Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

When I started Gilead by Marilynne Robinson, I had no idea what the book would be about. The cover of an old painted door may be fitting, but it didn't do much to explain the basic themes of the book before I began.

Anyway, Gilead is set in the fictitious town of Gilead, Iowa, in the southwestern part of that state. The basic premise is that the year is 1956 (or was it '52?) and 76-year old John Ames knows he won't live much longer due to problems with his heart. Ames married late in life and has a 7-year old son. Aware that he won't live to see his young son reach adulthood, the book is a series of letters to his son that he intends him to read as an adult.

Ames is a Christian pastor, and he's at least the third generation of men in his family to have that calling. There are Christian themes throughout, as well as references to 19th and early 20th theologians. He starts off describing his thoughts on life, his father and grandfather, and his childhood. His grandfather was active on the abolitionist side in Bleeding Kansas and related events. This part of history is largely forgotten, but it was certainly a critical historical event, whose legacy affects a good deal of the book.

However, Ames' recollections are interrupted by the return of his friend's son, Jack Boughton, who comes back to Gilead after being exiled for years. Jack's past and Ames' knowledge of it causes him great concern. Why is he here? What does he want? And will he cause Ames' family harm after he's gone? So, a large part of the "letters" to Ames' son involve descriptions of current events, rather than thoughts on life and his past.

Discontinuity Alert: At one point, Ames says something like, "I'm still old enough to remember the Depression". Assuming he's talking about the Great Depression of 1929 to ~1939, that seems like an odd thing to say. Would someone in his 70's really think it worthy of mentioning that he's old enough to remember what happened in his 50's? To use US politics as an example, wouldn't this be like someone born in 1921 stating in 2007 that he was old enough to remember the days when Ronald Reagan was US President?

Overall, it's pretty good. For me, it was a book to be read in small pieces -- it's 256 pages, but for some reason it seems longer. I mentioned that there are Christian themes throughout, as you would expect from a pastor's thoughts on his life and on life in general. However, I doubt there is much here that would offend a non-Christian. I would recommend it to anyone, but not highly. Three stars out of five.