Gilead (Thorndike Paperback Bestsellers): Amazon.de: Marilynne Robinson: Englische Bücher

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Taschenbuch, Gro�druck, 10. Januar 2006

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Produktinformation

Taschenbuch: 386 Seiten
Verlag: Large Print Press; Auflage: Lrg (10. Januar 2006)
Sprache: Englisch
ISBN-10: 1594131244
ISBN-13: 978-1594131240
Gr��e und/oder Gewicht: 21,3 x 14 x 3 cm

Durchschnittliche Kundenbewertung: 3.8 von 5 Sternen Alle Rezensionen anzeigen (8 Kundenrezensionen)

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Amazon.com

In 1981, Marilynne Robinson wrote Housekeeping, which won the PEN/Hemingway Award and became a modern classic. Since then, she has written two pieces of nonfiction: Mother Country and The Death of Adam. With Gilead, we have, at last, another work of fiction. As with The Great Fire, Shirley Hazzards's return, 22 years after The Transit of Venus, it was worth the long wait. Books such as these take time, and thought, and a certain kind of genius. There are no invidious comparisons to be made. Robinson's books are unalike in every way but one: the same incisive thought and careful prose illuminate both.

The narrator, John Ames, is 76, a preacher who has lived almost all of his life in Gilead, Iowa. He is writing a letter to his almost seven-year-old son, the blessing of his second marriage. It is a summing-up, an apologia, a consideration of his life. Robinson takes the story away from being simply the reminiscences of one man and moves it into the realm of a meditation on fathers and children, particularly sons, on faith, and on the imperfectability of man.

The reason for the letter is Ames's failing health. He wants to leave an account of himself for this son who will never really know him. His greatest regret is that he hasn't much to leave them, in worldly terms. "Your mother told you I'm writing your begats, and you seemed very pleased with the idea. Well, then. What should I record for you?" In the course of the narrative, John Ames records himself, inside and out, in a meditative style. Robinson's prose asks the reader to slow down to the pace of an old man in Gilead, Iowa, in 1956. Ames writes of his father and grandfather, estranged over his grandfather's departure for Kansas to march for abolition and his father's lifelong pacifism. The tension between them, their love for each other and their inability to bridge the chasm of their beliefs is a constant source of rumination for John Ames. Fathers and sons.

The other constant in the book is Ames's friendship since childhood with "old Boughton," a Presbyterian minister. Boughton, father of many children, favors his son, named John Ames Boughton, above all others. Ames must constantly monitor his tendency to be envious of Boughton's bounteous family; his first wife died in childbirth and the baby died almost immediately after her. Jack Boughton is a ne'er-do-well, Ames knows it and strives to love him as he knows he should. Jack arrives in Gilead after a long absence, full of charm and mischief, causing Ames to wonder what influence he might have on Ames's young wife and son when Ames dies.

These are the things that Ames tells his son about: his ancestors, the nature of love and friendship, the part that faith and prayer play in every life and an awareness of one's own culpability. There is also reconciliation without resignation, self-awareness without deprecation, abundant good humor, philosophical queries--Jack asks, "'Do you ever wonder why American Christianity seems to wait for the real thinking to be done elsewhere?'"--and an ongoing sense of childlike wonder at the beauty and variety of God's world.

In Marilynne Robinson's hands, there is a balm in Gilead, as the old spiritual tells us. --Valerie Ryan -- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine vergriffene oder nicht verf�gbare Ausgabe dieses Titels.

From Booklist

Robinson's first book, Housekeeping (1981), remains an astonishment, leading to high expectations for her longed-for second novel, which is, joyfully, a work of profound beauty and wonder. Reverend John Ames of Gilead, Iowa, a grandson and son of preachers, now in his seventies, is afraid he hasn't much time left to tell his young son about his heritage. And so he takes up his pen, as he has for decades--he estimates that he's written more than 2,000 sermons--and vividly describes his prophetlike grandfather, who had a vision that inspired him to go to Kansas and "make himself useful to the cause of abolition," and the epic conflict between his fiery grandfather and his pacifist father. He recounts the death of his first wife and child, marvels over the variegated splendors of earth and sky, and offers moving interpretations of the Gospel. And then, as he struggles with his disapproval and fear of his namesake and shadow son, Jack, the reprobate offspring of his closest friend, his letter evolves into a full-blown apologia punctuated by the disturbing revelation of Jack's wrenching predicament, one inexorably tied to the toxic legacy of slavery. "For me writing has always felt like praying," discloses Robinson's contemplative hero, and, indeed, John has nearly as much reverence for language and thought as he does for life itself. Millennia of philosophical musings and a century of American history are refracted through the prism of Robinson's exquisite and uplifting novel as she illuminates the heart of a mystic, poet, and humanist. Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved -- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine vergriffene oder nicht verf�gbare Ausgabe dieses Titels.

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Unspektakuläres Spektakel! 21. Februar 2008

Von Literaturfan

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Es ist schwer, wirklich passende Worte für dieses feinsinnige und herzerwärmende Buch zu finden. Marilynne Robinson lässt ihren Protagonisten - den sterbenen Dorfpfarrer John Ames, der seinem kleinen Sohn schlicht seine Lebensreflektionen hinterlässt - auf so würdevolle und friedliche Weise mit seinem Leben auf dieser Welt abschließen, dass man als Leser nicht umhin kann, gemeinsam mit ihm an die geheimnisvolle Ewigkeit in Gottes Himmelreich zu glauben. Dieses Buch ist das sprichwörtliche stille Gewässer, das sich als unendlich tief erweist. So viele menschliche Wahrheiten derart unspektakulär zwischen zwei Buchdeckel zu platzieren, ist dann am Ende eben doch ein Spektakel. "Gilead" ist ein Buch für alle, die sich mal eine Auszeit aus dem rasanten Tempo unserer Welt nehmen möchten und sich danach sehnen, sich in der tiefen Stille der eigenen Seele der Essenz des Lebens und des Liebens zu nähern.

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A journey through time 17. M�rz 2006

Von Sancho Mahle

Format:Broschiert

Gilead is a beautifully written book. Highly expressive and insightful, this story that spans four generations is centers on with John Ames, a preacher who upon realizing that his end is drawing near entrusts his son with the account of his an account of life and the lives of his forebears , an account which s more about ideas and that has at its core a mystery that is the source of inspiration in the story and that of course makes it so rich. The overriding idea behind the story is faith, courage, forgiveness, grace, friendship, solidarity and the lessons that should be learnt from human weaknesses such as self-indulgence, anger, hatred, and other blinding emotions. The softness with which this book is written takes away the serious nature of its message and of course makes it an interesting and worthy read.

This book is highly recoomended. You can also try Disciples of Fortune, The Union Moujik, The Usurper and Other stories, Housekeeping . One thing for sure is that if you are looking for suspenseful plot, twists in a story, unusual but amazing characters and something to make you laugh, GILEAD fits the picture.

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Ein leises und weises Buch 7. Oktober 2009

Von Andreas Gewies

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Es ist gut, dass es Bücher gibt, die nicht das Spektakel suchen und nicht von Spannung (im üblichen Sinne) leben, sondern leise in das Innere von Menschen spüren. Dieses Buch ist für Menschen, die sich nicht davor scheuen, sich selbst die existentiellen Fragen des Lebens zu stellen und die in aller Offenheit und Wahrhaftigkeit nach der Wahrheit ihres Lebens suchen. Das größte, spektakulärste und somit wiederum doch spannendste Rätsel überhaupt ist die Existenz unserer Welt und allen Lebens selbst und die spannende Frage, wie wir mit diesem Leben umgehen und wie wir dabei unseren Mitmenschen begegnen. Und genau dies tut der Erzähler dieses Romans, indem er sein Leben Revue passieren lässt und versucht, seinem kleinen Sohn ein Stück seiner Empfindungen und Erkenntnisse mit auf den Weg zu geben. Es wäre schön, wenn Eltern häufiger in der Lage wären, sich ihren Kindern und sich selbst gegenüber zu offenbaren und somit zu mehr Wahrhaftigkeit und Authentizität zu gelangen.

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