•12:10 PM
You know, I hate when this happens.
Because I want to seem all scholarly and knowed. Especially on my very own blog. But, again, I find myself a little embarrassed; however, this time I am not embarrassed because I have never heard of the author of my most recent book.
I am embarrassed because I was completely wrong about my most recent book.
I just finished Gilead, by Marilynne Robinson. I was prepared to write about how I just didn't understand what all the excitement was about ... and by excitement, I am referring to the 2005 Pulitzer Prize it was awarded along with the 2004 National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction, and the 2005 Ambassador Book Award. I just was not getting it ... until the end, when I shed tears and felt embarrassed at my stupidity. And now, I feel a little sad because I will miss Reverend John Ames and his thoughts.
Marilynne Robinson is a teacher at the University of Iowa. She wrote her first novel, Housekeeping, in 1980; Gilead is her second novel, which was published in 2004. I am intrigued to read Housekeeping, and have added it to my list of books to read when my challenge is finished - it looks like something I would really enjoy.
Gilead is a series of letters written by Reverend John Ames, for his son. Ames, who is seventy-six years old, has learned he is dying of heart disease and knows that he does not have much longer to live. And yet, he feels there are some things he wants to impart to his seven-year-old son; lessons on life, so to speak. Now, you may think it odd that a seventy-six-year-old man has a seven-year-old son; however, when my Grampa was born in 1913, his father was seventy-two years old. Could you imagine having an infant in your care at the age of seventy-two? I can barely cart around an almost-four-year-old at the age of almost-fourty-one ...
In the Bible, "Gilead" means hill of testimony or mound of witness, (Genesis 31:21), which describes the very essence of this book. It is a testimony of John Ames and his thoughts and his values. Gilead is also the name of the town in which Ames has resided his entire life and it is very much at the heart of the story.
Although John Ames writes the papers as a way of communicating to his young son, he uses them as makeshift confessional for himself as well. He is able to express the loneliness he experienced after his first wife died ... to reveal, and therefore relieve himself of the anger he feels toward his father ... and to declare his love for his wife and young boy ... to explore his relationship with his namesake, John ("Jack") Ames Boughton, who is his best friend's wayward son.
If you were to write to your children, what would you want them to know about you? And, don't just say that you would want them to know how much you love them and how much they mean to you. Really think about it ... what do you want them to know? Do you have any regrets? Are you really proud of something you accomplished? Did you do something really stupid and you want them to learn from your mistake? Do you have a specific memory that you want them to know about? What were you like as a child? What is the scariest thing you have ever done?
It would be an interesting exercise. As I'm sure you can imagine, even before I read this book, I had thought of doing the same thing. But, maybe this blog could be my notes to my children. Maybe they could learn something about me as a person by reading these entries, instead of just knowing me in my role as a momoholic. I know that it is a difficult step to take because Marnie giggles uncontrollably whenever I mention that I once worked in an office, with my very own desk and computer and fancy telephone, two lines ringing at once. Caiden just stares at me, until finally, he'll say, "You're jokin', right Mom?"
John Ames wants his son to learn lessons like, "... mind what you say. 'Behold how much wood is kindled by how small a fire, and the tongue is a fire' - that's the truth. When my father was old he told me that very thing in a letter he sent me." Ames adds his own thoughts or a memory into the entries, making an example of his own life.
He is funny sometimes, too. He imagines how he will be found when he dies, and he wants to make it dramatic. So, while waltzing around (alone) in his study, he tries to consider which book he should be clutching when he is found dead. Something that will go on to be considered a recommendation for reading since it was found grasped in the hands of the Pastor when he died. John Ames amused me sometimes.
Ames also details his family history and, in doing so, reveals his thoughts on father-son relationships.
This book is written without chapters. You know, I had never read a book without chapters until this challenge, and now I have read three. This story does have many breaks because it is written like entries in a diary, however it is not dated. Some entries are five or six sentences; others are three or four pages long. It is easy to read in bits and pieces, like I am often required to.
I had a very hard time getting "into" this book. In most novels, the reader is introduced to the characters and the setting within the first couple of chapters - you get to know your way around, so to speak. I don't think Ames' son ever gets named, and his wife's name is not revealed until near the end of the book. At the beginning of the story, each entry wraps up the thought ... that is, you do not need to continue to read to find out what happens. I had a very difficult time feeling drawn into the story. I appreciated what Ames had to say, but I was not sure that I cared to continue reading.
You know, when your Grampa tells stories ... stories you have heard before, or stories of "the old days," or useless anecdotes. Well, useless at the time. The beginning of the story was like that for me. Vaguely interesting, but useless at the time; yet really missed once it's gone. Just like my Grampa and his stories.
One of the reasons I may not have cared to continue reading is because it is a very religiously based book. And, I am not a very religious person. In fact, I out-right disagreed with a number of Ames' religiously-based ideas, and sometimes I did not like him. But other times, I really, really loved him ... for the sweet person that he was.
Eventually, I did start to care about reading it; you can tell, because I begin to "shush" my children and beg them for "five more minutes" until I have to get (insert anything a child may want/need here - legitimate or otherwise). I read through the last third of the book quickly, slowing my pace as the end neared. Because I did not want the end so near.
I am so thankful that I continued to read. Because, by the last entry, I came to appreciate what a wonderful person John Ames was, and that there were many things that we could all learn from him.
And, I did really cry at the end of the book. It made me sad to think that he had died, and that his son would grow up without his Dad. A really great Dad.
I feel rushed to read. I wish that I didn't ... but I do. So, when I pick up a book, I calculate when I should be finished reading it. To stay on track. On an intellectual level, I know this is wrong ... I am reading to expand my knowledge and open myself up to new things/ideas/people. But, apparently, I am competitive. I would never have called myself competitive, but I guess I am. Because I do not want to have read fewer than one hundred books by December 31st.
Ugh ... I always do this to myself.
I hate when this happens.
Because I want to seem all scholarly and knowed. Especially on my very own blog. But, again, I find myself a little embarrassed; however, this time I am not embarrassed because I have never heard of the author of my most recent book.
I am embarrassed because I was completely wrong about my most recent book.
I just finished Gilead, by Marilynne Robinson. I was prepared to write about how I just didn't understand what all the excitement was about ... and by excitement, I am referring to the 2005 Pulitzer Prize it was awarded along with the 2004 National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction, and the 2005 Ambassador Book Award. I just was not getting it ... until the end, when I shed tears and felt embarrassed at my stupidity. And now, I feel a little sad because I will miss Reverend John Ames and his thoughts.
Marilynne Robinson is a teacher at the University of Iowa. She wrote her first novel, Housekeeping, in 1980; Gilead is her second novel, which was published in 2004. I am intrigued to read Housekeeping, and have added it to my list of books to read when my challenge is finished - it looks like something I would really enjoy.
Gilead is a series of letters written by Reverend John Ames, for his son. Ames, who is seventy-six years old, has learned he is dying of heart disease and knows that he does not have much longer to live. And yet, he feels there are some things he wants to impart to his seven-year-old son; lessons on life, so to speak. Now, you may think it odd that a seventy-six-year-old man has a seven-year-old son; however, when my Grampa was born in 1913, his father was seventy-two years old. Could you imagine having an infant in your care at the age of seventy-two? I can barely cart around an almost-four-year-old at the age of almost-fourty-one ...
In the Bible, "Gilead" means hill of testimony or mound of witness, (Genesis 31:21), which describes the very essence of this book. It is a testimony of John Ames and his thoughts and his values. Gilead is also the name of the town in which Ames has resided his entire life and it is very much at the heart of the story.
Although John Ames writes the papers as a way of communicating to his young son, he uses them as makeshift confessional for himself as well. He is able to express the loneliness he experienced after his first wife died ... to reveal, and therefore relieve himself of the anger he feels toward his father ... and to declare his love for his wife and young boy ... to explore his relationship with his namesake, John ("Jack") Ames Boughton, who is his best friend's wayward son.
If you were to write to your children, what would you want them to know about you? And, don't just say that you would want them to know how much you love them and how much they mean to you. Really think about it ... what do you want them to know? Do you have any regrets? Are you really proud of something you accomplished? Did you do something really stupid and you want them to learn from your mistake? Do you have a specific memory that you want them to know about? What were you like as a child? What is the scariest thing you have ever done?
It would be an interesting exercise. As I'm sure you can imagine, even before I read this book, I had thought of doing the same thing. But, maybe this blog could be my notes to my children. Maybe they could learn something about me as a person by reading these entries, instead of just knowing me in my role as a momoholic. I know that it is a difficult step to take because Marnie giggles uncontrollably whenever I mention that I once worked in an office, with my very own desk and computer and fancy telephone, two lines ringing at once. Caiden just stares at me, until finally, he'll say, "You're jokin', right Mom?"
John Ames wants his son to learn lessons like, "... mind what you say. 'Behold how much wood is kindled by how small a fire, and the tongue is a fire' - that's the truth. When my father was old he told me that very thing in a letter he sent me." Ames adds his own thoughts or a memory into the entries, making an example of his own life.
He is funny sometimes, too. He imagines how he will be found when he dies, and he wants to make it dramatic. So, while waltzing around (alone) in his study, he tries to consider which book he should be clutching when he is found dead. Something that will go on to be considered a recommendation for reading since it was found grasped in the hands of the Pastor when he died. John Ames amused me sometimes.
Ames also details his family history and, in doing so, reveals his thoughts on father-son relationships.
This book is written without chapters. You know, I had never read a book without chapters until this challenge, and now I have read three. This story does have many breaks because it is written like entries in a diary, however it is not dated. Some entries are five or six sentences; others are three or four pages long. It is easy to read in bits and pieces, like I am often required to.
I had a very hard time getting "into" this book. In most novels, the reader is introduced to the characters and the setting within the first couple of chapters - you get to know your way around, so to speak. I don't think Ames' son ever gets named, and his wife's name is not revealed until near the end of the book. At the beginning of the story, each entry wraps up the thought ... that is, you do not need to continue to read to find out what happens. I had a very difficult time feeling drawn into the story. I appreciated what Ames had to say, but I was not sure that I cared to continue reading.
You know, when your Grampa tells stories ... stories you have heard before, or stories of "the old days," or useless anecdotes. Well, useless at the time. The beginning of the story was like that for me. Vaguely interesting, but useless at the time; yet really missed once it's gone. Just like my Grampa and his stories.
One of the reasons I may not have cared to continue reading is because it is a very religiously based book. And, I am not a very religious person. In fact, I out-right disagreed with a number of Ames' religiously-based ideas, and sometimes I did not like him. But other times, I really, really loved him ... for the sweet person that he was.
Eventually, I did start to care about reading it; you can tell, because I begin to "shush" my children and beg them for "five more minutes" until I have to get (insert anything a child may want/need here - legitimate or otherwise). I read through the last third of the book quickly, slowing my pace as the end neared. Because I did not want the end so near.
I am so thankful that I continued to read. Because, by the last entry, I came to appreciate what a wonderful person John Ames was, and that there were many things that we could all learn from him.
And, I did really cry at the end of the book. It made me sad to think that he had died, and that his son would grow up without his Dad. A really great Dad.
I feel rushed to read. I wish that I didn't ... but I do. So, when I pick up a book, I calculate when I should be finished reading it. To stay on track. On an intellectual level, I know this is wrong ... I am reading to expand my knowledge and open myself up to new things/ideas/people. But, apparently, I am competitive. I would never have called myself competitive, but I guess I am. Because I do not want to have read fewer than one hundred books by December 31st.
Ugh ... I always do this to myself.
I hate when this happens.
discussion,
family,
lessons,
religion
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1 comments:
You make your "just read" books come to life. I wish someone would hire you to do book reviews. You would certainly sell books, hon!!!