Gilead by Marilynne Robinson - book review

Rating 3.85/5 

Genre Fiction, longing and nostalgia

This novel is a long letter from an old father(of seventy seven) to his young son.  He is a pastor at his local church in Gilead, Ohio. His father and grand father were also pastors and he recollects some events in their lives in the letter. He tells of his grand father's visions from God, how he fought in the war, how he thought the war to be God's divine plan and preached to others as such, how he lost an eye and remained one-eyed for the rest of his life, how he left his family in old age and made a journey to his native place of Kansas and died there. He tells his son of what events led to the meeting of his wife who was very young compared to him and how they ended up marrying each other. The parts where he regrets not being able to grow up with his young son and wife, to not being there to show him the ways of life and guide him are touching and inspirational. 

I thought the real interesting part of the letter started with the introduction of his friend's son, young Jack Boughton. The old man doesn't have a positive impression on the character and qualities of Jack Boughton and warns his son as much. To not build an intimate relationship with a known mischievous person. So I loved the memories with Jack Boughton in them perhaps because he was an anomaly and a spoilt child who was forgiven for everything he does in God's name. 

This book has won a Pulitzer prize and I think it deserved it. The old man barred his soul through the letter to his son. His vulnerabilities, likes and dislikes, the things he believes and those that make him scared of in his old age so near to death. Though the content of the book is so small as to be a handful of important things which we can learn, the impression left on the reader by the compassion of the old man is incorrigible.