Gilead

Gilead
By Marilynne Robinson

This novel is written in the form of a letter from a dying man to his young son. In the “letter” – which is a father’s legacy to his son – the Reverend John Ames reflects on his own life, his family history and his faith. This book is beautifully written and very moving. Although the main character’s faith is a very central element in the novel, I didn’t find it at all alienating despite the fact that I am not even slightly religious.

I highly recommend this book – and in fact I already passed my copy along to my parents to read because I think they’ll both really enjoy it. Plus, I’m still trying to make up for having loaned my father “Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell”….

Thanks to Mapletree7 http://mapletree7.blogspot.com/gspot.com/ for her Alt.list recommendations, which prompted me to read this book.