This book was suggested to me by a former writing professor when I asked him for something “delicious and heartbreaking” (a fitting, if slightly visceral, description for most of my favorite books). As always, he did not lead me astray. Off the beaten path, but not astray.
Set somewhere in the middle of the 20th century, this novel is the “begats” of a seven-year-old boy, written by his 72-year-old father, a minister, whose “old seed will soon be buried in the earth”. Though the “begats” of the Bible are the plainest part of the text, they hide the promise of a far more interesting story. What did the lives of the men who led up to David (to Joseph, to Jesus) look like? What were the big moments, better yet, the small moments in their lives? How did they carry on in the interim time from great man to great man?
Written by Marilynne Robinson (author of the nonfiction theology book The Death of Adam) Gilead reads more as a love letter to this minister’s young son than as a dusty biographical account of his life. There are many tales to be told in his small, Midwestern town and we are privy to them all.
What makes this novel particularly captivating is in the way it brings a touch of human frailty to the life of ministry. Often in danger of mystifying ministry myself (unfortunate alliteration, for which I’m truly sorry) I’m finding it easier to believe that my feet can fit into those shoes and dance that lifelong dance as well.
This is fiction, of course, and the main character is not real. I suspect, however, that while he is not, perhaps he is, at least a bit, in the men and women who have taken on this role.
This is a novel meant to be savored, read and reread until dog-eared and worn.
Recommended with enthusiasm.
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