Gilead

In the fictional Iowa town of Gilead, an elderly minister named John Ames writes an account of his life for his young son. The year is 1956. Ames knows that his heart condition will leave the boy with few memories of him, so the writing becomes a way to pass on what he may not be able to say in person.

Marilynne Robinson gives this narrative the form of an extended personal document, combining the qualities of a journal, a memoir and a letter. Published in 2004, Gilead was Robinson’s second novel, following Housekeeping. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2005.