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Gilead

A Novel

By Marilynne Robinson

(56)

| Paperback | 9780312424404

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Book Description

Twenty-four years after her first novel, Housekeeping, Marilynne Robinson returns with an intimate tale of three generations from the Civil War to the twentieth century: a story about fathers and sons and the spiritual battles that still rage at America's heart. Writing in the tradition of EmContinue

Twenty-four years after her first novel, Housekeeping, Marilynne Robinson returns with an intimate tale of three generations from the Civil War to the twentieth century: a story about fathers and sons and the spiritual battles that still rage at America's heart. Writing in the tradition of Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman, Marilynne Robinson's beautiful, spare, and spiritual prose allows "even the faithless reader to feel the possibility of transcendent order" (Slate). In the luminous and unforgettable voice of Congregationalist minister John Ames, Gilead reveals the human condition and the often unbearable beauty of an ordinary life.

Critics

  • Book of a Lifetime: Gilead, By Marilynne Robinson

    "The fact is, I don't want to be old. And I certainly don't want to be dead. I don't want to be the tremulous coot you barely remember." As John Ames begins to write a letter to his son, a letter that will be read when he is long buried, he is unawar ... (read full critics)

    independent published on Fri, 1 Apr 2011

  • Gilead

    La trama e le recensioni di Gilead, romanzo di Marilynne Robinson edito da Einaudi. Il reverendo John Ames sta morendo. Non potrà crescere il figlio di soli sette anni, né educarlo, né offrirgli testimonianza di sé. Sceglie così di affidarsi a una le ... (read full critics)

    Qlibri published on Tue, 23 Nov 2010

7 Reviews

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  • My thoughts

    I found this book emotionally moving and thought-provoking. I liked how John reflected on his relationship with his father and his father's relationship with his father.

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    krin5292 said on Nov 15, 2011 about the Hardcover edition | Add your feedback

  • This book is very slow, with minimal plot. Some insights into the human condition are revealed, which are interesting, but I was waiting for something marvellous to happen. It never did.
    It is very well-written; there is not a comma out of place, but being well-crafted does not make it a good, ... (continue)

    This book is very slow, with minimal plot. Some insights into the human condition are revealed, which are interesting, but I was waiting for something marvellous to happen. It never did.
    It is very well-written; there is not a comma out of place, but being well-crafted does not make it a good, or even great book. Disappointing.

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    Lunarossa said on Oct 21, 2009 about the Hardcover edition | Add your feedback

  • A beautifully, beautifully written novel about intergenerational relationships & passing knowledge & experience from father to son. There are some lovely little stories in it, and the author does a good job of tying things together.

    But the constant religious philosophizing soon wore me down ( ... (continue)

    A beautifully, beautifully written novel about intergenerational relationships & passing knowledge & experience from father to son. There are some lovely little stories in it, and the author does a good job of tying things together.

    But the constant religious philosophizing soon wore me down (the novel is about a family of ministers). It was a chore to finish, and about halfway through I took to skipping quickly over the more religious passages, of which there are a lot.

    If you aren't religious, give this book a pass no matter how well written it is.

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    Scott said on Jun 11, 2009 about the Hardcover edition | Add your feedback

  • Hill of Testimony/Mound of Witness

    2005 Pulitzer Prize winner.

    This is one of the book that needs to be read in great attention, and it often involves back and forth leafing to re-digest the words. I guess it is fair that it took Robinson 12 years to write this book, and it took me a few months to go through it.

    This is a ... (continue)

    2005 Pulitzer Prize winner.

    This is one of the book that needs to be read in great attention, and it often involves back and forth leafing to re-digest the words. I guess it is fair that it took Robinson 12 years to write this book, and it took me a few months to go through it.

    This is a prose-like novel, which depicts a minister's life from a few generations' preacher family in a small town with declining in its population. Although with a high prestige from his job, John Ames could not escape from some personal prejudice, and those feelings seemingly ungodly towards his best friend's son and his god son.

    By way of writing to his young-aged son for expecting to be a posthumous letter, the protagonist wrote out his true feelings towards people close to him and to god. Even the progress seems random and slow, you would be touched by his true reflections to people, to things and to god. People surrounding him come from different believes and attitudes towards god, life and other people. He, as a minister, need to play a neutral role to bridge people and god's gap, while he had his own doubt in his mind.

    We don't see this kind of work everyday, so we don't have to finish it in haste. Following the pace of the author has given, it actually quite an enjoyable book to be slowly chewed on.

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    artie said on Apr 1, 2009 | Add your feedback

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9780312424404 Paperback $14.00 $10.08 bn.com
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