Review

A little over a year ago a friend of mine starting raving about this book. He described a bit of it, but it didn’t sound like my cup o’ tea, so it disappeared from my mind. Then about seven or eight months ago he gave me a copy and I managed to read about eight pages before I put it down. Then about six weeks ago, I picked it up and started reading it in the mornings. OMG…

“Gilead” is a stunning, beautiful novel that deserves to be read by EVERYONE. Written as an elderly Midwest preacher’s swan song to his young son, it touches on life, love, grace and the mystery of existence. I’ve been so enamored with the poetic prose and gentle storytelling that I sent my dad a copy for his birthday. Of course, Mom’s the one reading it. She found it hard to describe just how she felt about it, but settled on “…a rather pleasant melancholy.” That’s pretty succinct.

I found myself challenged, moved, at times wistful, but completely engrossed with almost every turn of the page. Once I was about 15-20 pages in, I had to start FORCING myself to put the book down, lest I while away an entire day or three soaking up all the emotions and nostalgia for a time I never knew. This is a story that transcends the narrow ideals of a generation; a story about the hopes and fears, the dreams and realities that come with being human. Ultimately it is a story of redemption, and if you give it a chance… it just might change you.

Run (don’t walk — seriously) to your nearest bookstore or library. Heck, click the Amazon Link here and order it online. Whatever you do though, READ THIS BOOK! There’s a reason it won the Pulitzer Prize: and it’s not because there was a fire sale on Pulitzers this year…