Home (Oprah's Book Club): A Novel

One of what I considered to be failings of Marilynne Robinson’s ‘Gilead’ was the confinement within the mind of an aged minister, meaning that the reader was held captive to all the musings and concerns of John Ames, many of which were extensive theological debates with himself that struck one as a bit tedious if he wasn’t of the same spiritual persuasion or orientation as this minister. ‘Home’ takes place mostly in the home of Ames’ best friend, also an aged minister, Robert Boughton. Boughton’s health is even more debilitated than Ames’ as he is mostly bedridden whereas Ames still preaches at a church. Robinson seems to be comfortable with novels that largely take place in one location. Her debut, ‘Housekeeping’, mostly occurred either in the house where the “keeping” took place or by the fatal railroad tracks that traversed the lake. ‘Gilead’ mainly took place in Ames’ home, certainly in Ames’ mind. And ‘Home’ takes place mostly at—home. As Boughton’s heath has deteriorated, his youngest daughter, Charity, has come home to take care of him. Charity, at 38, is already approaching middle age, her almost engagement/marriage never occurring (the fiancé was, among other things, already married and, ultimately, never going to divorce his wife). She feels she has little to show for her years; taking care of her father is her purpose in life at this point. After Charity has been back home in Gilead for a while, they receive a letter from Jack, the ne’er do well son whom they haven’t seen in 20 years, saying that he is thinking of visiting the old home again. Charity and her father both have an “I’ll believe it when I see it” attitude toward seeing Jack again. Yet he surprises them, now in his forties, very thin and looking like he’s been through a ringer but trying to appear respectable. Charity and her father both go out of their way to appear welcoming, to not hold grievances against him and to be forgiving of any past transgressions. Jack realizes this and appreciates Charity’s lack of judgment, as an embodiment of her name in Biblical terms to which they both can relate. He lowers his guard partially and tries to go through the motions, getting the car in running order, cleaning up the barn, helping Charity care for their father, generally trying to make himself feel useful. Robinson repeatedly describes Jack as putting his hand over his face. It occurs so frequently that it must be significant. I feel that the gesture is Jack’s refusal to face certain regrets, look at unpleasant memories, or exposing a vulnerability to harsh judgment. Jack does stay longer than anyone expected but there is always an element of tension in the air. Will he drink again? Will he steal again? Will he just give up and leave, at this point almost guaranteeing that he will never see his father again? The novel almost seems like a play, mostly occurring in one location, the “home”, in all senses of the word, of the title. While it does have quite a bit of dialogue, there is far too much exploration of inner thoughts and emotions to accommodate a stage play. For the first half of the novel, there are only three “on stage” characters. Finally, in the second half, they invite Ames, his wife, Lila, and his young son, Robby, over for dinner. Jack inserts inquiries into the theological discussions that Ames and his father have and which Ames considers mocking but which are actual sincere questions from Jack. He really does try to believe. He’s read the Bible a few times cover to cover so he is certainly familiar enough with the belief system. Having read ‘Gilead’ previously, we know Ames’ attitude toward Jack in greater detail and this time we have more input from Ames’ wife Lila who actually gives Jack some benefit of the doubt and Robby, who warms up to Jack immediately with innocent acceptance. Boughton’s courtesy with his son begins to erode as Jack extends his stay and as his own physical and mental faculties begin to deteriorate. He expresses a barely expressed urgency that Jack give him some assurance of his honest Christian belief, that he not be consigned to perdition. Jack is already in the middle of a state of perdition and he cannot pretend to express a certainty that he does not sincerely feel. The best he can say to his father is that he has tried to believe. The cast expands slightly when their physician brother Teddy arrives for a brief visit at the worst possible time. Charity discovers Jack in a severely hungover state and realizes he’s been hiding liquor in the barn and his bedroom during much of his stay and efforts at putting up a brave face have weakened as the need for his chemical crutch has become more extreme. Jack tries the best he can to appear functional with his brother and Teddy is extremely solicitous but admits that he probably won’t ever see his brother again, knowing that Jack is planning his departure soon. Teddy has contacted the other siblings about coming to visit their father as soon as possible as he doesn’t have much time left. Before Jack leaves he says he will attempt to communicate with Ames once more and be as forthcoming as possible. This is the conversation that occurred near the ending of ‘Gilead’. We know why Jack reacts so strongly to the reactions from the authorities toward the black protestors (it’s the mid-50’s) when his father says they’re making the situation harder on themselves. Jack tries to enlighten his father on the real story of Emmett Till, which his father did not fully understand. He gives up any further effort when it appears unlikely his father will be sufficiently enlightened. Jack has been writing letters to his wife, unanswered presumably, as her mail has been intercepted by her minister father. Jack will never fully explain the situation other than that he met his wife in St. Louis a few years ago and her father did not approve of their union. When his wife and their son finally appear, a few days after Jack has left, Charity understands the circumstances more fully. ‘Home’ has an elegiac quality to it. There is pervasive sadness inherent in the prose as we realize that some divisions can never be mended. Jack may never change his behavior or turn his life around. Robinson expresses these conflicts through the Christian terminology she and the characters share, unapologetically. Robinson’s Christianity exists simultaneously with the acknowledgment of bitterness and desolation. Charity sums up the attitude of her parents and inherited by her: “Her parents were, in their way, fully as innocent as she was, having put aside their innocence on practical grounds, not in the belief that it had been discredited, but because they accepted the terms of life in this world as a treaty to be preferred to conflict, though by no means ideal in itself. Experience had taught them that truth had sharp edges and hard corners, and could be seriously at odds with kindness.” One thing that Robert Boughton often preached and found somewhat more difficult to live, could be summarized in the statement, “If you forgive, you may indeed still not understand, but you will be ready to understand, and that is the posture of grace.” Even if old Boughton cannot quite reach that state regarding Jack, his daughter, empathizing through her own unwise decisions and personal pain, can.

Home is truly a story of homecoming. It is a parallel story with the book Gilead, which is written from the autobiographical perspective of Reverend Ames. Home is written in the third person, and centers most fully around these three characters in this order: Glory, Jack, their father (Rev. Robert Boughton). Marilyn Robinson hits another home run with this down to earth, moving account of familial love and redemption. She hits on theological themes, interwoven with the warp and woof of everyday ordinariness. Her characters are likable, as we can identity in different ways perhaps with each of them. The author invites us into the kitchen, the parlor, the dining room, the bedrooms, the garden, the barn and into the intimacy of the Boughton family, allowing us to witness the joys and sorrows and memories of a family which are the essence of life lived and experienced. While largely told from the perspective and experiences of Glory, the story’s focal point centers upon the prodigal Jack. The interactions between the three main characters demonstrate hope, frustration, openness and growing trust, mystery and uncertainty, and ultimately an unglorified yet powerful redemption. The book also deals with black and white racial issues which are an important part of Jack’s life and bely the realities of 1950s America, also reminding us of the same tensions most of us continue to try to understand today. In conclusion, Jack is loveable and worth knowing. Glory is a pearl of great price. Robert Boughton is a humble, dignified man seeking to understand his son as his love cannot release him. I highlight recommend Home by Marilyn Robinson.

This book is a companion piece to Ms. Robinson's wonderful "Gilead", a tough act to follow. "Home" succeeds, moving the focus from the family of Congregationalist minister John Ames to that of his closest friend, Robert Boughton, a Presbyterian minister; like "Gilead", it is set in Iowa in the 1950's. Like Ames, Boughton is nearing the end of his life, but while Ames is focussed on his young son, still a boy, Boughton's attention is riveted on his 40ish son Jack, a prodigal who has returned to the family home after 20 years away. Boughton's 38-year old daughter Glory has also returned to the nest, to care for her failing father, and in flight from a long-term relationship that didn't work out. The novel charts the evolving relationships among these three, with what they say and don't say and can't say to one another, and with their private sufferings. Reverend Ames and his family appear, enhancing for this reader the sense of "home", with all the mixed emotions that can involve. "Home" is beautifully written, and compellingly plotted, despite the fact that not all that much actually happens -- on the outside, at least. The book is about love, and the failure of love to solve everything, and forgiveness, and race. It is also very specifically about religion, specifically the Protestantism of the mainstream American sects. I think this is a book readers will love, or dislike intensely. Give it a try.

I was listening to The Ezra Klein Show. He was going to share an interview with the author. She had written a book about Genesis in his introduction. Ezra had mentioned how much she enjoyed her earlier books. The comment he had made about her Genesis book was that she had found beauty inGenesis. That sounded to me quite profound. For even a casual reader of Genesis knows it is fraught with destruction and death, as well as other things. This old dispensation is not the same as the later son of David. The first book of the Torah, likely not the first written, is a creation story, different and the same as many others. It is awesome, wondrous fantastical. But beautiful? I could not listen to the podcast. First I needed to read her books the earlier ones perhaps the Genesis. I read Gilead. It was wondrous fantastical and beautiful and I thought that was it now I would go and listen to the podcast and then perhaps read her book on Genesis last I learned Gilead was a series trilogy. Somehow, reading Home, Gilead and Home merge together. It was even more powerful than the first read. I miss Jack.

This book is set at the same time as "Gilead" and although they can be read as stand alones I felt that my reading experience of this book was enhanced because I knew the other side of the story and I also was aware of the reason why Jack's recent relationship was a problem - knowing these things added to the tension when you read how the family reacted to Jack and how he felt about it. Jack Broughton was one of a family of children born to a preacher in the small town of Gilead. he was never an easy child and he found that he just couldn't conform so none of his family ever trusted him. The lack of trust caused Jack to act out and do things that made him less trustworthy and then he felt even more alone. As the story starts this very prodigal son returns home to his ailing family and spinster sister Glory having lived a life of which he is ashamed. Jack's father is delighted to see his son and welcomes him with open arms but as the stpry develops the lack of trust and the inability of these two man to reconcile poisons their relationship and leaves Jack alone again. This is a harrowing and sad story in which very little happens. It challenges our ability to understand difference and to give and accept forgiveness. The story is told from Glory's point of view as she struggles to give up her plans for marriage and children having been betrayed by her lover. Glory finds that if she gives up everything of herself she can settle for a life looking after her father and the family home, albeit with regrets. Jack can find no place in his family home but having been rejected by the woman he loves he fears that there may be no place for him anywhere. The book is set at the end of the 1950s and race riots and the struggle for black equality find their way into the home via the radio. Jack has lived in that bigger world and so has Glory but their father rejects a lot of change in favour of what he believes to be right and in doing so he rejects Jack. The book is written in a leisurely style but although nothing much seems to happen this is a tight and well observed novel about families, relationships and past hurts. Jack wants to be accepted for who he is despite the mistakes he has made and will probably keep on making but his father can only accept him if he changes and he doesn't think that Jack can or will. Love is not enough to repair the broken bridges in this family. I found this book very thoughtful and could see the issues that teh author discusses very clearly. I found it a powerful piece of writing which moved me to tears on more than one occasion. A fitting companion piece to "Gilead".

アメリカ文学の正統である。ホーソンの宗教、フォークナーの社会、ヘミングウエィーの正義、かつて読んだアメリカ文学の古典。宗教はアメリカ建国の契機であり、人種問題はアメリカの歴史そのものだ。作者はそれを遠景に、人間の悲しみと希望を描く。２００８年のアメリカがこういう作品を歓迎することに、改めて感心する。 小説の舞台は５０年代、保守的な田舎町の聖職者一家。老いた一人暮らしの父の屋敷に、不承ながら戻った主人公の３８歳の末娘グロリィ。（この主人公はまるで神がつかわした救いのようだ。）そこへ消息不明だった兄のジャックが２０年ぶりに舞い戻る。静まり返った屋敷で、互いを気遣う密やかな３人の暮らしが始まる。 ジャックは何故戻ったのか。親と子。罪と赦し。聖書の放蕩息子の寓話が語られる。放蕩息子は罪を償えるのか。聖職者である父はそれを赦せるのか。寛容だった父は、今では頑迷な偽善者に見える。むしろ放蕩息子のジャックが悲哀に満ちた殉教者のようだ。老いた父の心ない言葉とそれに耐える息子。 グロリィ自身、婚約者が既婚者と判明し、高校教師の職を捨て、故郷に逃げ帰ってきたのだ。この先自分はどうするのか。兄に同情し、父の老いを悲しみ涙するだけなのか。やがてこの一家の問題が、TV画面に他人事のように映る黒人の公民権運動と無縁ではないことわかる。 小説前半は分かりにくい。しかしそれも、この小説が前作のピューリツア賞受賞作品『Gilead』と連作であることで納得がいく。両者を読んだ時に、作者の構想の大きさと深さが、全貌を現すのかもしれない。しかし、取りあえず、父と息子の哀しい心のすれ違いに、主人公グロリィ同様、涙すればいいだろう。

Deep thoughtful read, but way too slow, long and drawn out for me. Good if you have heaps of time on your hands.

HOME is not just a sad novel. It is sad because it deals with the absence of grace and empathy in human relationship and the bitterness caused by it. There is a JACK in every other person in some way or the other who once bitten is twice shy. JACK could be a portrait of you and me under different situations. The author has brought out the complexity of human behaviour in exquisite prose. The novel is not for the itching mind.