About the Author

Marilynne Robinson is the author of the modern classic Housekeeping--winner of the PEN/Hemingway Award--and two books of nonfiction, Mother Country (FSG, 1989) and The Death of Adam. She teaches at the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop.

Reviews

"At a moment in cultural history dominated by the shallow, the superficial, the quick fix, Marilynne Robinson is a miraculous anomaly: a writer who thoughtfully, carefully, and tenaciously explores some of the deepest questions confronting the human species. . . . Poignant, absorbing, lyrical...Robinson manages to convey the miracle of existence itself." --Merle Rubin, Los Angeles Times Book Review "Incandescent . . . magnificent . . . [a] literary miracle." --Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly (A) "Rapturous . . . astonishing . . . Gilead is an inspired work from a writer whose sensibility seems steeped in holy fire." --Lisa Shea, Elle "Lyrical and meditative . . . potently contemplative." --Michele Orecklin, Time "Perfect." --Jeremy Jackson, People(four stars) "Major." --Philip Connors, Newsday "You must read this book. . . . Altogether unlike any other work of fiction, it has sprung forth more than twenty years after Housekeeping with what I can only call amazing grace." --Anne Hulbert, Slate "So serenely beautiful and written in a prose so gravely measured and thoughtful, that one feels touched with grace just to read it." --Michael Dirda, The Washington Post "There are passages here of such profound, hard-won wisdom and spiritual insight that they make your own life seem richer. . . . Gilead [is] a quiet, deep celebration of life that you must not miss." --Ron Charles, The Christian Science Monitor "Gilead is a refuge for readers longing for that increasingly rare work of fiction, one that explores big ideas while telling a good story. As John Ames might point out, it's a remarkable thing to consider." --Olivia Boler, San Francisco Chronicle

As his life winds down, Rev. John Ames relates the story of his own father and grandfather, both preachers but one a pacifist and one a gun-toting abolitionist. Amazingly, just Robinson's second novel. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

"At a moment in cultural history dominated by the shallow, the superficial, the quick fix, Marilynne Robinson is a miraculous anomaly: a writer who thoughtfully, carefully, and tenaciously explores some of the deepest questions confronting the human species. . . . Poignant, absorbing, lyrical...Robinson manages to convey the miracle of existence itself." --Merle Rubin, Los Angeles Times Book Review "Incandescent . . . magnificent . . . [a] literary miracle." --Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly (A) "Rapturous . . . astonishing . . . Gilead is an inspired work from a writer whose sensibility seems steeped in holy fire." --Lisa Shea, Elle "Lyrical and meditative . . . potently contemplative." --Michele Orecklin, Time "Perfect." --Jeremy Jackson, People(four stars) "Major." --Philip Connors, Newsday "You must read this book. . . . Altogether unlike any other work of fiction, it has sprung forth more than twenty years after Housekeeping with what I can only call amazing grace." --Anne Hulbert, Slate "So serenely beautiful and written in a prose so gravely measured and thoughtful, that one feels touched with grace just to read it." --Michael Dirda, The Washington Post "There are passages here of such profound, hard-won wisdom and spiritual insight that they make your own life seem richer. . . . Gilead [is] a quiet, deep celebration of life that you must not miss." --Ron Charles, The Christian Science Monitor "Gilead is a refuge for readers longing for that increasingly rare work of fiction, one that explores big ideas while telling a good story. As John Ames might point out, it's a remarkable thing to consider." --Olivia Boler, San Francisco Chronicle