Marilynne Robinson, Gilead

Nothing at all to do with The Handmaid's Tale, which I'd always lazily assumed. An ageing preacher is writing a letter to his young son, who he suspects he will not see grow up. He means to impart his wisdom and experience. John Ames comes across as a fine,gentle, loving man who loves his family. I got a bit lost in the theological debates, but apparently it was Robinson's attempts to humanise Calvinism and puritanism, so often seen as cold, intolerant and, well, puritanical. When it wasn;t dealing with religion, but the relationships between fathers and sons (I guess the religious would argue that you can't separate that), it was very affecting. We've just booked a last minute holiday in Devon, so have ordered Westward Ho! and too many maps