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Book Review of Gilead

Gilead
Gilead
Author: Marilynne Robinson
Genre: Literature & Fiction
Book Type: Paperback
reviewed on + 43 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1


This is a beautiful novel. The protagonist's voice is gentle (perhaps the entire book is addressed to his beloved child) and the diction is elevated, with a lot of biblical references. Everything about this spoke to me, though the setting--small town, rural Iowa, the life of a Protestant minister--could not be more different from my life. I read this after reading her other two novels (which I also loved!) and thought this was the best one. It does a better job of setting up historical context with subtlety than the other two books. I do love a book with an unreliable narrator--Rev. Ames is honest and self-reflective, but he's still a real person, flawed.