Jack (Robinson novel)
{{short description|Novel by Marilynne Robinson}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2024}}
{{Infobox book
| name = Jack
| image = Jack (Marilynne Robinson).png
| alt =
| caption = First edition cover
| author = Marilynne Robinson
| audio_read_by = Adam Verner
| cover_artist =
| country = United States
| language = English
| genre =
| set_in = St. Louis, Missouri
| publisher = Farrar, Straus and Giroux
| pub_date = September 29, 2020
| media_type = Print (hardcover), e-book, audio
| pages = 320
| awards =
| isbn = 978-0-374-27930-1
| isbn_note = (hardcover)
| oclc = 1136958758
| dewey = 813/.54
| congress = PS3568.O3125 J33 2020
| preceded_by = Lila
}}
Jack is a novel by Marilynne Robinson, published on September 29, 2020, by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.{{Cite web |date=September 27, 2020 |title=Book excerpt: "Jack" by Marilynne Robinson |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/book-excerpt-jack-by-marilynne-robinson/ |access-date=September 29, 2024 |website=CBS News}}
It is Robinson's fifth novel and her fourth in the Gilead sequence, preceded by Gilead (2004), Home (2008), and Lila (2014). It focuses on John Ames "Jack" Boughton, the troubled son of Robert Boughton. He was named after Robert's friend Reverend John Ames, the subject of Gilead (2004).{{Cite magazine |last=Treisman |first=Deborah |date=July 13, 2020 |title=Marilynne Robinson on Expanding the World of "Gilead" |url=https://www.newyorker.com/books/this-week-in-fiction/marilynne-robinson-07-20-20 |access-date=October 15, 2020 |magazine=The New Yorker}}{{Cite web |last=Robertson |first=Aaron |date=February 6, 2020 |title=The next novel in Marilynne Robinson's Gilead saga could be one of the most important books of 2020. |url=https://lithub.com/the-next-novel-in-marilynne-robinsons-gilead-saga-could-be-one-of-the-most-important-books-of-2020/ |access-date=October 15, 2020 |website=Literary Hub}} It tells the story of the courtship of Della Miles and Jack Boughton, an interracial couple in post-World War II St. Louis, Missouri.{{Cite web |last=Meyer |first=Lily |date=October 1, 2020 |title=In 'Jack,' Marilynne Robinson Shows Grace Is For Everyone |url=https://www.npr.org/2020/10/01/918850554/in-jack-marilynne-robinson-shows-grace-is-for-everyone |access-date=October 15, 2020 |website=NPR}}
Reception
According to Book Marks, the book received a "positive" consensus, based on 35 critics: 14 "rave", 12 "positive", eight "mixed", and one "pan".{{Cite web |title=Jack |url=https://bookmarks.reviews/reviews/jack/ |access-date=August 29, 2024 |website=Book Marks}} In Books in the Media, the book was rated 4.06 out of 5, based on 10 critic reviews.{{Cite web |title=Jack Reviews|url=https://booksinthemedia.thebookseller.com/reviews/jack|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210927101612/https://booksinthemedia.thebookseller.com/reviews/jack|archive-date=September 27, 2021 |access-date=August 29, 2024 |website=Books in the Media}} In the January/February 2021 issue of Bookmarks, the book was scored 3.5 out of 5. The magazine's critical summary reads: "One note from the Washington Post: "If you're tempted to read [the Gilead novels] out of order, be warned.... Jack rests on what came before, and its poignancy arises from what we know lies ahead for these characters".{{Cite web |title=Jack|url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/NEW+BOOKS+GUIDE.-a0676632351|access-date=August 29, 2024 |website=The Free Library}}{{Cite web |title=Jack|url=https://www.bibliosurf.com/Jack.html|access-date=August 29, 2024 |website=Bibliosurf |language=fr}}
In its starred review, Publishers Weekly praised the novel's dialogue and Robinson's "masterly prose and musings on faith."{{Cite web |date=June 25, 2020 |title=Fiction Book Review: Jack by Marilynne Robinson |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-374-27930-1 |access-date=October 15, 2020 |website=Publishers Weekly}}
In its starred review, Kirkus Reviews called the novel an "elegantly written proof of the thesis that love conquers all—but not without considerable pain."{{Cite web |date=June 16, 2020 |title=Jack by Marilynne Robinson |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/marilynne-robinson/jack-robinson/ |access-date=October 15, 2020 |website=Kirkus Reviews}}
Writing for The New York Times Book Review, Elaine Showalter praised Jack's dialogue for "winningly" representing his "redemption and development, his sensitivity and sardonic humor."{{Cite web |last=Showalter |first=Elaine |authorlink=Elaine Showalter |date=September 29, 2020 |title=Marilynne Robinson's New Book Explores Love in Segregated America |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/29/books/review/marilynne-robinson-jack.html |access-date=October 15, 2020 |website=The New York Times Book Review}}
Ron Charles of The Washington Post criticized the novel's "asymmetrical" focus on Jack for diminishing Della's character.{{Cite news |last=Charles |first=Ron |authorlink=Ron Charles (critic) |date=September 21, 2020 |title=In 'Jack,' Marilynne Robinson's fourth Gilead novel, a lost soul embarks on an impossible love affair |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/in-jack-marilynne-robinsons-fourth-gilead-novel-a-lost-soul-embarks-on-an-impossible-love-affair/2020/09/21/8a1eed0e-fbaf-11ea-8d05-9beaaa91c71f_story.html |access-date=October 15, 2020 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}
Claire Lowdon of The Times felt the novel was the weakest in the Gilead series, criticizing its dialogue for being "burdened with too much of the philosophical and theological debate."{{Cite web |last=Lowdon |first=Claire |date=September 27, 2020 |title=Jack by Marilynne Robinson, review — leaving Gilead |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/jack-by-marilynne-robinson-review-leaving-gilead-f0zsgrfgg |url-access=subscription |access-date=October 15, 2020 |website=The Times}}
The novel was longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction.{{Cite web |title=2021 Winners |url=http://www.ala.org/rusa/awards/carnegie-medals/2021-winners |access-date=January 12, 2021 |website=Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence|date=October 18, 2020 }}
Film adaptation
In October 2023, Martin Scorsese announced intentions to adapt Jack into a feature film.{{cite magazine|last=Horne|first=Philip|url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/interviews/martin-scorsese-killers-flower-moon|title="We are the killers, and we have to understand that": Martin Scorsese on Killers of the Flower Moon|magazine=Sight and Sound|date=October 17, 2023|access-date=December 2, 2023}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{Marilynne Robinson}}
Category:Novels by Marilynne Robinson
Category:Farrar, Straus and Giroux books
Category:Novels set in St. Louis
Category:Third-person narrative novels
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