Read With Us: The Gilead Promo Post

Our next Read With Us discussion is just two weeks from today and we will be talking about the book Gilead by Marilynne Robinson.

Published in 2004 and awarded the Pulitzer Prize, Gilead has earned its reputation as a modern classic. It’s the kind of novel that continues to show up on lists of significant twenty-first-century fiction, not because it is dramatic or plot-heavy, but because of the depth and seriousness with which it explores the inner life of its narrator.

The novel takes the form of a long letter written by an aging minister in small-town Iowa to his young son, composed in the knowledge that he will not live to see the boy grow up. From that simple structure unfolds a sustained meditation on family, faith, memory, regret, and the ways we try to make sense of the lives we’ve lived.

What makes the book endure is Robinson’s prose. It is careful and precise without feeling ornamental, and she has an extraordinary ability to find meaning in small, ordinary moments. Despite its short length, this is not a a book you read quickly; it requires patience and attention, careful consideration, and it rewards your effort.

I first read Gilead in 2018 and loved it without hesitation. Rereading it now, I found that it landed differently, which, in many ways, is part of the beauty of revisiting a modern classic. As we change, the books we return to change with us. That alone makes it a worthwhile experience, whether this is your first encounter with it or a second (or third).

I hope you’ll consider reading along with us. We will be posing questions about the book on our blogs on Tuesday, March 17th and over Zoom at 7pm that same day. Please join Bonny, Kym, and I for what is sure to be a rich and thoughtful discussion.