Gilead Audiobook By Marilynne Robinson cover art

Gilead

A Novel

 Preview
Get this deal Try for $0.00
Offer ends December 1, 2025 11:59pm PT.
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Join Audible for only $0.99 a month for the first 3 months, and get a bonus $20 credit for Audible.com. Bonus credit notification will be received via email.
1 audiobook per month of your choice from our unparalleled catalog.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Gilead

By: Marilynne Robinson
Narrated by: Tim Jerome
Get this deal Try for $0.00

$14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime. Offers ends December 1, 2025 11:59pm PT.

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $17.86

Buy for $17.86

Get 3 months for $0.99 a month + $20 Audible credit

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER• OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB PICK • WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR FICTION • NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD WINNER• A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK • MORE THAN 1 MILLION COPIES SOLD

“Quietly powerful [and] moving.” O, The Oprah Magazine (recommended reading)

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Critics Circle Award, GILEAD is a hymn of praise and lamentation to the God-haunted existence that Reverend Ames loves passionately, and from which he will soon part.

Nearly 25 years after Housekeeping, Marilynne Robinson returns with an intimate tale of three generations, from the Civil War to the 20th century: a story about fathers and sons and the spiritual battles that still rage at America's heart. In the words of Kirkus, it is a novel "as big as a nation, as quiet as thought, and moving as prayer. Matchless and towering." GILEAD tells the story of America and will break your heart.

©2004 Marilynne Robinson; (P)2005 BBC Audiobooks America, Published by Audio Renaissance, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishers, LLC Epistolary Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction National Book Critics Circle Award Pulitzer Prize Sagas Heartfelt Inspiring

Critic reviews

<p>“There are passages here of such profound, hard-won wisdom and spiritual insight that they make your own life seem richer…<i>Gilead</i> [is] a quiet, deep celebration of life that you must not miss.” —<i>Ron Charles, The Christian Science Monitor</i><br><br>“The long wait has been worth it… Robinson's prose is beautiful, shimmering, and precise… destined to become her second classic.” —<i>Publishers Weekly, starred review</i><br><br>“There is a lot of pleasure to be had in the novel's probing, thoughtful narrative voice.” —<i>Matt Murray, The Wall Street Journal</i><br><br>“<i>Gilead</i> is a beautiful work… Robinson's words have a spiritual force that's very rare in contemporary fiction.” —James Wood, <i>The New York Times Book Review</i><br><br>“Lyrical and meditative… potently contemplative.” —<i>Michael Orecklin, Time</i></p>

Featured Article: The Best Audiobook Series of All Time by Genre


What makes a good audiobook series? There are as many answers to this question as there are listeners. For some, it might be epic battles. For others, it might be ongoing romantic twists and tensions. For still others, it might be elongated character studies or an in-depth analysis of a particular time and place. But the universal element of a truly great series is that it sticks with you long after the last word. These are our favorites from every major genre.

Featured Article The Best Audiobook Series of All Time by Genre
Beautiful Writing • Profound Insights • Perfect Voice Match • Vivid Characters • Thoughtful Storytelling

Highly rated for:

All stars
Most relevant
"Gilead" is one of the most profound, deeply moving novels of our time. Its portrayal of human nature and existence in a universe pervaded by God would perhaps have seemed natural a century and more ago; today, it is a revelation. More than once, this novel made me weep, something that no book has ever before done. How fortunate, then, that this blessed novel has been blessed with a great reader. His voice, intonation and pace are ideal for the character of John Ames, the story's ostensible narrator. A perfect reading of a perfect novel: what more could one ask of an audible.com offering?

A perfect reading

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
In this collection of letters to his young son, the voice of Rev. John Ames, mesmerizes us. To this boy he leaves his last treasures .. the family story, the story of the town Gilead, his observations of life, friendship, society, history, rural life, the nature of love, jealousy, and friendship, the reconciliation of fears and disappointments.. and his steadfast faith in God, and the role that faith plays in Rev. Ame's life. Woven into all this are several amazing tales of adventure, and quite a bit of subtle humor.

The reason for the letter is Rev.Ames's failing health. He wants to leave an account of himself for this son who will never really know him. He is 76 and dying. His son is almost 7 years old. The boy and his mother have been a blessing in his later years, and his deep love for them both is painted in the gratitude he expresses for this gift from God. His hopes and dreams for the boy's future are the most poignant. Without mushy sentimentality, we feel the ache he feels anticipating his absence from the boy's growing up.

This is a wonderful story, beautifully written. Thought provoking and awe inspiring. I've listened to it once.. read it twice.. given it to several friends as gifts. It is a challenging book to read, rich and full of new discoveries with each new reading.

There is,indeed, a balm in Gilead.

Exquisite, humorous, though-provoking experience

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A nicely written, and narrated novel. The tempo I quite slow, but I found my self interested in the small and big thing In his life. Religion is a big part of the book and can be a bit to much for a godless European. It didn?t bather me to mush.

A nice read

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
It met my expectations and gave me much to think about. I don't know why it was from Audible kids.

I loved the whole series

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Admittedly I broke this book up into chunks many days removed from each other, but even so I have done that with other books and not had a hard time tracking. I think it is a story best immersed in a short period of time to get the full impact ot the book. I think it was well written and the characters were good, but something about the way it was presented made me miss a lot of the deeper subtext without havibg had the benefit of the immersion factor. I have considered rereading it because of this.

Deep subtext - best read in an immersive way

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I really enjoyed this book. It was very nostalgic and beautiful. It was like I walked into a person's journal and was reading everything they wrote. I realize that's most likely the point of this story. But yeah. That's how I felt. It was beautiful. It was very touching. I got an audiobook because I needed to read this for the book club and my first impression of the book was that I wouldn't like it at all. I figured an audiobook would help persuade me to like it a little better. I'm glad to say I was wrong. It is a very wonderful book! I'll be reading the other two.

Impressive

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This book is gentle and psychological. I really enjoyed the depth and the gentle disentanglement of Ames' perceptions.

So many beautiful ideas in this.

Slow and deep

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The narrator for "Gilead," Tim Jerome deserves as much credit and applause as possible for making this such a wonderful listening experience. I've recommended the listen many times now simply because Tim makes it such a fine piece of art. The story and writing are exceptional to begin with, perfectly understated. But really, for me, Tim's presentation brought it to life. Very well done!

Give the Narrator Six Stars!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
And so beautifully read. I constantly rewound portions to hear again and internalize a lovely crafted phrase, idea, truth. My faith has both been shaken and challenged and propped. my heart is full!

One of the most beautiful books

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Good stuff, beautifully read. Skip this one if you like car chases and the like. This is a slow burn, but it has wonderful moments.

Lovely and thought provoking

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews