God in a Pulitzer Prize Winning Novel

I have recently read a beautiful novel, “Gilead” by Marilynne Robinson, which I want to spread the word about. I first discovered Marilynne Robinson in the late 80s when I by chance saw a Bill Forsyth film based on her book “Housekeeping.” I sought out the book and enjoyed the book even more than I had the movie, which itself was most enjoyable and full of Forsyth's quirky charm and humour. But I find it is often the case that when you have a longer period of time to savour a work, as you do in reading a book versus watching a movie, that you enjoy the book more.

I remembered the name of the author and when I saw that Robinson had published a Pulitzer Prize winning novel in 2004 I bought a copy of “Gilead” for my American nephew for Christmas and then somehow forgot about it. Then for my birthday this year my sister, mother of said American nephew, gave me a copy of “Gilead” and said that I had to read it. I said oh yes I'd heard of it and that she'd probably find it on Jon's bookshelf. I think that she was a bit disappointed that she wasn't introducing me to a previously unknown work! I am, however, the literary sister who took a degree in English literature and has been reading fiction ever since.

First of all, I am in awe of Robinson's craft as a writer. She teaches at the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop, a prestigious American creative writing school, which makes me very curious to know if she can actually teach what she does, which seems so effortless and right. “Gilead” is written in the first person, in the voice of an elderly Congregationalist pastor, and the voice is wholly authentic. I often have trouble “willfully suspending disbelief” when I read a first person narrative, particularly when a man is writing in a woman's voice or vice versa, as Robinson has done here. But here it is totally Reverend John Ames speaking, telling his young son about his life and something of the lives of his father and grandfather who were also pastors in Iowa and Kansas.

If you read contemporary fiction, fine as it often is, you'll probably agree with me that God is usually left entirely out of the picture. But “Gilead” is different - it's about the faith of a man which is inseparable from his life's story, a description of faith that is truly uplifting and wonderful. The narrator gives us a sense of what it is to have a vocation as a pastor and he touches on so many everyday dilemmas of Christian life in ways that he has thought long and hard about.

One thing that really surprised me was Ames' description of his sacramental ministry – of how powerful baptism and communion were to him. I suppose I've had a vague misguided sense that in non-conformist denominations the sacraments have been reduced to mere “symbolic” significance. Ames certainly felt the power of God's presence when he gave these sacraments to his people. Another thing that really struck me was Ames' thorough familiarity with the Bible. He had learned to recite back long passages of the Bible that came after verses his father would recite to him long before he went to the seminary and learned Hebrew and Greek. It seemed that this complete familiarity with God's written word just seeped through all his view of life. (On the other hand, he had a brother who went off to secular studies in Europe and seemingly lost his faith.)

I really can't say enough about the beauty of this book. Robinson has written another book, “Home”, about characters in “Gilead”, which I am eager to read.............And I am happy to know that “Gilead” exists and that I can go back and reread it!  (Aline Kouhi-Klemencic)

Comments

[Pastor Tuula]

Thank you, Alina! I have read this book a couple of times and each time it speaks to me. It was first introduced to me by the chaplain of a college my son was attending. Gilead is a beautiful review of life and the bequething of legacy - something we all think about at some point.