Jack

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Title:

Jack

Author:

Robinson, Marilynne, author.

Series:

Gilead series ;

Series Number:

Summary:

"Marilynne Robinson’s mythical world of Gilead, Iowa—the setting of her novels Gilead, Home, and Lila, and now Jack—and its beloved characters have illuminated and interrogated the complexities of American history, the power of our emotions, and the wonders of a sacred world. Jack is Robinson’s fourth novel in this now-classic series. In it, Robinson tells the story of John Ames Boughton, the prodigal son of Gilead’s Presbyterian minister, and his romance with Della Miles, a high school teacher who is also the child of a preacher. Their deeply felt, tormented, star-crossed interracial romance resonates with all the paradoxes of American life, then and now." -- Publisher.

General Note:

Series information from www.goodreads.com.

Edition:

First edition.

Physical Description:

309 pages ; 21 cm

Genre:

Domestic fiction.

Christian fiction. (ME)627905

Subject Term:

Conflict of generations -- Fiction.

Children of clergy -- Fiction.

Fathers and sons -- Fiction.

Man-woman relationships -- Fiction.

Interracial dating -- Fiction.

Families -- Fiction.

Geographic Term:

Iowa -- Fiction.

Publisher:

Farrar, Straus and Giroux,

Publication Date:

2020

ISBN:

9780374279301

Publication Information:

New York : Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2020.

Call Number:

ROBINSON

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607003383612	Adult Fiction	ROBINSON Marilynne	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

A New York Times bestseller

Named a Best Book of 2020 by the Australian Book Review , AV Club , Books-a-Million, Electric Literature, Esquire , the Financial Times , Good Housekeeping (UK), The Guardian , Kirkus Reviews, Literary Hub , the New Statesman , the New York Public Library, NPR, the Star Tribune, and TIME

Marilynne Robinson, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Humanities Medal, returns to the world of Gilead with Jack, the latest novel in one of the great works of contemporary American fiction

Marilynne Robinson's mythical world of Gilead, Iowa--the setting of her novels Gilead , Home , and Lila , and now Jack --and its beloved characters have illuminated and interrogated the complexities of American history, the power of our emotions, and the wonders of a sacred world. Jack is Robinson's fourth novel in this now-classic series. In it, Robinson tells the story of John Ames Boughton, the prodigal son of Gilead's Presbyterian minister, and his romance with Della Miles, a high school teacher who is also the child of a preacher. Their deeply felt, tormented, star-crossed interracial romance resonates with all the paradoxes of American life, then and now.

Robinson's Gilead novels, which have won one Pulitzer Prize and two National Book Critics Circle Awards, are a vital contribution to contemporary American literature and a revelation of our national character and humanity.

Author Notes

Marilynne Robinson is the author of the novels Lila , Home , Gilead (winner of the Pulitzer Prize), and Housekeeping , and the nonfiction books, When I Was a Child I Read Books , Mother Country , The Death of Adam , and Absence of Mind . She teaches at the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop.

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Robinson's stellar, revelatory fourth entry in her Gilead cycle (after Lila) focuses on Jack Boughton, the prodigal son of a Gilead, Iowa, minister, and the beginnings of his romance with Della Miles before his 1957 return to Gilead in Home. Jack, who disparagingly styles himself "the Prince of Darkness," finds his life spiraling out of control in St. Louis, where, after dodging the draft during WWII, he spends several years increasingly prone to bouts of heavy drinking, petty theft, and vagrancy. His tailspin is interrupted when he meets Della Miles, an English teacher from a prominent Black family in Memphis. Despite a disastrous first date, the details of which are hinted at in the beginning, and over the numerous objections of Della's family and white strangers, Jack and Della fall in love, bound by a natural intimacy and mutual love of poetry. Robinson's masterly prose and musings on faith are on display as usual, and the dialogue is keen and indelible. ("Once in a lifetime, maybe, you look at a stranger and you see a soul, a glorious presence out of place in the world. And if you love God, every choice is made for you," Della tells Jack.) This is a beautiful, superbly crafted meditation on the redemption and transcendence that love affords. (Sept.)

Library Journal Review

This new work is a prequel to Robinson's Pulitzer-winning Gilead, but one needn't have read the previous novel to appreciate or enjoy it. It follows Jack Boughton, a white drifter, occasional thief, and alcoholic, and his romance with Della Miles, a respectable Black schoolteacher. Although their circumstances (not to mention the law) should keep them apart in St. Louis before the civil rights era, they are drawn to each other based on their shared experience as "preacher's kids" and their love of poetry. After a brief prolog, the novel opens with a lengthy account of a night the two spend in a cemetery talking about life and faith. This helps the reader recognize Jack and Della as soulmates before fully understanding the circumstances of their acquaintance or knowing the extent of Jack's past misdeeds. Against Jack's better judgment and despite considerable pressure from Della's family and a Baptist minister he befriends, Jack is unable to remove himself from Della's life, and her unwavering faith in him leads to a kind of redemption. VERDICT Robinson fans will be hungry for the next chapter in the Gilead saga, and the beauty and humanity of Robinson's prose will win over new fans. Highly recommended. [See Prepub Alert, 2/24/20.]--Christine DeZelar-Tiedman, Univ. of Minnesota Libs., Minneapolis