Gilead
Book Review (Marilyn Robinson)
There's something refreshing about jumping into a book and not really knowing what to expect. All I knew about Gilead was (a) Marilyn Robinson is a relatively famous author, (b) theological types I read have more than once referenced her novels, (c) that its setting was the American mid-west or something thereabouts.
At 8 hrs or so of audiobook, this was a relatively quick listen compared to some things, and with a pleasant American narrator, it was easy to get into. I think it particularly worked as an audiobook because the story unfolds as a first-person narrative of an elderly father writing a letter/memoir for their young son.
It took me a while to work out when the book was actually set (1956), partly because it feels 'older'. And the older feel of it comes from the fact that the narrator John Ames was born in 1880, and so his early life is pre-20th century. More than that, his reminiscences embrace his father and grandfather, and so the book encompasses four generations.
That the three generations of adults are all preachers, and especially the narrator John Ames himself, gives the occasion to embed a deep and rich theology throughout. Sometimes explicitly, with mentions of Feuerbach, Barth, Calvin, discussions of sermons preached, or just Ames' thoughts; at other times it is woven into the fabric of the story,
There is a grace-infusion that runs through this novel. Perhaps encapsulated in the act of blessing that sends Ames into the ministry and the act of blessing that almost closes the novel. Grace runs through Ames' life and hands to others. It's also very much a story of the bonds between us. Between Ames and his son, his father, his grandfather, his good friend Boughton, and Boughton's wayward son.
The writing is beautiful, and so human. It resonates with the warmth of a loving soul, and a quiet one, winding down his life, leaving a testament to his son, and to the ages.
