Home

About “Home”

Marilynne Robinson's Home is a novel published in 2008 that retells the parable of the prodigal son. Set in the same Iowa town and time as her previous novel Gilead, it follows Jack Boughton, the son of Reverend Boughton, who has returned home after twenty years away. Jack, now an alcoholic with deep secrets, struggles to reconcile with his traditionalist father. He also forms a close relationship with his sister Glory, who has returned home with her own emotional wounds. The novel explores themes of family, secrets, and faith. It was praised by Entertainment Weekly as "incandescent," "magnificent," and "a literary miracle."