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.

Broken For You by Stephanie Kallos

Broken For You by Stephanie Kallos is a book that richly repays the reader with eccentric characters, multiple plot lines, mysteries from the past, strong emotions, love in unlikely places, quirky humor, and complex but largely happy outcomes. It’s an ideal book for a book club.

About the book:
Margaret Hughes is a wealthy widow living in the biggest mansion in a Seattle neighborhood way on the top of a hill. She is all alone in the museum-like house stuffed with a priceless collection of porcelain. For various reasons, which unfold in the book, Margaret is a recluse and lives almost solely to be the caretaker of this collection, the provenance of which we suspect, but which is only slowly revealed. Margaret discovers that she has incurable cancer, and so decides she will take the last chance she has of living for herself. Her first step is to seek company and she advertises for a lodger. Wanda Schulz comes into her life. Wanda seems tough, but we find she has been severely emotionally damaged by a series of rejections, first by her father and more recently by a lover whom she is seeking in Seattle. As both women wrestle with the ghosts of their past, a diverse cast of eccentric characters comes into their lives. All are broken in some degree, and all find ways to put themselves together, each in a different and ultimately beautiful form. Wanda discovers that she is a talented mosaic artist. Her art form becomes a metaphor for all that occurs in the book, a breaking of things that is essential before beauty or lives can be reformed. The book itself is complex, with many themes and plot-lines being assembled to complete the mosaic, which finally takes shape as a celebration of the diverse ways love manifests itself.

About the author:
This is Stephanie Kallos’ first book. She spent 20 years in the theater as a teacher and actress. Her short fiction was nominated for a Raymond Carver Prize and a Pushcart Prize. She lives in Seattle. Click here for her website

Reviews:
The book received 3 starred reviews.

Conversation starters:
The book starts with Margaret in her house. What do you think of the way Margaret’s history is revealed?
The characters are very eccentric, but at the same time believable. Why do you think this is? What do you think of their behavior?
The plot is very complex. How are the different threads woven together? Are the resolutions believable?
Metaphor is very important in this book. Which ones worked for you?
I saw humor in this book. Did you also find the same? What for you was the effect of the humor?
The concept of “broken” is central to the book. What did you make of that?

This book has been compared to books by Margaret Atwood. I think it would appeal also to readers of Anne Tyler. Do you agree?