Bob Gilbert grew up in Jackson Township, New Jersey. He attended American University and later moved to Minneapolis where he worked as a community newspaper reporter and a waiter. His passions include backpacking and the study of old books. Currently, he splits his time between Washington, D.C. and Minneapolis where he is completing his fourth novel
Gilbert’s debut novel is a delightfully fresh version of the noir tradition, offering the reader a contemporary “Casablanca” in Washington D.C. The book’s narrator, Renaissance man Joe Green, has plenty to say about love, politics and the male psyche in this page-turning romantic suspense. Joe runs a bookstore and a bistro, and painfully navigates a modern divorce while the Senate Intelligence Committee investigates his relationship with Cosmo, a protégé, who has recently been paroled after serving five years in prison for the ambiguous killing of a local black youth. Green, a proud Jersey boy, can all at once relax by watching his tortoises, handout liberal advice to his three teenagers, and pack serious heat. He is a twenty-first century American male if ever there was one
This is the not the kind of book I usually read. I'm partial to high intensity thrillers but Gilbert struck a nerve with me. I can't quite explain it - although the DC venue is a plus as I live there. The book was well written, thoughtfully written, in fact. Lots of dialogue which was well done without being distracting. Every once is a while the author's knowledge of history and booksmarts come through without being annoying - Larry Kahaner
I really can't explain how it sucked me in. I loved it and to be honest I felt that there were deeper layers and nuance that I potentially missed. It was smart, engaging and had the kind of snappy dialogue that you would expect from those great black and white movies in the 1940's. I look forward to reading more from this author- L. Short
This is a comedic Minnesota ghost story. It’s narrator, Ivan Kalinsky, is a dead Russian Communist from the Bolshevik class of 1917. When Stalin started purging Jews from the Communist Party ranks in the 1930’s, Kalinsky escaped to Northern Minnesota where he lived out his long life as a union organizer for the steel workers. Now dead and about to ascend to heaven and his long lost Communist friends when two pesky Hasidic ghosts, Himmelman and Singer blackmail him into helping heal and redirect, Joshua Bronstein, who though a damaged soul is a candidate for the Lamed Vav, one of the thirty-six hidden righteous men from who themessiah will be chosen when God decides it is time. It becomes Kalinsky’s job to shepherd Bronstein out of his north woods wilderness and retie him to his faith
An excellent book, crying out for more readers. It's a Menippean Satire, a genre that's been around since Seneca and Juneval, but rarely appears in English ("Finnegan's Wake", "Alice inWonderland"). It confounds the reader with multiple facets: "A carnival sense of the world" permeating works from Diderot to Dostoevsky's "The Brothers Karamazov". A mix of the realand unreal. "Drawing upon distinct, multiple traditions." Highly intellectual. Grotesque, comicfigures. Discursive analysis. In short: Way more than you might except from one novel, particularly a short one that's so fun to read. Narrated by a dead Jew with a heavenly mission wandering around the Iron Range area of Minnesota, encountering Finnish Communists and female Native American magicians, all of it somehow realistic and believable - Bill Jack, author of “To The Devil”
This book is a keeper and has a permanent home in my library. The book is well researchedand informative. The author has a great sense of humor and style. A sequel would be ideal. Job well done and thanks for writing such a stellar book - A.M Jacobs
As a Jew, I found this ghost story absolutely hilarious. But you don’t have to be Jewish to appreciate the creative storyline, delightful characters, and wonderful surprises in this novel. The level of my delight was wholly unexpected - Marc Kram
This prequel to Bob Gilbert’s first novel "Mintwood Place," is a coming of age story set in the 1970s. It features the young Joe Green, who we already know as a divorced father of three, involved in the political skullduggery of Washington, D.C. Now we meet young Joe, a senior at American University, who gets himself in trouble and flees the city two steps ahead of the law. His escape takes him to Sonoma County, California, where he goes into hiding. During his lonesome months of exile, he expands his imagination with the study of such books as Homer’s "The Odyssey," and "The I Ching," of Confucius. He also becomes a successful marijuana grower. After two years, he returns to D.C. with money and a gnostic sense that stands in opposition to the emerging politics of the Reagan era. "Green Goes Forth" is Bob Gilbert’s third novel
This is a calm, reasoned novel about a young man who puts himself effortlessly into various forms of harm's way. Set in the late seventies, with Jimmy Carter in office and Ronald Reagan on the way, the central premise is that cannabis is more than not too bad. It is, rather, good. In the protagonist and narrator, Joe Green, lies a soul navigating harsh reality -- no pun intended -- calmly, taking in stride events that others would see as cataclysmic. By the most far-fetched and innocent admissions of blame ever -- he sneezes at the wrong time -- Joe has to leave his home in Washington, D.C., and land in Sonoma County, Calif., where, in spite of his need to be innocuous, he gets expertly involved in the illegal weed business, where he makes his fortune. Cleared of his need to avoid the feds and possible baddies from the otherside, Joe heads back home, wiser, richer and astonishingly more literate. He infiltrates political society and opens his own bookstore, which also serves as a clearing house for smoke from out west. It's an uplifting novel for readers who think that is possible with an illegal substance at its center. A bonus is the ability to compare what was normal 40 years ago with what is normal now. The great difference, it turns out, was in between. I enjoyed it. My writings on similar topics have a harder edge. This meanders along at a nice, reliable pace, whetting the appetite to keep going in one's own sweet time - Monte Dutton
Bob Gilbert’s fourth novel, “A Firm State of Heart” takes place in Washington, D.C. Its protagonist, Minneapolis writer Samuel Meckler is crafting a long poem that’s trying to rise above the chaos of the Trump presidency. Meckler supports himself by working as a waiter at Tadich Grill, an upscale Washington restaurant located on Pennsylvania Avenue between the White House and the US Capitol. His interaction with congressmen, senators, foreign diplomats, tourists and media personalities give him an eyewitness understanding of American politics. His social life takes him into DC cultural salons, ghetto trap houses, and Capitol Hill watering holes. His affair with a famous broadcaster coincides with the COVID-19 pandemic, the economic recession, and the death of George Floyd in his hometown. Ultimately, “A Firm State of Heart” is about an idealist trying to formulate a new American narrative in a digital age rife with cynicism and rage.