Jack by Marilynne Robinson
<i>Jack<i/> by Marilynne Robinson. Wow. This, her fourth instalment in the Gilead quartet -- all so different yet all so profoundly worth reading. If only I lived closer or had more ambition, I'd take her writing course in Iowa. In 2005, when I was a high school English teacher, I asked the librarian, "Do you have any recommendations?" She handed me Marilynne Robinson's Gilead and said, "This just came in. It's excellent. It won the Pulitzer for literature." I took it home. I was in the prime of my career, Busy at home and doing a part time music career. My reading pace had started to pick up again, but mostly I was reading pulpy fluff -- stuff that didn't make me think too hard. Several chapters in to reading Gilead I had a couple of thoughts: this is the story of a congregationalist minister reflecting on his life, yes? And nothing is happening...? And, I suspect it's beautiful and profound in a subtle sort of way that requ