Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

Gilead is the first in a loosely-connected quartet of books that also includes Home, Jack and Lila. All have long been on the LitSalon’s ‘to-do’ list and, between autumn 2022 and late spring 2023 we plan to post each book as a separate study, so there is no need to commit to all four.

“I’m writing this in part to tell you that if you ever wonder what you’ve done in your life, and everyone does wonder sooner or later, you have been God’s grace to me, a miracle, something more than a miracle. You may not remember me very well at all, and it may seem to you to be no great thing to have been the good child of an old man in a shabby little town you will no doubt leave behind. If only I had the words to tell you.” 

Marilynne Robinson, Gilead

The works of Marilynne Robinson require patience and careful attention. Her vision is informed by her Protestant faith and this may deter some readers, but her books are never dogmatic nor invested in an absolute truth. Rather they are probing and philosophical, questioning traditional frames of meaning.

Robinson’s vision as presented in Gilead shows how the central character, John Ames, uses his faith (and his struggles with it) to find grace and compassion for himself as he faces his own mortality. The book spans a long period, from the 1860s to the 1950s, exploring the themes of love, gratitude, fatherhood, conflict and its aftermath. Written as a long-form letter, the non-traditional narrative is not always the easiest of reads, but it is immensely rewarding and optimistic. To quote one reviewer, it is ‘drenched in love and gratitude . . . I have never read a character more grateful than John Ames.’

The institutions of faith – especially the Christian Church in its many forms as found across the United States – are currently in a moment of profound controversy as they address fundamental moral issues. I appreciate what Robinson offers, as I appreciate other works that speak from a faith tradition, not because I believe in God as she does, but because this allows me to respectfully understand – at least in part – a faith that can bring its practitioners to an encounter with the miracle and mystery of living. This is what she demonstrates in Gilead. 

SALON DETAILS:

• Facilitated by Toby Brothers
• Four meetings, starting 7 November 2022, 6-8.00 pm (UK time)
• 70 pages of reading per week 
• Recommended edition: Virago 2004, ISBN 1-84408-148-6
• £120 to include introductory notes and resources