Because I like to pretend I'm a lit professor, why do you ask?

April 2, 2008 7:48 PM

Books that have a "conversation" with Marilynne Robinson's Gilead?

I like to lead book groups that are short in duration and neatly focused, and in which the books somehow speak to or illuminate each other. For instance, a few years ago I led a very successful group that read Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton, and The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. I loved how Poisonwood Bible seemed to be speaking back to those earlier books, especially Things Fall Apart; I knew a lot of people were reading the Kingsolver who might not have read the others, but I thought they illuminated it and made it more intelligible and I wanted to share that, and I did, and it was great.

Right now, I think I'd like to put a group together to read Gilead, which I'm re-reading now. But I don't know what 2 or 3 other books I'd partner it with. Any ideas? I'd probably be offering it to my Quaker meeting, so other books that are explicitly about faith are fine, but not required. The connection could be something else: history, writing style, theme, fathers and sons, what-have-you. Fiction and non-fiction are OK.

posted by not that girl to society & culture (7 answers total)

Great question. I loved Gilead

How about "A River runs through it"? Both are stories of Fathers & sons, themes of faith and nature, set in early rural America. However, the characters are very different, and in different stages of life. Could be an interesting discussion
posted by jpdoane at 8:24 PM on April 2, 2008

I'll second A River Runs Through It, one of my favorites and near Gilead on my shelf.

What about Cloudsplitter by Russell Banks? It might not seem an obvious choice, but I think work of historical fiction would really highlight the racial issues and especially the radical past of the narrator's family. Yes, it's long, but it's still a pretty quick read.
posted by reader-writer at 8:53 PM on April 2, 2008

I just read that Gilead is one of Barack Obama's favorite books. So I will say Dreams from My Father.

I was really touched by the father-son story in the film Smoke Signals, which was based on a book by Sherman Alexie's (was it The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven?).
posted by cda at 10:04 PM on April 2, 2008

I would match it with Cormac McCarthy's The Road. They both feature a similar thematic element of a father imparting wisdom to his young son.
posted by rabbitsnake at 6:56 AM on April 3, 2008

"A River Runs Through It" is a great suggestion, and I would never have thought of it; some of the others I haven't read, so now I have some new books to explore. Thanks.

I wonder if there are similarly-themed books about mothers and daughters?
posted by not that girl at 7:35 AM on April 3, 2008

Take a look at the subject headings that show up here (scroll down) - they're clickable and will show you more along similar lines, and you can try searching Mothers and daughters -- Fiction too.
posted by clavicle at 7:42 AM on April 3, 2008

Kind of late to this particular party with an out there suggestion, but here are two that I happened to read around the same time I read Gilead that illuminated it for me--The Brothers Karamazov and The Life of Pi. Both very provacative books about God and belief--of course, Karamazov is a bit of a slog.
posted by zeusianfog at 10:06 PM on April 8, 2008