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Marilynne Robinson

Gilead: A Novel Paperback – January 10, 2006

by Marilynne Robinson (Author)

2,792 ratings

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The 2004 Pulitzer Prize winning novel
A New York Times Top-Ten Book of 2004
Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction
A PBS Great American Read selection

Nearly 25 years after Housekeeping, Marilynne Robinson returns with an intimate tale of three generations, from the Civil War to the 20th century: a story about fathers and sons and the spiritual battles that still rage at America's heart. In the words of Kirkus, it is a novel "as big as a nation, as quiet as thought, and moving as prayer. Matchless and towering." Gilead tells the story of America and will break your heart.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

“At a moment in cultural history dominated by the shallow, the superficial, the quick fix, Marilynne Robinson is a miraculous anomaly: a writer who thoughtfully, carefully, and tenaciously explores some of the deepest questions confronting the human species. . . . Poignant, absorbing, lyrical...Robinson manages to convey the miracle of existence itself.” ―Merle Rubin, Los Angeles Times Book Review

“Incandescent . . . magnificent . . . [a] literary miracle.” ―Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly (A)

“Rapturous . . . astonishing . . . Gilead is an inspired work from a writer whose sensibility seems steeped in holy fire.” ―Lisa Shea, Elle

“Lyrical and meditative . . . potently contemplative.” ―Michele Orecklin, Time

“Perfect.” ―Jeremy Jackson, People(four stars)

“Major.” ―Philip Connors, Newsday

“You must read this book. . . . Altogether unlike any other work of fiction, it has sprung forth more than twenty years after Housekeeping with what I can only call amazing grace.” ―Anne Hulbert, Slate

“So serenely beautiful and written in a prose so gravely measured and thoughtful, that one feels touched with grace just to read it.” ―Michael Dirda, The Washington Post

“There are passages here of such profound, hard-won wisdom and spiritual insight that they make your own life seem richer. . . . Gilead [is] a quiet, deep celebration of life that you must not miss.” ―Ron Charles, The Christian Science Monitor

“Gilead is a refuge for readers longing for that increasingly rare work of fiction, one that explores big ideas while telling a good story. As John Ames might point out, it's a remarkable thing to consider.” ―Olivia Boler, San Francisco Chronicle

About the Author

Marilynne Robinson is the recipient of a 2012 National Humanities Medal, awarded by President Barack Obama, for "her grace and intelligence in writing." She is the author of Gilead, winner of the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Critics Circle Award; Home, winner of the Orange Prize and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize; and Lila, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award. Her first novel, Housekeeping, won the Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award. Robinson's nonfiction books include The Givenness of Things, When I Was a Child I Read Books, Absence of Mind, The Death of Adam, and Mother Country. She lives in Iowa City, Iowa.

Product details

Publisher : Picador; Reprint edition (January 10, 2006)
Language : English
Paperback : 247 pages
ISBN-10 : 031242440X
ISBN-13 : 978-0312424404
Item Weight : 8 ounces
Dimensions : 5.4 x 0.75 x 8.27 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #14,337 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #279 in Contemporary Literature & Fiction
- #1,559 in Literary Fiction (Books)
- #2,402 in American Literature (Books)

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2,792 ratings

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Fred D. Mueller

Getting inside the soul, mind and heart of a preacher

Reviewed in the United States on April 2, 2017

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The works of Marilynne Robinson have been a gap in my reading. I am a protestant minister and one of my most faith-filled members has read everything Robinson wrote, so I thought it high time to read her. This book astounded me. As an old preacher, I was stunned how Robinson captured so much of the ambiguity, deep rooted faith and experiences of a life long parson. Does that sound a little confused? It may be. Marilynne Robisnon captures it all. The minister in the book has a rock solid faith, but a realistic opinion of his work. The descriptions of his work as a preacher hit home. Two thirds of the way through this incredible book, I knew that when I reached the last page, I would start it over again to revisit its power and to capture what I might have missed. If you are a minister, you must read this book. Robinson demonstrates the extraordinary in the ordinary. She shepherds us up to our own death and helps us face it with confidence. She validates our lives in places where we wonder if they have had any impact. She makes clear the power of the church. The little church in Gilead where Ames preaches will die when he does. But that does not mean the death of faith. The victory is just under the surface. Just under the surface, filled with wonder and majesty. This book is an amazing unveiling of the truth of the Christian faith, barely hidden behind the curtain of human mortality. Robinson's guided tour of the dusty, dry insignificant town of Gilead is a walk through the deepest of our human experience. She shows us how to celebrate life and God and appreciate every last thing about this life and the life to come.

194 people found this helpful

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JD Kloosterman

Like a long talk with an old friend.

Reviewed in the United States on April 15, 2017

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Gilead is a slow-burning novel told in retrospect by an old Midwestern minister facing death. It is scattered and covers a wide range of experiences, as the minister's letter--meant for his child, who is too young to understand it yet--jumps between his childhood, his father's childhood, his time in seminary, the family drama of his neighbors, and his own love story with his much-younger wife. But the heart of the story is beautifully human and contemplative.

This is not a story for the inattentive, or even for those who simply prefer a straightforward plot. Gilead's storyteller weaves back and forth between at least five different sub-plots, sometimes jumping ahead in one before telling us the meaning of the other. One almost needs to read it twice, simply to see again what he meant he made the reference to his grandfather in the first part of the story, before we had ever met his grandfather or known about his relationship with him. There is a central narrative of events that take place in the story's present, as the minister is writing, but this narrative is often sidelined by the stories of the past or general philosophical asides on Calvinist doctrine.

This may make the book sound dull or didactic, but in fact it is neither. The Calvinist doctrine comes across more as a character trait than as the author preaching at the reader, and reflect more on the self and the needs of the soul than on the nature of sin and the cosmos. And while the book is definitely slow and contemplative--even the stories of the past rarely ascend beyond a shouting match, the human drama at the heart of it makes the entire story compelling in a way that should resonate with many readers. The minister has fears, doubts, and regrets like any man, but he is also, unquestionably, a good man, looking back at his life and struggling with jealousies and resentments he knows are unjustified. He is a good man without being an idealized one; a refreshing thing in modern fiction.

Gilead is not a fiery book. It is not a fast book. It does not explode with passion or shout for your attention in the normal ways. It is wandering and thoughtful and at times conflicted. It is, in fact, most like sitting in the living room with a very old friend, talking of days that have gone by and days that are to come. It is a book for people of all ages, races, and creeds, and a book I thoroughly recommend.

94 people found this helpful

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Theresa M. Kenney

Gilead: forthright but profound

Reviewed in the United States on February 12, 2018

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I'm an Austen scholar and I love Dickens and Hardy and Cather; recent fiction is not my cup of tea. Gilead is an exception; aside from the works of Willa Cather, I have rarely read any novel from the past century that I have liked so well. Robinson has captured a fantastic individual voice in the character of her narrator. He is carried through with great consistency and sensitivity. She navigates beautifully one of the most perilous seas for any writer, talking about religion, and achieves one of the most difficult feats: creating a religious character who is neither an unrealistic, one-dimensional saint nor an intolerable hypocrite. The novel is simple and forthright but also profound and complex. There are passages that can move you to tears; there are others that will make you laugh. Robinson also subtly creates real tension and even fear over the fate of the family our dying narrator will leave behind. She carefully avoids anything that smacks of pretentiousness. This is an impressive novel: one that lingers in your memory and in your heart.

69 people found this helpful

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Minijax

Unstructured ramble from a pompous preacher

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 24, 2020

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Gilead is the story of John Ames, a preacher in the church, who has inherited his father’s and grandfather’s mantle. Having been married and lost his wife and child, he has married again in his old age, and has a young son. It is to him, that Ames addresses this first person story. However, to me, it is not a story - it is simply a very long ramble, with someone’s philosophical thoughts thrown in.

The book describes a bit of his relationship with his wife and son, and with his parents and grandfather, and his good friend Boughton. It throws in one or two anecdotes, but particularly in the latter part of the book, it focuses on John Ames Boughton - the black sheep son of his friend - who has returned to Gilead. As John Senior approaches death, he is particularly worried about Jack, his namesake, who, he believes, has designs on his wife and child. Jack is aware of his disapproval and they have several discussions, where Jack seems to be asking for forgiveness for past sins, and John seems unable to put aside his suspicions about him. Finally Jack reveals his secret concerns, and suddenly, John thinks of him in a different way, and wants to bless him and help him.

Once again, I am looking at the reviews on the back page of my current reading circle read, and wondering if I am incredibly shallow, because I cannot work out why the reviewers think so highly of this work. ‘Dazzling originality’/ ‘perfect pitch’/’a great work of literature’ are some of the comments. Yet again, a set of reviews, full of praise which I can’t echo.

In fact, this book sent me off to sleep so many times, it could be recommended as a useful sleeping draught.

One third of the way through the book, all I could say was that there were some pages which made me smile, some curious, but on the whole, I came back to these ramblings of an old man, not remembering what I had read before. Perhaps this says more about me than about the book.

Towards the end of the book, I thought we were moving towards some sort of a denouement, but it just didn’t happen. There were occasional references to matters mentioned earlier on in the book, but it felt as if I had been reading the book for so long, that I couldn’t any longer remember the beginning.

Aside from not finding much of a plot, or much interest in his story, I could not empathise with John, and for a preacher, I did not find him full of the milk of human kindness.

I would have been interested to know more about the back story of John’s wife. What made her marry an old man? And why was a certain emphasis put on her uneducated status, actually in a rather patronising way by John, without it being followed through. I thought more could have been made of their meeting and their decision to marry. Was the child really his, or did she marry John to give the child a father. For some time, I thought that Jack was the father of the child, and that might have been an interesting development. However, instead of this, was this sprawling non-story, masquerading as a novel.

I can’t give it more than 5 out of 10, which would equate to 2.5 stars, but I’m not feeling that generous, so it’s 2.

15 people found this helpful

Bryn Griffith

Stellar writer worth your time.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 23, 2017

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In think Marilynne Robinson is rightly regarded as one of America's finest living writers. When reading her books you feel like you are in the company of a highly intelligent, reflective and articulate writer. This of course means the writing isn't always easy and if you have a tendency to skim read you will miss a lot of what is on offer.
The thoughts and ideas of the reverend who narrates this book through writings to his son are so well developed that it seems to me that they must, at least in part, reflect the ideas of the author herself.
Some of the writing is philosophical in character and does need more careful attention then you might usually give to a novel. For example, when the reverend explains his view on our inability to understand the nature of God he writes :
" ... if God is the Author of existence what can it mean to say God exists? There's a problem in vocabulary. He would have had to have had a character before existence which the poverty of our understanding can only call existence. That is clearly a source of confusion". Not your standard fare!
But, don't get me wrong, the book is not all hard going and it does contain an interesting story, especially in the second half (which I wont spoil).
If I was to quibble with the book at all (and sometimes you simply feel not worthy to do so with some writers) it is that I didn't really like the book being presented as the writings of an elderly dying reverend to his very young son. I found this a bit of a distraction and would have preferred it to have been presented as a memoir to be read by me the reader.
But make no mistake Marilynne Robinson is a stellar writer, and this book has prompted me to investigate her more academic writings. I am partial to the writings of people like Dennett and Dawkins who she apparently attacks, so it should be interesting to see what she has to say on the limits of science.

24 people found this helpful

Sandradan1

The story of a man’s life, his memories, his regrets and loves

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 16, 2018

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‘Gilead’ by Marilynne Robinson is a read like no other. A slow, contemplative journey through the memories of one man’s life, as he waits to die. In 1956, the Reverend John Ames writes a letter to his young son. It tugs the heartstrings.
Robinson writes with a clear unadorned style drawing heavily on biblical texts but it is not a religious tract, it is the story of a man’s life, his memories, his regrets and loves. The first few lines grabbed me and didn’t let me go. Do not start reading this book if you are feeling impatient. Some passages are easy and quick to read, others deserve more thought. It unwinds slowly like a length of thread, telling us the story of John Ames, his father and grandfather, the legacy of the Ames family which has been inherited by the Reverend’s seven-year old son.
I am not religious and some of the references will have passed me by. In the first half of the novel, I would think ‘oh no not another section about religion’, but as I read deeper into the book I became drawn into the stories of John Ames and his forebears and how their beliefs shaped their lives. I wanted to know what happened to John Ames Boughton, the troublesome son of his best friend and fellow reverend. I wanted to know how the Reverend Ames met his second wife. Some of the questions posed are not answered until the very end.
It is a peaceful novel, set against the backdrop of Fifties Iowa, which draws on local history including the Underground Railroad. Robinson draws a picture of the Gilead community, the people, their kindnesses, their grievances. She paints a clear picture. ‘We were very pious children from pious households in a fairly pious town.’
At times, the writing was so sublime I re-read. For example, ‘Sometimes I have loved the peacefulness of an ordinary Sunday. It is like standing in a newly planted garden after a warm rain. You can feel the silent and invisible life.’
‘Gilead’, the second novel by Marilynne Robinson, won two prizes in 2005: the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, the National Book Critics Circle Award. I came to it with trepidation, having respected the writing style of her first novel, ‘Housekeeping’, but struggled with the pace of the narrative.

6 people found this helpful

John Fox

Serious and moving

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 4, 2019

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This book moved me to tears. The quality of writing is superb. This is a book for those who like literature that deals with big issues in a serious way – religious belief and spirituality, inter-generational relations, mortality and ageing, forgiveness – or lack of it. It is not for those who want a fast-moving book and plenty of plot. The central character is an old preacher in a small-town rural America sometime in the 60s(?) who is supposedly writing for the benefit of his young son. This might not seem likely to draw the sympathy of an a-religious person like me, particularly when the book does a good impersonation of being written episodically, with one section’s thoughts, or events happening between one writing session and the next, prompting further writing. But here we have someone trying to come to terms with their life and actions – and those of the people around them. If the book starts with trying to explain origins, focussing on the reverend’s father and grandfather, who were also preachers in the same small town, it becomes not so much reflections on the past as a working-out of a current difficulty (I won’t reveal the plot). But throughout the book there are some profound musings on the nature of belief, faith and existence. I found this old person’s point of view, his struggles to make sense of his life and his present challenges, very moving. But also thought-provoking. If the central character has some well-worked out ideas, he is also aware of the difficulties of language and of faith; but the book stands as one of those that opens up possibilities and challenges, rather than persuading you of one way of thinking.

4 people found this helpful

Bobbie

you don't have to be a believer to be moved by this book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 18, 2018

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In Gilead, a small town in Iowa, in 1956, Reverend John Ames is told by his doctor that his heart is failing. He starts to write a letter to his young son – not a sermon, but a searchingly honest account of his thoughts and feelings during his last days. A worry grows in him: will the prodigal son of his old friend and neighbour be a threat to his wife and son after he’s gone, and what should he do or say about it? Heart and grace with large dollops of Zen – you don’t have to be a believer to be moved by this book, which explores human (not divine) goodness. Brilliant.

4 people found this helpful

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