Section 1 (pages 1-8) Summary

This gentle, evocative novel narrates a dying man's encounters with his past including his memories of his strong-willed father, eccentric grandfather and loving, inarticulate wife, as well as his reactions to the unexpected arrival of a long-estranged godson whose presence both invades and challenges the relative peace of the present. Written in first-person journal-like letters from a man to his unnamed infant son, the novel explores the complex nature of father/son relationships, the human capacity for both forgiveness and redemption, and the sometimes contradictory relationship between religion and faith.

The book begins with John Ames writing letters to his seven-year-old son to be read after his (John's) death. He refers to several key aspects of his life—that he's dying of a heart condition, that his son came to him and his wife late in life, and...