'Grace and intelligence . . . Marilynne Robinson defines universal truths about what it means to be human' Barack Obama

Setting her novel after World War II, just before Gilead, Home and Lila, Marilynne Robinson returns to the world of Gilead.

Jack, the grieved-over prodigal son, a drunkard and a ne'er-do-well has left home for St Louis. In that segregated city Jack falls in love with an African-American high school teacher, also a preacher's child. Della Miles is a woman with a discriminating mind, a generous spirit and an independent will. Jack is their fraught and beautiful love story.

'An unlikely love story, both funny and sublime: we see two souls awakening to love in that down-to-earth yet transcendent vein that is Robinson's special hallmark' Nonnie Minogue, Literary Review

'Jack fits beautifully into the subtle weave of Robinson's Gilead books . . . could perfectly well be read on its own' Erica Wagner, Financial Times

'An immensely satisfying and bittersweet end to an astonishing series . . . They are beautiful, and they are true' Stuart Kelly, Scotsman