In 1980, Marilynne Robinson drew the devotion of readers with
her debut novel, Housekeeping, a book that won the
PEN/Hemingway Award and has become a modern
classic. In 2004, her second novel, Gilead, was published
to critical acclaim and won both the National Book Critics
Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize. Now,
Marilynne Robinson has written her third stunning novel --
Home.
Set in the rural town of Gilead, Iowa, in 1961, Home is
the story of the Boughton family, of the aged Reverend Boughton and
of his middle-aged daughter, Glory, who returns to the family home
to care for her elderly father after a failed engagement. But it is
also the story of Jack Boughton, a troubled but brilliant son and
brother, estranged from the family for 20 years. Looking for refuge
from a secret he won't reveal, by turns distant and compassionate,
Jack has returned as well. Caught between the betrayals of the
past, hopes for the future, and the mingling of love and resentment
in the present, these three characters explore all that it means to
come home.
Home reflects the story of Reverend John Ames as told
in Gilead, and the two novels complement each other, but like good
neighbours they also stand apart. Marilynne Robinson has produced
another masterwork, a rich and moving novel that is both tender and
healing.