Crazy Jack [Audio Cassette]

Donna Jo;Ramirez, Robert Napoli (Author)

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Recorded Books (2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0788740105
• ISBN-13: 978-0788740107
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,180,413 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

For all information about Donna Jo Napoli (books, events, biography, awards, contact information), please go to http://www.donnajonapoli.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simple, yet sublime, January 9, 2000

By 

Jennifer Mo - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Crazy Jack (Hardcover)

On the surface, Crazy Jack is just a retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk, with some of the extremities of the story smoothed out and a pleasant rural English atmosphere.

However, the subtleties of this story are incredible-- from the disturbing portrayal of Jack's loving parents as the giant and his mistress in the distorted reality of their house in the clouds, to the myriad delicate touches that truly flesh out the tale. Napoli is excellent at creating a realistic rural environment-- it adeptly avoids being stiffly historical and instead is vibrantly alive. Equally masterful is the theme of the three things necessary to be happy-- food on the table, a roof over their heads, and the most important one, forgotten by Jack's father-- each other. The gifts stolen from the giant each time fulfill each in order. Though the hen no longer lays golden eggs, Jack discovers the value of real ones; though the basket is no longer of gold, Jack recognizes the value of stones, and though the harp no longer sings on its own, Jack finds he can learn to play it and win the third part of happiness. The beanstalk becomes a symbol of Jack's grief and guilt towards his father's death, and in the end, Jack must destroy it himself.

Crazy Jack is superficially a children's book, with its small number of pages, but it is the incredibly subtle adult themes running through it that make it a profound and beautiful tale. Napoli's other retellings-- The Magic Circle, Zel, Spinners and Sirena are also recommended.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars typical Napoli, January 3, 2001

By 

Stephanie Z (Grapevine, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Crazy Jack (Hardcover)

This was a perfect example of the surely mesmerizing Napoli tales. Obviously adapted not from Disney, but from Grimms brothers' twisted tales of the fine line between love and insanity, Napoli never fails to leave the reader stunned. This, like always, was a five star read. Don't be fooled by the lack of pages, this is an obvious case of quality over quanity.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Crazy Jack, March 10, 2000

By 

Amy - See all my reviews

This review is from: Crazy Jack (Hardcover)

I love Donna Jo Napoli's work, and this latest book is just more proof of how wonderful her writing is! Donna chooses her words perfectly, it's like poetry, each word has meaning and is to be savored. I never liked the story of Jack and the Beanstalk until now. This book weaves a subtle, mesmerizing tale of sanity and insanity -if you call love insanity. I could see ties to the author's earlier work "The Magic Circle" in "Crazy Jack" and the love found in "Zel" and " Prince of the Pond", but in this book the author has blended all the best elements more perfectly into a book you can easily recommend to a child or an adult equally.