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Gilead: A Novel Hardcover – November 19, 2004

4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 10,613 ratings

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2005 Pulitzer Prize Winner for Fiction 2004 National Book Critics Circle Winner In 1956, toward the end of Reverend John Ames's life, he begins a letter to his young son, an account of himself and his forebears. Ames is the son of an Iowan preacher and the grandson of a minister who, as a young man in Maine, saw a vision of Christ bound in chains and came west to Kansas to fight for abolition: He "preached men into the Civil War," then, at age fifty, became a chaplain in the Union Army, losing his right eye in battle. Reverend Ames writes to his son about the tension between his father--an ardent pacifist--and his grandfather, whose pistol and bloody shirts, concealed in an army blanket, may be relics from the fight between the abolitionists and those settlers who wanted to vote Kansas into the union as a slave state. And he tells a story of the sacred bonds between fathers and sons, which are tested in his tender and strained relationship with his namesake, John Ames Boughton, his best friend's wayward son.

This is also the tale of another remarkable vision--not a corporeal vision of God but the vision of life as a wondrously strange creation. It tells how wisdom was forged in Ames's soul during his solitary life, and how history lives through generations, pervasively present even when betrayed and forgotten.

Gilead is the long-hoped-for second novel by one of our finest writers, a hymn of praise and lamentation to the God-haunted existence that Reverend Ames loves passionately, and from which he will soon part.
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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

From Publishers Weekly

Fans of Robinson's acclaimed debut Housekeeping (1981) will find that the long wait has been worth it. From the first page of her second novel, the voice of Rev. John Ames mesmerizes with his account of his life—and that of his father and grandfather. Ames is 77 years old in 1956, in failing health, with a much younger wife and six-year-old son; as a preacher in the small Iowa town where he spent his entire life, he has produced volumes and volumes of sermons and prayers, "[t]rying to say what was true." But it is in this mesmerizing account—in the form of a letter to his young son, who he imagines reading it when he is grown—that his meditations on creation and existence are fully illumined. Ames details the often harsh conditions of perishing Midwestern prairie towns, the Spanish influenza and two world wars. He relates the death of his first wife and child, and his long years alone attempting to live up to the legacy of his fiery grandfather, a man who saw visions of Christ and became a controversial figure in the Kansas abolitionist movement, and his own father's embittered pacifism. During the course of Ames's writing, he is confronted with one of his most difficult and long-simmering crises of personal resentment when John Ames Boughton (his namesake and son of his best friend) returns to his hometown, trailing with him the actions of a callous past and precarious future. In attempting to find a way to comprehend and forgive, Ames finds that he must face a final comprehension of self—as well as the worth of his life's reflections. Robinson's prose is beautiful, shimmering and precise; the revelations are subtle but never muted when they come, and the careful telling carries the breath of suspense. There is no simple redemption here; despite the meditations on faith, even readers with no religious inclinations will be captivated. Many writers try to capture life's universals of strength, struggle, joy and forgiveness—but Robinson truly succeeds in what is destined to become her second classic.
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Farrar, Straus and Giroux; First Edition (November 19, 2004)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 247 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0374153892
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0374153892
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.7 x 1.16 x 8.52 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 10,613 ratings

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Marilynne Robinson
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Marilynne Robinson is the author of the bestselling novels "Lila," "Home" (winner of the Orange Prize), "Gilead" (winner of the Pulitzer Prize), and "Housekeeping" (winner of the PEN/Hemingway Award).

She has also written four books of nonfiction, "When I Was a Child I Read Books," "Absence of Mind," "Mother Country" and "The Death of Adam." She teaches at the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop.

She has been given honorary degrees from Brown University, the University of the South, Holy Cross, Notre Dame, Amherst, Skidmore, and Oxford University. She was also elected a fellow of Mansfield College, Oxford University.

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
10,613 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book thought-provoking and spiritually fulfilling. They praise the writing quality as refined, beautiful, and sublime. The story is described as compelling, unique, and realistic. Readers appreciate the well-developed characters and pacing. However, some felt the book was not exciting or engaging enough.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

442 customers mention "Thought provoking"418 positive24 negative

Customers find the book thought-provoking and spiritual. They appreciate the narrative about faith and theological search for meaning. The story is described as heartwarming and a meditation on the miracle of being. Readers mention that the book is a thoughtful, heartwarming story about life.

"...This is a book to ponder, to read and re-read, and to carry through life as we grow older and find ourselves feeling the need to explain why we are..." Read more

"...liked stream-of-consciousness as a style of writing, and this book is a good example...." Read more

"...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..." Read more

"...He mostly comes to the conclusion that the world is a wonderful place, that you should enjoy every minute of it that you can, and that forgiveness..." Read more

388 customers mention "Writing quality"332 positive56 negative

Customers find the writing quality of the book excellent. They praise the beautiful, powerful, and sublime prose. The theological musings are insightful and the language is flawless. Readers describe the book as a literary masterpiece with clear language and wisdom.

"...-consciousness style, I appreciate how appropriate it is to this epistolary novel with its many themes...." Read more

"...But the heart of the story is beautifully human and contemplative...." Read more

"...is quite clear why the book won the Pulitzer; the tenderness of the language is nearly flawless, and although his contemplations are never..." Read more

"This is a well written story about a senior citizen, preacher, anticipating the end of his life. The setting is a small town in Iowa...." Read more

210 customers mention "Story quality"159 positive51 negative

Customers enjoy the compelling story and find it unique. They describe it as a sophisticated, realistic novel with epic action. Readers mention that some passages can move them to tears while others make them laugh. The book is described as a blend of narrative and theological elements that brings an amazing unveiling of the truth of Christian faith.

"...match, the human drama at the heart of it makes the entire story compelling in a way that should resonate with many readers...." Read more

"...I like both novels. They are fairly mature and sophisticated novels. I like this novel more than the first one...." Read more

"...among the male friendships; how she has captured the respect, loyalty, love and the challenges of communicating the most intimate aspects of the..." Read more

"...As beautiful as the world's minutiae might be, there's an inherent tedium and laziness to making this philosophy and hope the centering force of a..." Read more

84 customers mention "Character development"74 positive10 negative

Customers appreciate the book's character development. They find the narrator's depth and moral complexity to be commendable. The main character is described as humble, unpretentious, and compassionate.

"...Ames is a good, moral man who is compassionate and attempts to understand his fellow humans...." Read more

"...Set in the small Iowa town of Gilead, the novel is a series of letters from its main character, a preacher from a long line of preachers, to his..." Read more

"...The voice of John Ames is rather folksy, “When you encounter another person, when you have dealings with anyone at all, it is as if a question is..." Read more

"This book is wonderful, very thoughtful. Beautifully developed characters dealing sensitively in difficult but loving relationship." Read more

47 customers mention "Pacing"41 positive6 negative

Customers find the book's pacing engaging. They describe the prose as poetic and flowing like nature. The story flows along at a beautiful pace, with nice passages about the pleasures of life.

"...The story moves slowly and includes a lot of narrative about faith. It may not suit the taste of every reader...." Read more

"...n't really pick up until the last quarter of the book, and though it ends movingly, I'm not sure I would have plowed through to the end if this had..." Read more

"...our culture that fit that description and I found this one to be singularly moving and uplifting." Read more

"There is a quaint, slow movement to this book that made me take in smaller snippets at a time, but relish them all more deeply...." Read more

126 customers mention "Pace"74 positive52 negative

Customers have different views on the book's pace. Some find it easy to read, with a fluid writing style and rich perspective. Others feel it takes a long time to get going and is slow-paced.

"...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..." Read more

"...as the world's minutiae might be, there's an inherent tedium and laziness to making this philosophy and hope the centering force of a book on..." Read more

"...The story revolves around both history and faith. It is a slow moving novel and not an "action" novel...." Read more

"...Robinson's writing style is fluid and easily accessible, her use of language, exact...." Read more

62 customers mention "Simplicity"24 positive38 negative

Customers have different views on the book's simplicity. Some find the prose clear and concise, exploring ideas without oversimplification. Others feel the ruminations are tedious and boring, making it difficult to get into the book. Overall, opinions vary on the book's complexity.

"...more, is devoted to Ames’ theological ruminations, which struck me as tedious...." Read more

"...Her prose is clear, concise, and at the same time infuses a lyrical grace into her sentences...." Read more

"...In this sense, the book is good but very demanding, it makes you devout your full attention to it, it's not a page turner and sometimes one simply..." Read more

"...found the first 25 pages and last 25 pages to be ok but everything in the middle was tedious...." Read more

114 customers mention "Boredom"8 positive106 negative

Customers find the book dull and difficult to read. They say it's not an exciting read, a mystery, or a great story about a hero. The preacher is bland and indecisive, making it disappointing and annoying by the end.

"...Gilead is not an easy or quick read. Be prepared to reread passages, especially those with theological depth...." Read more

"...This is not a story for the inattentive, or even for those who simply prefer a straightforward plot...." Read more

"...The story more or less meanders and there is little action. This is the second novel of Marilynne Robinson...." Read more

"...Structurally, I find the book a bit of a difficult read...." Read more

A book to read again and again...
5 out of 5 stars
A book to read again and again...
John Ames, a 76 year old preacher with an ailing heart, is the voice of Marylinne Robinson's award winning work. The novel is comprised of a series of epistles John writes for his six year old son. His intention: that he might read them as a man and know who his father was.Gilead is sublimely written. The prose is peaceful and vivid, simple yet extraordinary. Robinson elevates the most common events to a degree of astonishing beauty.Favorite Quotes:"A little too much anger, to often or at the wrong time, can destroy more than you could ever imagine" (Robinson 6)"Sometimes I have loved the peacefulness of an ordinary Sunday. It's like standing on a newly planted garden after a warm rain. You can feel the silent and invisible life. All it needs from you is that you take care not to trample on it" (Robinson 22)."My grandfather seemed to me stricken and afflicted, and indeed he was, like a man everlastingly struck by lightning" (Robinson 56).Favorite word:Teetotaler: a person who never drinks alcohol (New Oxford American Dictionary).Recomended: YES! This book is deeply philosophical and not for those looking for thrills or plot twists. The pace of the story is that of an old man: slow, careful, observant and meditative. It is a book to read again and again.
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on May 18, 2012
    I've read many good books, many bad books, and many mediocre books over the course of my lifetime. There is a fourth category, however, which I call "Books-That-Stir-Your-Soul" (BTSYS). You know, the ones that start something warm coursing down your chest, speaking to you in a way you never knew possible, and making you conscious in a new way. Books in this category are few, but include Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea, Faulkner's Light in August and As I Lay Dying, and Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights. Your list will probably differ, but you get the idea.

    There is now an addition to my BTSYS list, a novel by Marilynne Robinson called Gilead (Picador, New York, 2004). This is not a new book, but I only encountered it upon reviewing Marilynne Robinson's recent book of essays, When I Was A Child I Read Books. In the process, I found myself in awe of Ms. Robinson's ability to express the ineffable with words that wrap themselves around you and then pull tight the knots of meaning in an unforgettable way.

    The book's title refers to a place, a small community in Iowa, not far from the Kansas border. The time frame is the early 1950s. The narrator is a man named John Ames, a seventy-six (soon to be seventy-seven) year old Congregationalist minister. The entire book is a letter to his six-year old son. John's heart is giving out, and he will soon die. In the letter, he is telling his young son--born of a late-in-life marriage to a much younger woman--about himself, his life, his family, and his faith.

    In this letter, Ames confronts his family's history. He is the son of a preacher, whose grandfather was an abolitionist preacher during the years of "Bloody Kansas." His grandfather hovers over this story and reminiscences abound about how the old man rode with John Brown and how he sometimes stood in the pulpit with a pistol and bloody clothing. These were the stories John Ames heard from his father, but all he remembered about Grandpa was the way the old man would look at him, as if knowing what was in his mind, and how he had a habit of just taking stuff from other people. The people around Gilead just came to accept the old man's idiosyncrasies.

    The love story between Ames and his wife, who showed up at a service on a Pentecost and who seemed to be taken by the much older man's kind and gentle ways, is the reredos behind the story: the curtain is parted only slightly in his portrayal of the woman, but she remains largely a mystery to us. We do know that she loved John enough to give him a child in his old age and to fill his life with love long after he lost his first wife and child. When the ne'er do well son of his closest friend, a Presbyterian minister he grew up with, arrives back in Gilead John begins to notice that his wife and son seem taken by the younger man and John's creeping mortality begins to work on his fears for the future.

    The themes that streak though this novel include respect, something people had for one another in earlier times; and light. Images are constantly appearing about the light, and it intrudes upon life in the most unexpected moments, such as when his young son and a friend are playing in the sprinkler:

    "The sprinkler is a magnificent invention because it exposes raindrops to sunshine. That does occur in nature, but it is rare... I've always loved to baptize people, though I have sometimes wished there were more shimmer and splash involved in the way we go about it. Well, but you two are dancing around in your iridescent little downpour, whooping and stomping as sane people ought to do when they encounter a thing so miraculous as water."

    The phrase "in the way we go about it" refers to the fact that John's denomination baptizes by sprinkling, not immersion. This issue and many other religious questions pop up in his letter, only to make very evident that there is a real difference between his faith lived and that same faith observed from outside. This is why atheists as well as Christians should read Gilead. Much of what those who attack Christianity base their attacks on are misunderstandings. For example, when confronted with a sincere question about salvation, particularly the famously Calvinist notion that God has pre-determined who is saved and who is damned before they are born, John addresses this question with a startling lack of dogmatism and comes down decidedly on the side of a merciful God.

    John Ames is not a man who bases his life on dogma. He is a believer who understands the intricacies of faith and does not rest on its supposed certainties. And, in spite of the fact that Christianity is often seen as a life-denying faith, John's statement in this letter to the child he will not see grow up makes it quite clear that his faith is anything but. In fact, faith is the element in his life that adds the sparkle to existence.

    "Remembering my youth," writes John, "makes me aware that I never really had enough of it, it was over before I was done with it...Oh, I will miss the world!"

    This is a book to ponder, to read and re-read, and to carry through life as we grow older and find ourselves feeling the need to explain why we are the way they are to those we are about to leave behind. Most people don't really think about it, however. What a shame. Letters like this from parents a just might help to make our children better human beings.

    Unfortunately, the notion of what a "better human being" is may seem strange to a world that demands empirical demonstrations for every concept. If you are among those, don't read this book. Unless you want to rethink some of your basic assumptions.
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  • Reviewed in the United States on July 10, 2020
    I do most of my reading and reviewing as a solitary occupation until I publish my thoughts on a book. I was glad to have read Gilead by Marilynne Robinson as a part of a book club where we could all bounce our reflections on the book off the mirrors of the impressions of others. The member of our group who suggested this book had read it several times. When I first began the book, I could not imagine enduring more than one reading. I have never liked stream-of-consciousness as a style of writing, and this book is a good example. John Ames, a Congregationalist minister, puts pen to paper to share his final thoughts with his young son, the things he would have told him as he grew, were their age difference not so pronounced. Having finished the book, I reread the first page to gather my thoughts and was amazed at what a perfect beginning it holds, carefully crafted and full of promise.

    Although I still don’t favor the stream-of-consciousness style, I appreciate how appropriate it is to this epistolary novel with its many themes. The setting is the Midwestern town of Gilead that was once part of the underground railroad. Racial issues keep popping up at the most unexpected times in this book. Much of the story deals with relationships across generations. Without strict attention, it can be difficult to sort out which generation is being referenced. There are many ministers in the family line, but father and son bonds can be troublesome as the characters struggle to answer for themselves what is required to have a good life. Another level of complication is added in the thread of John’s namesake, Jack, the son of his best friend Robert who is also a pastor. There are undertones of the Biblical story of the “Prodigal Son” in some of those difficult associations. John, who never says anything bad about anyone, will leave behind a loving wife with a mysterious past, a much loved son, and boxes and boxes of sermons. How will he be remembered?

    Gilead is not an easy or quick read. Be prepared to reread passages, especially those with theological depth. Some I just had to walk away from; others benefited from group discussion. I plodded through the first half of disparate pieces; I was fascinated with the second half as those pieces came together to form a beautiful design. At some point I probably will reread Gilead after I stand apart a bit and allow the characters of Gilead to become a comfortable part of my vision of “the good life.”
    10 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Denyse
    5.0 out of 5 stars A good read
    Reviewed in Canada on November 23, 2023
    Not finished yet but a great story teller! If you enjoy good writing, highly recommend.
  • María Alejandra
    5.0 out of 5 stars An ember of a book
    Reviewed in Germany on January 20, 2024
    I am thankful for this book. I loved the pace it establishes for us to get to know the life of a man and his people. I am in awe at the surprises the author weaved. An extraordinary talented person wrote this story.
  • estrella
    5.0 out of 5 stars ha llegado en perfecto estado y en la fecha prevista
    Reviewed in Spain on October 26, 2019
    me ha gustado el precio y la rapida entrega
  • Cliente Amazon
    5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing!
    Reviewed in Brazil on November 15, 2017
    This is a reflexive book about faith, life, choices... everything in a good story that you can't stop reading! Amazing!
  • Deep
    5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome read
    Reviewed in India on July 8, 2019
    A great piece of work penned down by Marilnne Robinson. This book is a delightful read and i breezed through pages and chapters.

    It was gift and what a gift it turned out to be. I have recommended this book to my friends and families. Gilead, a book about fathers and sons, where Housekeeping was a book about girls and women, and fragmentary where one of Housekeeping's achievements was its fluid narrative completeness, takes an opposing narratorial position with a protagonist whose insider credentials could not be stronger.

    It reads like something written in a gone time. So much so that when Ames's child draws Messerschmitts and Spitfires, it is actually shocking. This is part of its purpose, to be a conscious narration to the future from someone whose time was different and is over. "I believe I'll make an experiment with candour here," Ames says in letters which will eventually reveal his own opacity, as Robinson discreetly disrupts the monology.

    A book about the damaged heart of America, it is part vibrant and part timeworn, a slow burn of a read with its "crepuscular" narrator, its repetitions, its careful languidity.