Fiction
Macmillan
2004
247
In 1981 Marilynne Robinson published her first novel, Housekeeping. The book was so well received that Robinson has managed to maintain a devoted audience ever since. Now she has published Gilead; although undoubtedly a new masterpiece, it is nothing like her previous success.
Reverend John Ames is 76 and close to death. As a way to soften the blow of his upcoming death he begins to write a letter to his seven-year-old son. Ames is the son of a preacher who in turn was a son of a preacher. In the form of this letter to his son, Ames recounts his life and his family history. Although this may sound tedious – a preacher recounting the life of his father and his grandfather – it is in fact a brilliant story.
The book’s pivotal moment comes when the writer’s namesake, Jack Ames Boughton, son of the Reverend’s best friend and the town’s preverbal black sheep, arrives back in Gilead. Although he has returned to see his dying father, Jack Ames seems intent on spending quality time with the Reverend’s wife and son, and eventually with the Reverend himself.
Robinson has given the Reverend Ames a voice that is wise and meditative and yet also occasionally doubtful. He takes his vocation seriously but sometimes he questions the futility of it all and also the wisdom of the advice he has rained down on his parishioners over the years.
Gilead is an incredible book, the descriptions are vivid and the story is complex and unique. Robinson has once again created a masterpiece that will no doubt ensure that her legions of fans will swell in numbers. This book is to be treasured, given as a gift and revisited, and perhaps if we’re lucky Robinson will bestow another novel on us within the next decade.