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Marilynne Robinson — 2009

WINNER OF THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2009 Hundreds of thousands of readers were enthralled and delighted by the luminous, tender voice of John Ames in Gilead, Marilynne Robinson's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. Now comes Home, a deeply affecting novel that takes place in the same period and same Iowa town of Gilead. This is Jack's story. Jack - prodigal son of the Boughton family, godson and namesake of John Ames, gone twenty years - has come home looking for refuge and to try to make peace with a past littered with trouble and pain. A bad boy from childhood, an alcoholic who cannot hold down a job, Jack is perpetually at odds with his surroundings and with his traditionalist father, though he remains Boughton's most beloved child. His sister Glory has also returned to Gilead, fleeing her own mistakes, to care for their dying father. Brilliant, loveable, wayward, Jack forges an intense new bond with Glory and engages painfully with his father and his father's old friend John Ames.

Reviews

Sarah Sammis@pussreboots

Apr 4, 2024

Home by Marilynne Robinson won the Orange Prize in 2009. It's a follow up, or parallel telling of Gilead (2004). Glory and Jack Boughton have returned home to Gilead to live in their father's home. Glory is there to take care of their father and avoid the pain of a broken wedding engagement. Jack is there for reasons unclear to either Glory or their father. Jack's reasons are the crux of the novel. As with Housekeeping (1981) (/blog/2007/comments_05/housekeeping.html), Robinson builds her characters and her story by the ebb and flow of mundane routine. It's a quiet style that might not be for everyone, but I found it the perfect read over a few breakfasts. Through the quiet scenes of family meals, the family history is revealed. We learn about Jack's past, his rebellious youth and a tragic loss. Whether or not Jack has grown from his mistakes ends up being the big question of the book. I now plan to go back and read Gilead to see the other half of the story.