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The testament of Gideon Mack

By James Robertson

(13)

| Mass Market Paperback | 9780141049663

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Critics

The Devil in the gorge

The Testament of Gideon Mack by James Robertson 400pp, Hamish Hamilton, £17.99 In James Robertson's latest novel, the protagonist, Gideon Mack, is a Church of Scotland minister in the north-east town of Monimaskit who has been found dead on a mountai ... (read full critics)

guardian.co.uk published on Sat, 25 Sep 2010

The Testament of Gideon Mack By James Robertson

The modern Churchman, in all his spiritual misery, has been a happy staple of British literature for generations. Especially to the great comic novelists (Fielding, Trollope, Waugh), the clergyman plagued with doubts or worse, ideas about his Christi ... (read full critics)

bookpage published on Sat, 11 Sep 2010

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2 Reviews

A memorable book. A priest who doesn't believe in god comes face to face with the devil. That's got to be annoying. A very good story, a quick read and a lasting impression.

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LFrig said on May 22, 2010 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

Gideon Mack is a minister in the Scottish church, being the rebellious son of a domineering father, also a minister; it seems a strange choice of career, especially as he does not believe in God! It is a thought provoking and humorous story that has continued to haunt me since finishing it a few day ... (continue)

Gideon Mack is a minister in the Scottish church, being the rebellious son of a domineering father, also a minister; it seems a strange choice of career, especially as he does not believe in God! It is a thought provoking and humorous story that has continued to haunt me since finishing it a few days ago. He leads a fairly lively ministerial life and raises money for the church by running in marathons. One day his life is changed for ever when out running he comes across a ‘standing stone’ that is not actually there, only he sees it!
He decides to write the story of his life and recent strange occurrences in it; it is this manuscript that falls into the hands of a publisher. So we have Gideon Mack’s story told within the story of the publishing house trying to obtain verification of Gideon’s manuscript. Did Gideon really spend time with the devil or are his memoirs just the ramblings of a man on the verge of some sort of emotional breakdown?
A compelling narrative that will leave you thinking about the nature and understanding of faith and how you interpret things you cannot logically explain. It has certainly left me thinking, what more can I ask from a good novel.

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Lindyloumac said on Dec 5, 2009 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback