Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

Although this novel won a Pulitzer Prize in 2001, I had a hard time with the style.  It is essentially one long letter written by 76 year old John Ames to his very young son who Ames imagines will read it when he is long gone.  As a third generation member of the clergy who has lived almost his entire life in Gilead, Iowa, his story is sprinkled with biblical references and life affirming observations.  It is also a story of poverty and personal struggle that leads from the Civil War to the depression to the 1950's.  Although it is one long telling, it sometimes rambles as one memory leads to another through different times and places.  It is a great deal about the relationships of fathers and sons and the hope that the son who reads this will learn from the experiences of the men who have come before.  It is a book that lends itself to pondering, questioning, and personal reflection.  I just found myself wanting another voice - even more than I wanted chapters or even logical places to stop.