Book Reviews: Gilead and Lila

I am foremost a lover of short stories and Alice Munro, winner of the Nobel Prize, is one of my favorite authors. I buy hard copies of her works, just to hold the words in my hands; as I read, the characters materialize. A line from her short story, “Differently” says it all: accidental clarity.

Gilead: A Novel by Marilynne Robinson is the winner of the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. It is a diary of an elderly father and Congregationalist minister, John Ames, written to his son. John Ames supposes he will not live long enough to share many years with his son, and wishes to leave him something of substance, his father’s thoughts on many subjects, mundane and profound. It is a gentle read, with underlying currents of conflicts between people and philosophy, that flows along lyrically, drawing the reader into the heart and soul of a thoughtful man.

Lila, also by Marilynne Robinson, is about a young woman who comes to Gilead, takes shelter in a church during a downpour and meets, then marries, the minister, John Ames. Not an easy read, the reader struggles with Lila to make sense of her worlds—her past, her present, her childhood, her marriage. It is a story of despair, hope, joy, love, judgement and all the elements of human existence. A few times I lost the thread of the story, but found myself compelled to finish this unforgettable novel.