of one's life. You need to be tough minded to make it up for yourself as you go along and Gideon Mack didn't have that, he wasn't able to cope. He did seem to have committed suicide in the end. Unless of course, he was murdered -- always a possibility given how he was living his life.

A somewhat dark novel, but still highly, highly recommended. James Robertson is in full control of his material. You'll be in good hands if you decide to read this book.

I LOVED this book!! This is a book about nature of truth, doubt, belief, trust and faith, and it will get you thinking - a LOT - about this. I couldn't put it down, and when I finished, it was like a really good movie; you keep thinking about the characters, the story, the questions long after it's over. James Robertson is a masterful author, in the top 5% and well worth reading for a variety of reasons. Here's my list of why I would recommend this book to everyone:

1. The sublime weaving of myth, folklore, legend, history and facts are so incredibly well orchestrated, that you never know when one leaves off and the other begins. The philosophical romp is exhilarating. Robertson doesn't give any answers to these issues (that would be tidy and nice), instead, he cleverly uses the story, the setting and especially the characters in such a skillful manner in order to leave the reader with plenty of food for thought to decide for themselves - and debate - all sides of the various questions that the story raises.

2. The characters. Robertson choose his characters carefully and develops them perfectly such that each serves their purpose in the book to help blur the lines of fact vs. fiction. You really get a sense of how our perception of our world, our relationships, our history and our culture inform and guide us, especially with respect to what we believe and what we readily dismiss.

3. Third, Robertson shows his superlative skill in the craftsmanship of his novel; the construction of the story, development of the characters, use of metaphors and the list goes on all work smoothly together so that nothing is as it seems, or is it?

If you are an aspiring writer, I would strongly recommend this book for the elegance of the technical elements. If you are book club looking for a good book to get everyone talking, this is it and Viking Press has an excellent reader's guide [...] to help you get the conversation going. If you are looking for a darn good book that will get you thinking about what you believe and why, you'll find this book to be an excellent adventure! And if you really get into it, there is another website of good fun you should check out [...]. Enjoy!