A review by secre
Gilead, by Marilynne Robinson
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I will say upfront that this is beautifully written and I therefore kind of feel guilty about my lower rating. The problem is that has very little in terms of plot, overall narrative or anything to draw it along. Despite being less than 300 pages, it felt like it dragged and I double checked at least once thinking it had to be a far longer book than it was. It's essentially a memoir of a dying old man written for his son, told in vignette form of a series of memories and events. Some of them have a direct relation to what is going on in the current day, many don't. But there is no over-arcing narrative to pull them together.
As the main character is an elderly preacher, much of the novel centres around faith and how he sees the world through religious lens. Once again, this is beautifully written, however it does bog the anecdotes down further and frankly I found myself bored at points. The anecdotes about his own childhood were interesting enough, but had that feel of when a much older relative sits you down and dispenses 'worldly wisdom' and how they got their first job at 12 years of age and had to walk uphill in the snow both ways.
The bit that actually interested me was the tale of what his best friend's 'Golden Child' Jack Boughton did to deserve John's ire. An awful lot of time is devoted to John telling his young son how untrustworthy Jack is and how he shouldn't trust him, but the explanation for what the kid actually did is dripped out so painfully slowly that by the end I just wanted to shake the preacher to get the information. And because it takes so very long to get to the big reveal, it inevitably feels anti-climatic. In fairness anything short of rape, murder and cannibalism would probably have felt anti-climatic.
So this is a well written but ultimately pointless collection of anecdotes and vignettes that make up the life story of one preacher coming to the end of his life. There are reflections on life, love, family, forgiveness, hope and loss here and they are often beautifully composed. But personally I like my novels to have a narrative, a plot, something to hold them together and this just... didn't.
As the main character is an elderly preacher, much of the novel centres around faith and how he sees the world through religious lens. Once again, this is beautifully written, however it does bog the anecdotes down further and frankly I found myself bored at points. The anecdotes about his own childhood were interesting enough, but had that feel of when a much older relative sits you down and dispenses 'worldly wisdom' and how they got their first job at 12 years of age and had to walk uphill in the snow both ways.
The bit that actually interested me was the tale of what his best friend's 'Golden Child' Jack Boughton did to deserve John's ire. An awful lot of time is devoted to John telling his young son how untrustworthy Jack is and how he shouldn't trust him, but the explanation for what the kid actually did is dripped out so painfully slowly that by the end I just wanted to shake the preacher to get the information. And because it takes so very long to get to the big reveal, it inevitably feels anti-climatic. In fairness anything short of rape, murder and cannibalism would probably have felt anti-climatic.
So this is a well written but ultimately pointless collection of anecdotes and vignettes that make up the life story of one preacher coming to the end of his life. There are reflections on life, love, family, forgiveness, hope and loss here and they are often beautifully composed. But personally I like my novels to have a narrative, a plot, something to hold them together and this just... didn't.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness and Terminal illness
Moderate: Death
Minor: Child death and Death of parent