---
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title: "Gilead (Oprah's Book Club): A Novel"
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# Gilead (Oprah's Book Club): A Novel

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desertcart.com: Gilead (Oprah's Book Club): A Novel: 9780312424404: Robinson, Marilynne: Books

Review: A treat for the soul - 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.
Review: Generational Differences - Gilead is the story of an elderly reverend recounting days of family history and personal thoughts to leave to his son. John Ames begins his book length letter to his son by saying his heart is failing. He does not expect to see his very young son grow up. John Ames comes from a line of preachers. His grandfather and father, also named John Ames, served as pastors. This does not mean they saw eye-to-eye on all matters. John writes of some of the conflicts between generations. His grandfather was a gun-toting abolitionist. His father, a pacifist, was ashamed of his father for his militant attitude that came out of the Civil War. the current John Ames, who writes the letter in the late 1950’s, did not disagree with his father so much, but still created some conflict by attending another church. For John, he hasn’t a conflict with his toddler son, but he does have a conflict with the son of his best friend, named after him – John Ames Boughton, also known as Jack Boughton. Jack Boughton is the son of a preacher too, but is certainly not one to carry on the tradition. John recalls Jack plaguing him as a boy, mischievously taking his things or damaging them. When Jack returns to Gilead in his adulthood, John is wary of him, repeatedly warning the addressee of this letter about the man. Eventually Jack admits his wrongs to John, since he feels he cannot admit this to his own father, proving John’s suspicions right, but also surprising him by what may be genuine seeking of spiritual guidance. Marilynne Robinson writes a story in which theology is lived by its characters. It is sometimes brought forth as it is integral to the narrator, but it is not didactic. 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 being put to you. So you must think What is the Lord asking me in the moment, in this situation?” (p. 141). His voice, that is Marilynne Robinson’s voice, is also poetic. Ames writes, as he considers life’s end, “I didn’t feel very much at home in the world, that was a fact. Now I do” (p. 4). He notices the beauty of life, an appeals to the senses. One line, among many, that reflects the poetic voice: “Everywhere you stepped, little grasshoppers would fly up by the score, making that snap they do, like striking a match” (p. 15).

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #495,179 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #603 in Literary Fiction (Books) #23,980 in American Literature (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.2 out of 5 stars 11,355 Reviews |

## Images

![Gilead (Oprah's Book Club): A Novel - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71kW3I8WH5L.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A treat for the soul
*by I***S 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.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Generational Differences
*by R***L on July 19, 2015*

Gilead is the story of an elderly reverend recounting days of family history and personal thoughts to leave to his son. John Ames begins his book length letter to his son by saying his heart is failing. He does not expect to see his very young son grow up. John Ames comes from a line of preachers. His grandfather and father, also named John Ames, served as pastors. This does not mean they saw eye-to-eye on all matters. John writes of some of the conflicts between generations. His grandfather was a gun-toting abolitionist. His father, a pacifist, was ashamed of his father for his militant attitude that came out of the Civil War. the current John Ames, who writes the letter in the late 1950’s, did not disagree with his father so much, but still created some conflict by attending another church. For John, he hasn’t a conflict with his toddler son, but he does have a conflict with the son of his best friend, named after him – John Ames Boughton, also known as Jack Boughton. Jack Boughton is the son of a preacher too, but is certainly not one to carry on the tradition. John recalls Jack plaguing him as a boy, mischievously taking his things or damaging them. When Jack returns to Gilead in his adulthood, John is wary of him, repeatedly warning the addressee of this letter about the man. Eventually Jack admits his wrongs to John, since he feels he cannot admit this to his own father, proving John’s suspicions right, but also surprising him by what may be genuine seeking of spiritual guidance. Marilynne Robinson writes a story in which theology is lived by its characters. It is sometimes brought forth as it is integral to the narrator, but it is not didactic. 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 being put to you. So you must think What is the Lord asking me in the moment, in this situation?” (p. 141). His voice, that is Marilynne Robinson’s voice, is also poetic. Ames writes, as he considers life’s end, “I didn’t feel very much at home in the world, that was a fact. Now I do” (p. 4). He notices the beauty of life, an appeals to the senses. One line, among many, that reflects the poetic voice: “Everywhere you stepped, little grasshoppers would fly up by the score, making that snap they do, like striking a match” (p. 15).

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Something to grow on . . .
*by M***S on November 26, 2006*

I selected "Gilead" in keeping with a self-imposed mandate to read at least one Pulitzer Prize winning novel each year. 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 young son. The Reverend is motivated by his failing health to write the letters. Certain that he will not live to see his son into adolescence and adulthood the Reverend sets out to document his family history as a legacy for his son. In doing so, it becomes clear that the history of the family is inextricably bound to the history of the country, the town and its people. Through these missives to his son, the Reverend is challenged with reconciling the measure of his life against his efficacy in pasturing to his flock. The letters also allow him to explore the boundaries of truth within the context of his religious faith. I enjoyed this novel on many levels. Robinson is a highly proficient story teller. The book creates an atmosphere that invites the reader in while allowing him/her to view the action as an outsider. Robinson's writing style is fluid and easily accessible, her use of language, exact. The story is framed in a biblical context that sent this reader to the King James Version on a number of occasions. The biblical references throughout the text allow the reader some reflection on our existence, our relationships to others and to a higher being. The characters' struggles and conflicts are primarily internal and the author does a superb job of capturing and depicting them. The most interesting aspect of the story for me is the way in which Robinson captures the interactions between the men of the novel. There is something quite real in how the author has captured the subtle, yet evident competition among the male friendships; how she has captured the respect, loyalty, love and the challenges of communicating the most intimate aspects of the soul one man to another. The novel is filled with deep and insightful passages many of which required a second reading to fully appreciate. I know already that I'll reread this novel in a few years, it's definitely the kind of story that you can grow on. Highly Recommended!

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