Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

Last month in the Jarrettsville branch the Novel Ideas book group read and discussed Gilead by Marilynne Robinson. Find this book in our catalog.

In this story the Rev. John Ames begins a letter to his young son. It is 1956 in a small Iowa town and Ames is 77 years old, in failing health, with a much younger wife and six-year-old son. He imagines his son reading the letter when he is older. In it is the story of his life and his forbears, but also, as a reviewer from Publishers Weekly wrote, "[in it] 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."

Discussion points:

The review said, "Robinson's prose is beautiful, shimmering and precise." Would you agree? Can you find examples?

Would you agree with this statement? "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." Do you think Robinson has succeeded? Can you think of other writers who have succeeded also?

Reading Guide online:

Click here for a reading guide from ReadingGroupGuides, the online community for reading groups.