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17th out of 285 books
—
183 voters
The Testament of Gideon Mack
by
James Robertson (Goodreads Author)
"Who am I? I am Gideon Mack, time-server, charlatan, hypocrite, God's grovelling apologist; the man who saw the stone, the man that was drowned and that the waters gave back, the mad minister who met with the Devil and lived to tell the tale"
Gideon Mack, an errant Church of Scotland minister, doesn't believe in God, the Devil or an afterlife. From the moment he discovers a...more
Gideon Mack, an errant Church of Scotland minister, doesn't believe in God, the Devil or an afterlife. From the moment he discovers a...more
Paperback, 386 pages
Published
December 1st 2007
by Penguin Books
(first published January 1st 2006)
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Nov 28, 2007
emily
rated it
1 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
sleepy scots
man. maybe I didn't get it.
all gideon mack made me want to do was jog in the woods, have a spot of tea, resent my father, jog again, do it with my neighbor's wife, and maybe have a little more tea. this might be totally acceptable a lot of the time (well, not socially acceptable, but you know what I mean), but the jacket copy and the reviews all gave me a different impression. I was expecting faust, and I got portrait of a lady. (actually, I really like portrait of a lady. but you get the point....more
all gideon mack made me want to do was jog in the woods, have a spot of tea, resent my father, jog again, do it with my neighbor's wife, and maybe have a little more tea. this might be totally acceptable a lot of the time (well, not socially acceptable, but you know what I mean), but the jacket copy and the reviews all gave me a different impression. I was expecting faust, and I got portrait of a lady. (actually, I really like portrait of a lady. but you get the point....more
This book better be getting better soon; so far it reads like boring memoir. I still have hope though. I'm really holding out for when he meets the devil...
Well, I liked that devil, but aside from that, I was disappointed. I was expecting more. The book gives you a brief description of the "legend" of Gideon Mack in the beginning, but then Gideon's testament doesn't do much to really alter that legend. So it's like we already know what's going to happen, and then he explains in deeeetaaaail what...more
Well, I liked that devil, but aside from that, I was disappointed. I was expecting more. The book gives you a brief description of the "legend" of Gideon Mack in the beginning, but then Gideon's testament doesn't do much to really alter that legend. So it's like we already know what's going to happen, and then he explains in deeeetaaaail what...more
What a book!! This book was longlisted for the Booker in 2006, which was eventually won by one of my least favorite books, the Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai. Pity :P
I found this an intriguing read not in the least because of the subject matter, which if I were to put in one word (!), would be Faith. Religious for the most part, but also the faith we choose to have or not to have in humanity, in life, in our friends, in ourselves...and how Faith is first and foremost a matter of choice. It's...more
I found this an intriguing read not in the least because of the subject matter, which if I were to put in one word (!), would be Faith. Religious for the most part, but also the faith we choose to have or not to have in humanity, in life, in our friends, in ourselves...and how Faith is first and foremost a matter of choice. It's...more
James Robertson's the Testament of Gideon Mack is a mixture of fairly realistic everyday drama (priest in a small town in Scotland, a priest who does not believe in God, but focuses on charity causes and making a name for himself, adulterous, who suffers a terrible loss) and the whimsical and fantastic. There are legends about strange goings ons around the village, that is in a fairly rural and ragged area, and Gideon gets to experience first hand some of these strange things.
I'm not spoiling a...more
I'm not spoiling a...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This novel is the fictional autobiography of Scottish minister, Reverend Gideon Mack. While rescuing the dog of a fellow minster Gideon had fallen into a local gorge known as the Black Jaws and is swept along a treacherous river disappearing underground. He is believed by all to be dead. However, three days later he is found with hardly any injuries and claims that he was rescued by the Devil himself with whom he spent three days underground. His public declaration of these events leads to him b...more
Highly intelligent and clever.
A neatly woven but sometimes heavy going story of a Scottish vicar which explores the nature of faith in a novel way.
The story basically explores Christianity from an inverse perspective - weaving in the eternal questions and judgements that the modern world makes about religion. It expands on books like "Mere Chrisitanity" written by C S Lewis which raises the issues of religion, and truth and chrisitan ethics and transfers this into a fictional format.
Is Gideon...more
A neatly woven but sometimes heavy going story of a Scottish vicar which explores the nature of faith in a novel way.
The story basically explores Christianity from an inverse perspective - weaving in the eternal questions and judgements that the modern world makes about religion. It expands on books like "Mere Chrisitanity" written by C S Lewis which raises the issues of religion, and truth and chrisitan ethics and transfers this into a fictional format.
Is Gideon...more
The more I thought about this book after I'd finished, the more it twisted and turned in my mind. Was it because the reliability of the narrator became more and more suspect, especially at the end? Or was it because the author laid out such a seemingly simple story that, upon review, roils a reader's ideas about what faith is, whether good works are more important than faith, or ecstatic joy, or duty, or...
The beginning of the book took a while to get going. I learned too much about the main cha...more
The beginning of the book took a while to get going. I learned too much about the main cha...more
Fairly entertaining and an easy read.
Like an easy version of Private Memoirs & Confessions Of A Justified Sinner.
The cover of the edition I read looked like it should have been a light comedy stylee piece. Cartoon devil and pastel coloured leaves. But the main body of the text reads like a descent into mental ill health, rational sounding but not ringing true...or was it an actual visit to Auld Nick's waiting room. At the very least it has that whole "unreliable narrator" thing going on.
Hint...more
Like an easy version of Private Memoirs & Confessions Of A Justified Sinner.
The cover of the edition I read looked like it should have been a light comedy stylee piece. Cartoon devil and pastel coloured leaves. But the main body of the text reads like a descent into mental ill health, rational sounding but not ringing true...or was it an actual visit to Auld Nick's waiting room. At the very least it has that whole "unreliable narrator" thing going on.
Hint...more
I picked this book up from the library discard pile a while back; its premise was appealing: "What if you didn't believe in God, but then met the Devil?".. especially when Gideon Mack the main character is an atheist who works as a minister!
What put me off:
- The Prologue that's written by an 'editor' giving the background of the situation, that talks around the 'testament' - I know it's a strategy to drop huge hints about what is to come, to hook the reader, but in this case it just irritated me...more
What put me off:
- The Prologue that's written by an 'editor' giving the background of the situation, that talks around the 'testament' - I know it's a strategy to drop huge hints about what is to come, to hook the reader, but in this case it just irritated me...more
The Testament of Gideon Mack takes us to the Scottish myths and legends without losing the individuality, the psyche that is, of its people. The amalgam of doubts and certainties, of facts and religion, of what is real and what's a "metaphor" makes the read revolting and, at the same time, elicits a skeptic response: either you'd want to believe Gideon Mack himself, or find out yourself, in the shadows of his words, phrases, and very detailed accounts, if there are indeed meanings more profound...more
The title character in James Robertson’s novel THE TESTAMENT OF GIDEON MACK is a minister on the east coast of Scotland who sets out to chronicle his life.
We learn about his over-strict minister father and ineffectual mother and that after studying to be an English teacher, he decided to become a minister instead, despite not believing in God and having always been skeptical about both the Church and all things supernatural.
Toward the end of his life, he has a near-death experience, after which...more
We learn about his over-strict minister father and ineffectual mother and that after studying to be an English teacher, he decided to become a minister instead, despite not believing in God and having always been skeptical about both the Church and all things supernatural.
Toward the end of his life, he has a near-death experience, after which...more
An excellent treatise on the nature of faith and rationality, where what one individual believes vehemently, another may question and regard as delusional. Gideon Mack embodies this uncertainty in the decisions made and interpretations of events experienced which he records for posterity ahead of his mysterious death. What Robertson so expertly achieves is to leave the reader with as many questions as answers as to their own interpretation of what they read. The opening of the book is narrated b...more
Definitely a confusing read for me. I loved reading the past of Gideon Mack and his relationship with his father. How the main character just lied through life with the currents pushed by his parents and the environment around him. It was a story that I was intrigued to read and sympathize with the character as he goes through waves of emotions and makes mistakes that are immoral in his community. It is a slow read because I picked up this book after reading the blurb on the back. It mentions th...more
Oct 20, 2011
Suzy
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Nick, Elise, Jim, Kathy
At first I thought this book might be a 5-star book. I was not terribly let down by the end, but I should say that what struck me as uncannily insightful in the beginning got to seeming less amazing toward the end. It is an unusual and well written tale, presented as a discovered "testament" with a prologue and epilogue by a prospective publisher and his reporter, respectively. The Testament of Gideon Mack takes place in Scotland and tells the life of a boy, Gideon, born in the 50's and raised b...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This novel is somewhat of a slow-burner, but once one ignores the rather annoying structure (there seems little reason why the prologue and epilogue couldn't be incorporated into the main text), the plot proves a rich and rewarding read. Though the writing style is similar to Alexander McCall Smith, the themes are rather meatier, interweaving father-son relationships, the conflict between traditional and modern interpretations of religion, whether the essential basics of faith can play a role in...more
I have to say I had high hopes for this book as it had been recommended by a friend whose literary taste I trust. Unfortunately I just couldn't get into it. I completed the book, I understood the concepts and philosophies being illustrated by the author. Perhaps if such thoughts were considered vaguely radical by me, I would have enjoyed it more. It is a thesis on the questioning of faith, and of what faith is in the first place. It is a questioning of the nature of God, and of course Old Nick....more
I am such a sucker for books about questioning faith, especially when they involve a Scottish Minister who doesn't believe in God, yet meets the Devil in an underground cavern.
The book is told in a form of flashback: you start of knowing the Gideon Mack is no longer a minister in the Kirk. What you don't know is if he is insane. In a way, this duality of knowing part of the story's outcome, yet not the main crux of the tension, is similar to 'Owen Meany' another recently reviewed and much loved...more
The book is told in a form of flashback: you start of knowing the Gideon Mack is no longer a minister in the Kirk. What you don't know is if he is insane. In a way, this duality of knowing part of the story's outcome, yet not the main crux of the tension, is similar to 'Owen Meany' another recently reviewed and much loved...more
A minister falls into a gorge. For three days, he is lost. Then he returns, and tells people that he met the devil down there.
The cover (and blurb, and prologue) might make you think that you're going to read a bit of a yarn - the tale of a minister and the devil, and their meeting. Alas, that is not to be, for this is a novel about a minister, and the devil is only in it for a few pages near the end.
Basically, it's a wannabe literary novel that adds a small sprinkling of unreal to have the adde...more
The cover (and blurb, and prologue) might make you think that you're going to read a bit of a yarn - the tale of a minister and the devil, and their meeting. Alas, that is not to be, for this is a novel about a minister, and the devil is only in it for a few pages near the end.
Basically, it's a wannabe literary novel that adds a small sprinkling of unreal to have the adde...more
Initially a little heavy going, but the pace soon picks up.
As someone brought up in the area the book was set in, and brought up in the same era (admittedly not as a minister's son thankfully), I was able to relate fully to the story of Gideon's life. As a deep agnostic all of my life, and as an atheist today, I was also able to relate to many of the characters and Gideon himself. Also, I was able to identify people from my own past who appeared in the book (such as the dour, hypocritical Mcmurr...more
As someone brought up in the area the book was set in, and brought up in the same era (admittedly not as a minister's son thankfully), I was able to relate fully to the story of Gideon's life. As a deep agnostic all of my life, and as an atheist today, I was also able to relate to many of the characters and Gideon himself. Also, I was able to identify people from my own past who appeared in the book (such as the dour, hypocritical Mcmurr...more
A publisher comes upon the manuscript from a recently deceased Presbyterian minister from a small Scottish town, who in death became notable for two contrarian things: the acknowledgement that he had in fact been athiest, and his insistence that he had spent three days with the Devil. His testimony is reprinted in full in The Testament of Gideon Mack, and as the account trudges on, the question of whether Mack was crazy eventually subsides. The actual question posed by the book is how faith inte...more
Other reviewers have summarised the plot so all I'll say is that if he never wrote anything else, this book would show how skilled a professional Robertson is. The structure - the reader knows the outcome from the start - needs to be flawless to hold interest and Robertson pulls it off superbly without using any 'fancy tricks'.
The narrative drive is maintained by numerous unresolved relationships but perhaps mostly by the question of whether Gideon Mack really met the devil or whether he has los...more
The narrative drive is maintained by numerous unresolved relationships but perhaps mostly by the question of whether Gideon Mack really met the devil or whether he has los...more
I found this book interesting but annoying. He is grappling with existential ideas, and our views our different, so there would be some conflict there anyway. However, the real problem was that too many characters were unlikable, especially the main one. A fully developed character needs to have flaws, but you should be able to enjoy spending time with him. Maybe the author didn't like his characters much either, feeling superior to them, and to the readers. There was frequent vulgarity, which i...more
Robertson expertly combines his two main strands of influence into a heady combination of testimony and metaphysical mystery. From Lewis Grassic Gibbon's Sunset Song he lifts the standing stones and the Presbyterianism; and from James Hogg's The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner he lifts the structure, the plot, the devil, the lot. You have to admire Robertson's moxy, he deliberately set out to homage the two great titans of Scottish literature, and you admire him even more w...more
This book was popular in the UK a few years ago (I found it on the current publications table in a bookshop) but I haven't seen it in the US. It is a wacky book, written as a manuscript found after the death of a Scottish minister explaining his encounter with the devil. Written very much as a mystery, it never becomes formulaic. It is very much an "of the manse born" novel such as only a Scotsman could write since it is deeply concerned with the way Scotland's strict religious past impacts the...more
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Gideon Mack is a minister in the Scottish church, being the rebellious son of a domineering father, also a minister; it seems a strange choice of career, especially as he does not believe in God! It is a thought provoking and humorous story that has continued to haunt me since finishing it a few days ago. He leads a fairly lively ministerial life and raises money for the church by running in marathons. One day his life is changed for ever when out running...more
Gideon Mack is a minister in the Scottish church, being the rebellious son of a domineering father, also a minister; it seems a strange choice of career, especially as he does not believe in God! It is a thought provoking and humorous story that has continued to haunt me since finishing it a few days ago. He leads a fairly lively ministerial life and raises money for the church by running in marathons. One day his life is changed for ever when out running...more
2 likes · like · see review
This is no easy read for it requires the reader to ingest the characters, endure the process of continual character re-imaginations, and actively piece together a narrative at once weighty in its subject matter and succinct in its plot.
I could not be more impressed with a novel. It made me work hard as a reader. And there were many times that, as I read, I thought were "boring." But looking back, I see that these parts were the parts of the book that resembled lived reality the most.
At it's cor...more
I could not be more impressed with a novel. It made me work hard as a reader. And there were many times that, as I read, I thought were "boring." But looking back, I see that these parts were the parts of the book that resembled lived reality the most.
At it's cor...more
If you're gonna write a book about meeting the Devil, you should write a book about meeting the Devil, not a fictional biography with minimal Devil interaction.
1 like · like · see review
My favourite book by one of my favourite writers, The Testament of Gideon Mack feels very classical (reminiscent of The Confessions of a Justified Sinner) and very contemporary at the same time.
The main character, Gideon Mack, is a Church of Scotland minister who doesn’t believe in God. Not a minister who has lost his faith, but a minister who made a decision to have a career in the church despite not believing in God. Yet the author manages to make this seem like a reasonable decision by a rath...more
The main character, Gideon Mack, is a Church of Scotland minister who doesn’t believe in God. Not a minister who has lost his faith, but a minister who made a decision to have a career in the church despite not believing in God. Yet the author manages to make this seem like a reasonable decision by a rath...more
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James Robertson (born 1958) is a Scottish writer who grew up in Bridge of Allan, Stirlingshire. He is the author of several short story and poetry collections, and has published four novels: The Fanatic, Joseph Knight, The Testament of Gideon Mack, and And the Land Lay Still. Joseph Knight was named both the Scottish Arts Council Book of the Year and the Saltire Society Book of the Year in 2003/04...more
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“But I do like Scotland. I like the miserable weather. I like the miserable people, the fatalism, the negativity, the violence that's always just below the surface. And I like the way you deal with religion. One century you're up to your lugs in it, the next you're trading the whole apparatus in for Sunday superstores. Praise the Lord and thrash the bairns. Ask and ye shall have the door shut in your face. Blessed are they that shop on the Sabbath, for they shall get the best bargains. Oh yes, this is a very fine country.”
—
6 people liked it
“I prefer the pen. There is something elemental about the glide and flow of nib and ink on paper.”
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4 people liked it
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Apr 27, 2009 09:37am