Gilead (Gilead, #1) in Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge

Jul 12, 2011 Becca rated it it was amazing

Shelves: contemporary-literary-fiction

This is a beautiful book, an elegiac book, about legacy, about fathers and sons and the fierce love between them, about the power of place in our history.

Early in the book, John Ames says he is writing his young son’s “begats,” writing down the legacy of people and thought that he feels he won’t live long enough to provide the boy. “We all do live in the ruined lives of other generations,” Ames writes, and for me this is almost the crux of the story and what he means for his son to know. What ...more

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Sep 26, 2018 Debbie rated it liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction

Beautifully written family saga narrated by an elderly minister dying from a heart condition. As he writes a letter to leave for his young son, he reflects on his family and his faith.

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Oct 14, 2015 Julie added it

Unsure how to rate this. It was like reading an extremely beautiful meditation on life and theology, but also... reading it felt like homework.

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Mar 23, 2021 Julie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: to-read-own

A quiet, contemplative masterpiece! This has been on my #TBR for 9 years but, somehow, this was the perfect time for me to read it. A minister’s letter to his son for after he is gone may not seem like a groundbreaking work of art but this manages to be just that. It made me think, tear up, ask questions and want to argue with the minister but ultimately listening was enough. If this is on your #TBR , move it up!

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