Gilead

Who it's for

John Ames, dying and writing to his young son, looks back over his life with wonder at ordinary things: light on water, his son playing, his wife's face.

Feelings it meets

• Mortality
• Envy
• Faith

What it is

Marilynne Robinson's 2004 novel takes the form of a long letter written in 1956 by the Reverend John Ames, an elderly Congregationalist minister in Gilead, Iowa, who knows a heart condition will soon end his life. He writes to his seven-year-old son, reflecting on his life and faith and on his grandfather, an abolitionist preacher who fought in the Civil War, and his pacifist father.

Where to find it

In print; widely available from libraries (Libby/Hoopla) and as an audiobook. Still in copyright, so not on Project Gutenberg.

Before you start

Heads up: Death of a wife and baby in childbirth.

Age: Ages 14+

Do not act as if thou wert going to live ten thousand years.Marcus Aurelius, The Thoughts of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, Book 4 (tr. George Long)