Alan Cheuse reviews Gilead by Marilynne Robinson, a novel narrated by a Christian minister as he nears death. Cheuse calls it a "beautifully ruminative novel."
Alan Cheuse died on July 31, 2015. He had been in a car accident in California earlier in the month. He was 75. Listen to NPR Special Correspondent Susan Stamburg's retrospective on his life and career.