Searching For Gilead: A Novel

by David G. Hallman

"Searching for Gilead" is a chronicle of love, laughter, and loss. Over the span of three and a half decades, the members of the Compton and Fischer families have seen the world change, both in and out of their homes. Linked initially by the love affair of two of the sons, Jonathan and Tom, the families' relationships evolve into an intriguing web.The novel traces the connections between the two families over three and a half decades. Like many families, not everything is as it seems on the surface. Relationships among the family members brought together by the young men's love are tested over differing perspectives on bigger issues, such as the place of religion in people's lives and in the world, injustice in global affairs, the joy and pain of love, threats to the environment, the role of the arts, and, ultimately, that most human of experiences, the death of loved ones. Witty, comical, poignant, and shocking by turns, the story traverses the globe from Toronto to Venice, from New York to Nairobi, and from Geneva to Marrakech. In the end, the journeys of these people, as individuals and as a family, go beyond the simply geographic.

384 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2011

About the author

David G. Hallman worked on environmental ethics for most of his career and during that time authored five books. Now retired, his writing has branched into different genres. A memoir "August Farewell" about the death of his longtime partner was released in early 2011 and his first novel "Searching for Gilead" was released in the fall of 2011. His collection of gay literary short stories "Book Tales" was published in September 2016. David lives in Toronto, Canada.

Reviews

[Jenn (Booksessed) · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I was initially pitched this book for a review I was thrilled that I was being offered a book that had gay characters. I don’t often read many books with gay characters outside of the YA genre, and even then it’s usual the character’s “gayness” that is the big issue in the novel, or the catalyst for a series of issues. What I loved about this book was it wasn’t a novel about gay protagonists; it is a novel about the human condition whose protagonists just happen to be gay.

The novel is broken into five sections spanning the 33-year relationship of Tommy and Jonathan’s relationship. Yet the novel not only focuses on their relationship but the lives of their friends, families, careers, joys, struggles and tragedies.

I was drawn into this book very early on, about page 20. The characters are debating setting up a joint library. It was such a realistic scene that anyone could be living at any moment. It was that scene that made me fall in love with the characters, and made me wish that they were real people. I didn’t want this novel to end; I read it slower than I’ve ever read a novel that I didn’t hate. I savored this book. It is exquisite.

I had such an emotional response to this book that it may have bordered on the ridiculous. I read the second have in bed and more than once succumbed to tears. It took me hours to articulate how I felt about this book, to feel like I was doing it justice. While I know that some readers may be turned off by the fact that there are gay characters, but I will say that had this book featured a straight couple, I would have enjoyed it just as much.

I have only two negative comments about the book and they are quite superficial. The formatting of the page numbers at the top of the page near the section header stating the year of the section was a bit annoying to me. If I looked quick, I became confused. Secondly, I wish that we knew more of what happened between when one section ended and another picked up several years later. I love that the plot was set up to cover parts of their relationship, but I would have loved for the novel to cover the entire 33 years in more detail. I realize that had such scenes been included, the novel probably would have been quite the chunkster…but I’d still read it.

I’m very proud that this book has a place on my shelf.

[Gregory Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The great thing about vacation is endulging in reading some great books. On my trip to Mexico I had the pleasure of seeing author David Hallman and the timing felt right to read his novel on the flight home. Im glad I did. Hallman has utilized that same exquisite use of description, narrative, and characterization fom his memoir in this, his debut novel. Full of love, longing and social issues, Hallman pulls his readers into his world and takes them on a beautiful journey through several decades.

[Matthew Crehan Higgins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a challenging novel that follows its central couple and their dissimilar but intricately linked families over 34 years through five distinct time periods. It is very satisfying in bringing back characters who seem minor at an earlier section and making the major later on. While it gets complicated and makes many twists and turns it never loses focus on portraying in a compelling way the unexpected ways in which life changes.

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written, sweet at times, incredibly sad at times. The gay men are so recognizable in character, their challenges so very much real life.