RaveThe San Francisco ChronicleGilead is chock full of rich, complex language, as well as plunges into intricate philosophical and spiritual introspections. There's also an intriguing plot turn and characters who harbor beguiling histories. One might also point out that it's the little things – the main character's love of baseball and fried-egg sandwiches, for instance – that ground this deeply reflective, yet accessible novel … One might label this a religious book, but that would be overreaching. Rather, it's a meditation on the sacredness and inscrutability of belief, forgiveness and faith in human connections … Whether or not Gilead, Iowa, is the refuge Jack Boughton hopes for, Gilead is a refuge for readers longing for that increasingly rare work of fiction, one that explores big ideas while telling a good story.
