Gilead (2005 Winner Of Pulitzer Price For Fiction)

Description:
In 1956, toward the end of Reverend John Ames's life, he begins a letter to his young son, a kind of last testament to his remarkable forebears. 'It is a book of such meditative calm, such spiritual intensity that is seems miraculous that her silence was only for 23 years; such measure of wisdom is the fruit of a lifetime. Robinson's prose, aligned with the sublime simplicity of the language of the bible, is nothing short of a benediction. You might not share its faith, but it is difficult not to be awed moved and ultimately humbled by the spiritual effulgence that lights up the novel from within' Neel Mukherjee, The Times 'Writing of this quality, with an authority as unforced as the perfect pitch in music, is rare and carries with it a sense almost of danger - that at any moment, it might all go wrong. In Gilead, however, nothing goes wrong' Jane Shilling, Sunday Telegraph

Review:
'A visionary work of dazzling originality' Robert McCrum, Observer 'Writing of this quality, with an authority as unforced as the perfect pitch in music, is rare and carries with it a sense almost of danger' Jane Shilling, Sunday Telegraph 'It is difficult not to be awed moved and ultimately humbled' Neel Mukherjee, The Times 'A great work of literature' John de Falbe, Daily Telegraph 'Gilead is a beautiful work - demanding, grave and lucid ... Robinson's words have a spiritual force that's very rare in contemporary fiction' James Wood, New York Times Book Review 'Serenely beautiful, and written in a prose so gravely measured and thoughtful, that one feels touched with grace just to read it. There's nothing flashy in these pages, and yet one regularly pauses to reread sentences, sometimes for their beauty, sometimes for their truth ... A portrait of the human condition - prey to isolation and loneliness, ever needful of faith and love' - Washington Post 'The wait since 1981 and Housekeeping is over. Robinson returns with a second novel that, however quiet in tone and however delicate of step, will do no less than tell the story of America - and break your heart' Kirkus Review 'Robinson's prose is beautiful, shimmering and precise ... Robinson truly succeeds in what is destined to become her second classic' Publishers Weekly 'Gilead is a powerful and intense read, one that takes time, but gives bountiful rewards' Bookseller 'A first novel that sounds as if the author has been treasuring it up all her life...You can feel in the book a gathering voluptuous release of confidence, a delighted surprise at the unexpected capacities of language, a close, careful fondness for people that we thought only saints felt' - Anatole Broyard, The New York Times 'A work of enormous integrity... A beautiful book of ideas' The Atlantic Monthly 'A psalm worthy of study, a sermon of the loveliest profundity... A literary miracle' Entertainment Weekly 'Gilead is a beautiful work-demanding, grave and lucid... Robinson's words has a spiritual force that's very rare in contemporary fiction' James Wood, New York Times Book Review 'Serenely beautiful... one feels touched with grace just to read it' Washington Post'Gilead is a beautiful work - demanding, grave and lucid ... Robinson's words have a spiritual force that's very rare in contemporary fiction' James Wood, New York Times Book Review 'Serenely beautiful, and written in a prose so gravely measured and thoughtful, that one feels touched with grace just to read it. There's nothing flashy in these pages, and yet one regularly pauses to reread sentences, sometimes for their beauty, sometimes for their truth ... A portrait of the human condition - prey to isolation and loneliness, ever needful of faith and love' - Washington Post 'The wait since 1981 and Housekeeping is over. Robinson returns with a second novel that, however quiet in tone and however delicate of step, will do no less than tell the story of America - and break your heart' Kirkus Review 'Robinson's prose is beautiful, shimmering and precise ... Robinson truly succeeds in what is destined to become her second classic' Publishers Weekly 'Gilead is a powerful and intense read, one that takes time, but gives bountiful rewards' Bookseller 'A first novel that sounds as if the author has been treasuring it up all her life...You can feel in the book a gathering voluptuous release of confidence, a delighted surprise at the unexpected capacities of language, a close, careful fondness for people that we thought only saints felt' - Anatole Broyard, The New York Times 'A work of enormous integrity... A beautiful book of ideas' The Atlantic Monthly 'A psalm worthy of study, a sermon of the loveliest profundity... A literary miracle' Entertainment Weekly 'Gilead is a beautiful work-demanding, grave and lucid... Robinson's words has a spiritual force that's very rare in contemporary fiction' James Wood, New York Times Book Review 'Serenely beautiful... one feels touched with grace just to read it' Washington Post

Prizes:
Winner of Pulitzer Prize for Fiction 2005.

Author Biography:
Marilynne Robinson was born in 1947. Her first novel, Housekeeping (1981) received the PEN/Hemingway award for best first novel as well as being nominated for the Pulitzer Prize.