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Gilead (Oprah's Book Club): A Novel
Gilead (Oprah's Book Club): A Novel
Gilead (Oprah's Book Club): A Novel
Audiobook8 hours

Gilead (Oprah's Book Club): A Novel

Written by Marilynne Robinson

Narrated by Tim Jerome

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

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About this audiobook

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER• OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB PICK • WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR FICTION • NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD WINNER• A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK • MORE THAN 1 MILLION COPIES SOLD

“Quietly powerful [and] moving.” O, The Oprah Magazine (recommended reading)

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Critics Circle Award, GILEAD is a hymn of praise and lamentation to the God-haunted existence that Reverend Ames loves passionately, and from which he will soon part.

Nearly 25 years after Housekeeping, Marilynne Robinson returns with an intimate tale of three generations, from the Civil War to the 20th century: a story about fathers and sons and the spiritual battles that still rage at America's heart. In the words of Kirkus, it is a novel "as big as a nation, as quiet as thought, and moving as prayer. Matchless and towering." GILEAD tells the story of America and will break your heart.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateApr 1, 2005
ISBN9781593978365
Author

Marilynne Robinson

Marilynne Robinson is the author of the novels Home, Gilead (winner of the Pulitzer Prize), and Housekeeping, and four books of nonfiction: When I Was a Child I Read Books, Mother Country, The Death of Adam, and Absence of Mind. She teaches at the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop.

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Reviews for Gilead (Oprah's Book Club)

Rating: 3.9180028556851316 out of 5 stars
4/5

2,744 ratings210 reviews

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Stunning.

    One is left wondering how to mediate on the quantity of human spirit, of sacred reality, unveiled by Robinson's pen.
    The holy tensions of an orthodox faith are lambently touched with near-scriptural maturity.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    If I had read a synopses of this book before I picked it up, I might never have gotten around to it; as it worked out I read it for extra credit, and would have finished it a lot sooner if I wasn't up to my eyeballs in final assignments. Unfortunately, Robinson came to talk at my school right before I read it and when I attended her talk on writing I came with no background in her work.

    The craft with which Robinson has put this novel together is amazing! I would recommend this book to anyone who likes reading. Gilead is very thought provoking on a myriad of subjects and held me captive 'till the end.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Everybody already knows it, but I'll add my voice and say that this will be one of the great works of American literature. It is remarkable for demonstrating in its gentle way that the doctrines of the Christian faith are not some external intellectual constructs, but really the substance of life lived and struggled with.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Winner Pulitzer Prize for fictionJohn Ames writes his memoir for his very young son, detailing his life and that of his father and grandfather (all ministers). His recollections are interrupted when his good friend's son (and his namesake), John Ames Boughton, returns to town. A ne'er-do-well, but with a psychopath's charms, his presence complicates things for the narrator.This is a VERY S-L-O-W moving book, but there are passages of eloquent, glorious writing.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I don't know what I think about this book. Parts of it were incredibly well written , then it just kind of lost me. Worth reading I think
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Profound story of a man's love for his son, his town, his God, and the others life brings his way. Eloquently written and unforgettable account of a Christian life lived well. This may be my favorite book ever. I read it first in print and now have finished listening again to the perfect voice to convey it to me again. I will keep returning to remind myself of favorite lines.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I find the writing in this book achingly beautiful. I must say I've never read a book quite like it.Some books pull you in with the depth, complexity, or uniqueness of the story....you must keep reading to see what happens next, and next, and then next. I love these books; I love needing to steal every spare moment I have to quench my curiosity thirst.Other books have characters you find so compelling, so intriguing, so believable that even if you don't like them you feel driven to understand them more completely. You admire the author for being able to put you right inside the character's skin. I'm always sad when these books end, it feels like a personal loss of some sort.This book.....well, here's the thing. I earmark pages in my books. I own them, I can do what I please. I earmark pages with sentences I find marvelous, with concepts I'm interested in exploring further, with dialog I think is brilliantly written... there are a number of reasons I might earmark a page. And I prefer earmarking over highlighting or underlining because I love the rediscovery during re-reads, seeing if whatever I earmarked it for stands up to the test of time. Can I find it? Do I still love it, whatever it is? If so, the earmark stays. If not, I simply unfold it. My point being, I'm a little more than halfway through this book, and it has more earmarks than any other I own.I don't imagine this to be a universally-loved book. I would even wager that many people will say they found it too slow, about "nothing." I find it stunning.This book comes to me during a period of contemplating the what's-it-all-about-ness of life. The narrator's appreciation for the simple wonders and beauty that everyday life holds soothes me, it creates a sense of hopefulness. This may seem contradictory...it's a Pulitzer-Prize winning novel, nothing simple about that. The author's accomplishment may be bigger than anything I could hope to achieve, but the character she created is someone I needed to meet just now.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    In 1950s Iowa, precisely in the windswept settlement of Gilead, Congregationalist minister John Ames is preparing to meet his Maker. Ames is 76 and his heart has been playing up. He knows that he does not have long to live, and that he will be leaving behind a young wife and a seven year old son, the unexpected blessing of his old age. So he sets out to write a long letter to this boy he will never see growing up. As Ames sifts through his memories, the story of his family (particularly his preacher father and grandfather) and the community which they served starts to take shape. Old pains and preoccupations resurface -particularly those related to the minister's godson and namesake John Ames Boughton. A troublemaker in childhood, youth and well into adulthood, is there the possibility of salvation for Boughton as well? Will God's grace ever touch him?This is "Gilead" - part diary, part memoir; part testament, part confession. Robinson writes brilliantly - her narrator's style is perfectly pitched and utterly convincing with its continuous scriptural references and discursive theological debates underscored by very human emotions. Some scenes and metaphors such as the image of John and and his father standing on the desolate grave of John's grandfather against the backdrop of a rising moon - will stick to the mind.At one point in the novel, Ames mentions The Diary of a Country Priest by Georges Bernanos. Although the latter book is written from a Catholic viewpoint (indeed, it is considered a classic "Catholic novel") whilst Gilead reflects a "Calvinist" theology, there are surprising similarities between the two works in their conception (a first-person journal), narrators (troubled "men of the cloth" in a small community) and in their concerns (mercy, grace, sin, salvation, redemption). However, I'd say that Robinson is a cannier writer. Although hers is no plot-driven novel, she tightly controls the few narrative threads and introduces gradual revelations in such a way that she grips the interest of the reader. I'd even go as far as saying that she manages to make her novel "entertaining" - and I mean that in a good way. Both are great books - but, to use a musical analogy, it's rather like comparing the organ works of Messiaen with the more immediate pleasures of Copland's "Appalachian Spring".
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    "an intimate tale of three generations from the Civil War to the twentieth century: a story about fathers and sons and the spiritual battles that still rage at America's heart."
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I read this originally in 2005 and enjoyed it, but mostly wondered what I had missed and then quickly forgot what I’d read. I re-read it after being won over by Home which left me with the feeling like I needed the whole story – and at only another 247 pages it’s not that difficult.All-in-all I kind of missed the point - again. I went through the motions of reading it, but got disconnected half way through, and I should have put it down for a bit; but instead plunged ahead wastefully.What I did get out of it this time was some better appreciation of the careful use language and of the overall complexity of the book's structure. In a sense this is three very different books in one. The first part is Reverend John Ames' background and life. He’s in his seventies with a 7-yr-old son and he has severe heart problems. This book is his message to the grown son he will never know. He starts by telling stories of his childhood. He’s a third generation minister and the stories of his grandfather and father’s philosophical battles color this story. At some point he begins to leave the back stories behind and wanders around his own theology and his own takes on life. Then Ames' interactions with Jack, a troubled man, begin to take over the narrative, making the third part of the book. Jack sends Ames into a theological crisis of sorts – or at least into some serious consideration on how the blend Jack into his lifelong-crafted thoughts on life. I’m tempted to characterize the structure as first a theological background, then theological thoughts, and then theology put into action – but that over simplifies and over-emphasizes the religious side, I think. Ames is not blindly religious, although he has his limits for dealing with atheism.What amazed me in hindsight is that while Jack’s story is the center of this book, it’s not necessarily the best part. For me personally the early sections were wonderful – beginning with the trek Ames took with his father in 1892 on foot from Iowa to Kansas to find the grave of his grandfather who abandoned the family late in life. Ames was 12 at the time. As he digs into his father and grandfather, the color of these two comes out in a rawness of their differences. It’s Ames wild grandfather that left the deepest impression on me. He came to Iowa from Maine during the era of bloody Kansas – and he came as a man possessed having had a vision of Christ. He fully invested himself in the violence of the anti-slavery movement while ministering. He supported John Brown and inspired a generation of Gilead, Iowa men to enlist and die in the Civil War; and then he continued preaching to his dwindling church of widows after the war. By Ames childhood, his grandfather was a something of a crazy man who still had conversations with God out loud, and constantly sacrificed himself – seeing himself only as a failure and disappointment of immense intensity. In one particularly riveting memory Ames’ grandfather says to Ames’ father, “Reverend, no words could be bitter enough, no day could be long enough. There is just no end to it. Disappointment. I eat it and drink it. I wake and sleep it.’’ In this deranged way he is somehow an inspiration. At some point in history President U. S. Grant characterized Iowa as “the shining star of radicalism” – a concept so completely opposite of everything we think of in Iowa today that it mocks its modern counterpart. And Ames' grandfather is the symbol of this radicalism – he’s also based on a real character.I should have closed the book after this opening section and taken a break. Somewhere around page 100 the book gently morphs into where Ames begins to work in his theology and … well, I didn’t take it in. By the time I got the dramatic final story of Jack I was simply reading to finish.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    First line: "I told you last night that I might be gone sometime, and you said, Where, and I said, To be with the Good Lord, and you said, Why, and I said, Because I'm old, and you said, I don't think you're old."Gilead is an epistolary novel written by a Congregationalist minister to his young son. John Ames came to fatherhood rather late in life and regrets that he won't be able to watch his son grow to manhood. There are so many things he wants to tell the boy that can't be told to a six year old, and so he begins to write his letter in a journal. "Your mother told you I'm writing your begats, and you seemed very pleased with the idea. Well, then. What should I record for you?"As a minister who comes from a long line of minsters, John Ames is concerned with the human condition and the deeper things of the soul. There is much about the nature of love, friendship, faith and prayer in Gilead. Even the hard questions of Christianity are addressed as Jack, the son of John's lifelong friend, posits the philosophical query: "Do you ever wonder why American Christianity seems to wait for the real thinking to be done elsewhere?"John has kept pages and pages of sermons he has delivered over the years in which he "[tried] to say what was true." It is this pursuit of truth and personal integrity that seems to haunt John in his twilight years. The relationship between John and Jack has been strained for a very long time. These two men repeatedly attempt to understand each other and John feels deeply his failure, as both a minister and an elder, to comprehend and forgive the younger man. As John struggles to right this relationship, he reaffirms that redemption is neither simple nor easy.The pace of the writing is very meditative and requires the reader to slow down and take up the tempo of an old man. While this was an effective device most of the time, I found my mind wandering far from the novel at other times. There are no chapter breaks, but there are "thought" breaks in which the author may pick up the same thread or shift to a new one. This format took a bit of getting used to, but once I adjusted it seemed appropriate for the teller of the story. The writing is spare and straightforward, which fits the setting and time -- a small prairie town of the 1950s populated by those who have seen much hardship. "To me it seems rather Christlike to be unadorned as this place is, as little regarded."Gilead is a beautifully written book that, at times, will take some work to read. I don't think that the religious tone of the book should disturb those who follow a faith other than Christianity or those who follow no faith at all. What the author truly addresses in her pages is the human condition of which we are all a part.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I loved "Gilead". It is written as a memoir from a dying elderly (at least third generational preacher) to his seven year old son. And It is written in a manner that takes one back to about the 1950s. The father, who is narrating, writes in a very calming, soothing way and is attempting to let his son know what he thinks, why he thinks that way and about things that have occurred in his lifetime and the reactions and responses to those occurrences. The preacher married late in life and had his son even later so he wants to share as much as he can to give his son an understanding of himself as a man. He writes of his beautiful relationship with his best friend (a preacher of another denomination) and of his wife, the boy's mother. He writes to him of his growing up years and he and his father's relationship. The book is full of God, the Bible, prayer and of a life devoted to God. Yet it is not written in a preachy way at all. I also think it was much more contemplative than religious. If I didn't love the Lord, I think I still would have loved this book because of the way it was written. The author's words simply flow throughout the entire novel. It is one of the easiest books I have read all year and perhaps one of the best. It may not make my top ten, but it will certainly be way up there. Marilynne Robinson is a wonderful author. I highly recommend this book to people of all persuasions. The only other book I have read that I can compare feeling this way about upon finishing would be "Cry, the Beloved Country". There was just something about "Gilead" that took my breath away.Do something really kind for yourself and read this one.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    As old age and death approach, Reverend Ames, remembers his life in a memoir written to his young son. In it he philosophizes about everyday life, faith, and his role as parson, father, son, friend, in a small Iowa town. There are some beautiful passages but I was unprepared for the amount of theology, which shouldn't have surprised me considering Ames' profession, but it was more than I care for. It seemed more like a long sermon.I chose this book because of the high praise it received, to say nothing of a Pulitzer prize. But in the end, it disappointed.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    While I thoroughly enjoyed parts of this book, it really takes quite a long time to get moving. Things sped up toward the end, but I felt very little incentive to keep moving with it. Its redeeming quality was that it occasionally contained absolute gems (such as “grace is not so poor a thing that it cannot present itself in any number of waysâ€?), which added to the reading experience immensely. However, because the book was written as if a letter, the style is flow of consciousness. While I see the merits of that style, particularly for a book like this, I had difficulty with how Ames jumps back and forth in time- Great Depression, Civil War, 1950s, World War I, World War II. I got tired of it quickly.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Took me a while to get through this one - my first read from this promising author, the last 50 pages were my favorite. The line that touched me deeply from this book is on page 277 - "....., since I knew perfectly well at that time, as I had for years and years, that the Lord absolutely transcends any understanding I have of Him, which makes loyalty to Him a different thing from loyalty to whatever customs and doctrines and memories I happen to associate with Him."
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Beautifully written, but just too slow. I couldn't get through it.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    As an Iowan I had no idea Gilead (Tabor Iowa) was a stop on the Underground Railroad and connected to John Brown. That fact by itself made the book fascinating. I am not sure that having a book occur entirely in one character's mind is my cup of tea. However, it was interesting.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Ramblings of a pastor from a long line of pastors. Has an attic full of a lifetime of written sermons.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    A little tedious at times but many wonderful passages.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Gilead is a kind of letter/journal "written" by Rev. John Ames, a pastor in his late seventies, to his 7-year old son. Ames knows that he will not be around to watch his son grow up or to instruct him in the ways of life. So, he writes this letter to his son - full of family history and tips on life. Ames tells the stories of his grandfather, a pastor heavily involved in the raids of abolitionist John Brown; his father, a pastor also, who deals bitterly with the family's violent past and associations; and, finally, himself and his dealings with his best friend's son who is like his own. Ames also comments on his son's daily activities and shares life lessons.I would not necessarily recommend listening to this book in an audio format. I haven't looked at an actual copy of the book, but I think it might do a better job of cutting the book up into journal entries. The book is also not chronological, so I would often find that if I zoned out even for a minute I didn't know if he was talking about his father, grandfather, son, godson, or himself. It is interesting, though, because it reads like any journal a person would write recording their memories. Memories don't always come in chronological order. Sometimes a memory leads Ames to remember an important lesson he learned from that event and he proceeds to expound on it.Coming from the family of a pastor, Gilead had special significance for me. To hear the thoughts and struggles of a pastor reminded me much of what my own father has had to deal with over the years. It is a touching story of how the generations that come before shape what we become, but also how we can learn from the mistakes of our predecessors. I feel that Gilead might be a book I would purchase to have on my bookshelf and reread in the future.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is book that satisfies your soul. It is a story with very little plot and not much really happens but it leaves you with a sense of fulfillment, a sense of contentment. Reading the book reminded me of sitting at the lake with feet dangling into the water and simply being.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    An elderly minister writes a letter to his young son. A tender tale of a man’s belief, his simple life of integrity and the prairie he loves.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    One of my favorite authors of all time carrying on with her mesmerizing stories where there’s always a moment of such awesome beauty to behold, I’m always glad I was there.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This book is written as a letter from an old man to the young son he won't live to see grow up. He goes over events in his life, and his family's lives, and his friends' lives. It's a quiet little story of reminiscence. Sometimes it's a bit rambling and you wonder why you keep going. Then you'll hit a sentence or sentiment that's so luminous with grace and goodness that it brings tears to your eyes.

    I listened to the audiobook, and the narrator was excellent.

    I picked up this book because some of the book podcasters I listen to really, REALLY love the author. I liked it well enough, but maybe I need to read more to see if I really fall in love with her.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Too sleepy for me. I prefer a book with more of a plot. Maybe some day when I'm snowed in, I'll try it again, but I found that I kept leaving Gilead on my bedside table...starting another book...just didn't click for me. I agree that Ms. Robinson is a gifted writer, but this book wasn't to my taste.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    "This whole town does look like whatever hope becomes after it begins to weary a little, then weary a little more. But hope deferred is still hope."

    Oh, my. This is one of the best books I've read.

    It's so full of insights and emotion, as well as the conflicts that each of us share between what is right and what we desire. Or fear.

    The narrator, John Ames, knows he's dying. He's taken this opportunity to share some words with his son. He shares a little bit of history, a little bit of theology, and a lot of his own fatherly uncertainty and hopes and dreams and dreads.

    I was brought to tears more than once by this book, and I'm not easily brought to tears.

    It's lovely to see how John's intentions to pass along great words of wisdom and guidance to his son turn into the authentic ruminations that will certainly offer his son more direction than any sermon could. His father is a fallible man, an imperfect man, but a good man. He's suffered through pain and despair, jealousy and covetise, and now, at the end of his life, is fully and truly thankful for the bounty he's received. His words reveal an all-encompassing love of his son. Every child deserves this gift from his parents; to know that he is the apple of his parents' eyes, the most perfect creature in Creation.

    I want to go back and read this book again right now. It was that good.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This book is a minefield of theology. Take a step BOOM, theological rumination....BOOM BOOM, theological discourse with a side of religion....BOOM, theology and father son issues. If you can get through all that and out the other side with a smile on your face- then you will love this book like I did. The story is a slow rambling from an elderly and unwell man of the cloth. He is writing a letter to his young child in the hope that this will provide some of what he will miss out on being able to tell her as she grows.Its setting is small town America, in the recent past. But the real guts of the story is relationships. Friendships, loves, parenting and all the trickiness and complications that goes with them. It is conversational in style, and jumps around revealing bits and pieces along the way. Ultimately revealing some truths that are hard to put in words. Lovely. 4 stars.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is a novel about peace. Not the kind that means cessation of war; not even the kind that means absence of conflict. It’s the kind of inner peace inside one which remains there regardless of events, and which comes from a solid place. It's the kind of peace Christ meant when he said to his disciples, Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you (John 14:27).I’ve been really struggling with this review. I just did not know how to write about this book - didn’t know how to start, didn’t know how to approach the things I wanted to say. I’ve realised that part of the reason for this was an inability to write anything meaningful about it while avoiding religious content. I was worried about alienating potential readers who are non-religious or anti-religious. But this can’t be helped. The novel does, after all, have a narrator who is an elderly minister in a small Iowa town, writing a letter to his seven-year-old son for the latter to read when he is grown up and his father is long dead. It’s a letter which also becomes a kind of diary. It’s a place for an old man of deep faith to write out his thoughts and to commune (as he’d probably say himself) with his soul. He writes about his faith because it is his life - so how could a truthful review avoid mentioning it?Our narrator Reverend John Ames begins the letter because he’s been diagnosed with a heart condition and won’t live much longer. His wife is much younger than he is, and his son is still a child, though Ames himself is seventy-six. Over the course of writing this letter, which he adds to a little at a time over a period of months, he begins by writing out memories, family history and other things he’d like his son to know in the future. But eventually another character arrives in town who disturbs John Ames profoundly. The thought of dying and leaving this character to do potential damage after Ames is gone becomes a matter of serious and deep worry. That’s what I mean about the intricacies of peace in this novel. We see from his writing that he is disturbed; afraid even. That he feels a loss of peace. And yet the peace is still there. To mix cliches, you could say that although the depths are stirred, the foundation is not shaken.This book reminded me very much of one by George Macdonald with a similar premise: Annals of a Quiet Neighbourhood, a book I also enjoyed (but which is emphatically not for everyone). It has the same quiet introspection and a similar type of narrator, though the character of John Ames has more depth and intricacy.I’ve been thinking lately about what makes a novel work. So often it relies on people doing or feeling bad things - lies, violence, greed, lust and the like. I’ve become very interested in the idea of novels which do not rely on these, but which are about people who mean well, people who (to put it crudely) want to be good. How do we get drama, conflict and profundity out of that? The Victorians tried, but their style is completely out of fashion now, probably with good reason. Is there a modern alternative? And if so, can it be really Good Literature? Well, yes. Gilead makes that clear. This book is not a sermon; it hardly even points a moral. It’s a character study, and a brilliant one. What there is of plot moves slowly, as John Ames savours each moment of what is left to him of life, and the reader with him does the same. The book is golden, gentle and profound. It takes no high moral ground, and doesn’t really have much of an agenda. It’s intelligent, and it’s kind - a combination which is not all that common.Do not assume, by the way, that Rev. Ames 'communes with his soul' with a series of groans and midnight chest-beating. Far from it. He has a quiet, dry sense of humour, and a simplicity and honesty in his writing which makes every sentence a joy to read. His age and approaching death heightens his senses, and he sees things around him with a profound appreciation of beauty. There is also a sense that he still looks upon his wife and child with a kind of humble awe. The reader really feels, with John Ames, what it is like to be old, quiet, slow, and waiting for a death that is neither dreaded nor particularly wanted. The old Reverend is a very likeable man, and Robinson has really made him live. That small Iowa town has a way of persisting in the mind long after the book is finished.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This is a story of three generation from Civil War to the 20th century. Basically a pastor father speaking to his son of the spiritual battles of the American life. Robinson is a gifted writer with beautiful lyrical prose about love and forgiveness. It's not a book that not everyone would love as it is a lot of religious philosophizing. It's not a book with a plot or a real storyline so if that's what you are looking for, this book is not for you. I found it enjoyable in some areas but a bit boring in others.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Dit is een van die romans die in het begin enorm weerbarstig zijn. Tijdens het lezen kauw en kauw je er op, en je hebt het gevoel dat er zeker iets in steekt, maar je kan er de vinger niet op leggen. Ik moet toegeven dat het boek pas rond halfweg echt aansloeg, maar dan ineens met een heel intens vuur. En dan blijkt dit niet zomaar te gaan om melige brieven van de oude dominee John Ames aan zijn nog heel jonge zoon (hij is pas op zijn 67ste getrouwd), vol goede raad en grote waarheden. Neen, het is het eerlijke zoeken van Ames dat zo ontwapenend en ontroerend werkt: zijn worsteling met het leven, met vriendschap en liefde, en met de religieuze vanzelfsprekendheden waarvan hij de vertolker zou moeten zijn. Bovendien blijkt er doorheen de brieven ook een prachtige verhaallijn te steken. Twee dingen spraken me bijzonder aan in de aarzelend geformuleerde boodschap van Ames: de fundamentele eenzaamheid van elke mens, en de ongelofelijke genade van het bestaan zelf. De christelijke context, - Ames is per slot van rekening dominee ? is zeker relevant, maar niet doorslaggevend. Wat hij vertolkt zijn essentieel menselijke gevoelens, of ze nu religieus worden ingevuld of niet. Dit is een boek om te herlezen en te koesteren.