Customer Reviews

The Memory of Old Jack [With Earbuds] (Playaway Young Adult)

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Berry' s novel, The Memory of Old Jack, is about belonging to a specific place, over generations, being part of the place, part of its history.

The Memory of Old Jack takes place on a single day in 1952, when Jack Beechum, then 92 years old, replays his life like a movie in his head. He is the last of his generation, and his generation was the last to farm in the pre-industrial way, with mules, for example, instead of tractors.

This book always gets to me. I wish I knew that man. I wish that man were still alive today. (Then I remember it's supposed to be fiction and that man probably never existed. Not really. But some like him, and not that long ago.)

I think what mostly makes me grieve when I read this book, is that the world it describes seems lost to us now. But I keep hoping, somehow, parts of that way of life survive.

The first book of Wendell Berry's I read was The Long-legged House, a collection of essays which for the first time in my life made me appreciate being a Kentuckian. All my life, probably because of the time I was living in, it seemed to me that anything worth doing or seeing or being was somewhere else. I was made to see, through the simple eloquent essays in Berry's book, the value of the natural world, what we in Kentucky have that people in places more developed, or more economically viable, or more entertaining, do not have.

Read lots of Wendell Berry, it's good for thee.

This book is a treasure and one that I have felt the need to re-read twice in the past five years. What Berry has to say, so quietly and convincingly, about our warped sense of what is important in life is a powerful lesson. This book touches on so many issues about the land, the elderly, our families and our heritage and how we, especially as Americans, miss the importance, beauty and wisdom our past and our earth has to offer us. Berry is a heavy writer. His books are poetic and slow-going, but in the end, you come away with volumes that your soul cries out for you to consider.

A wonderfull book, subtle and true. Berry's writing reflectsthe land that he writes of - not ostentatious, but brimming with life.You will not find cheap sentiment or flashy colors but you will findrealness in Memory of Old Jack. I highly recommend.

Whether it be in his essays, his poems, or his prose, Wendell Berry has proved himself time and again to be an observant and intelligent writer about life. Having read nearly all of the Port William stories and novels, I came to "The Memory of Old Jack" already somewhat familiar with the main character's life, ready to know more about this model of a man who has played such an integral role in the life of one town.

"The Memory of Old Jack" unfolds over the last day of Jack Beechum's life, in September of 1952. Now an old man who doesn't want to feel himself a burden to anyone, he has moved off his farm and taken up residence at the local hotel for the last eight years of his life. He finds that he cannot stay in the present for long; his mind is so overwhelmed with the memories and losses of his past, that he finds himself almost constantly drifting back in time, reliving the best and the worst all over again. Yet the memory mentioned in the title does not belong to Old Jack alone, but to everyone who has been blessed to know him; even after Jack passes, the memory of him and all his quirks will live on in those who preserve his ways.

Reading the stories that Wendell Berry has crafted about the town of Port William is like returning home. They are double-edged odes to a simpler time and way of life, at once longing and hopeful, sorrowful and happy. They are also an investment; Berry's stories are usually slow in unfolding, weaving back and forth between past and present, the edges of time blurring in the reader's mind. Yet every trip to this imagined town is more than worth it, every word drawing life from fiction, each memory a finely crafted work of art.

This is a fine book, opening a window into a day in the 1950s in a Kentucky river town, and a life that led up to that day. Wendell Berry loves his characters, but portrays them honestly, and makes you feel like you have known them too. The Memory of Old Jack isn't about nostalgia, it's about how people live. It's about human nature and the human condition, and though the circumstances that produced that moment in time have changed, human nature hasn't, at least where I live, and that's what made this book enjoyable. I plan to read it again.

I've now read most of Berry's canon, and still feel this is his very best novel. I recommend it without qualification.

For Berry readers, this will come as no surprise, but this is a phenomenal book. I love the simple elegance of the prose, and the import is incredible.

Beautiful, beautiful book.

A few days ago I finished Wendell Berry's The Memory of Old Jack, a memorable memoir of sorts of an earthy man of the land, Old Jack Beechum. In typical Berry fashion, the moments of Old Jack's life into which readers get a glimpse are at times crude and at times beautiful and on occasion are both at the same time. Likewise, Berry manages to avoid the extremes of prudishness to the point of losing any claim to authenticity and crassness to the point of flaunting his own sense of freedom to be true to reality. While he may be accused of being overly sentimental concerning the agrarian life, through Old Jack he provides a glimpse into a world and a way of life utterly foreign to many readers, including me, for whom such over-sentimentality may be necessary to grab our attention.

Old Jack has plenty of flaws which Berry readily reveals. He's largely unavailable to his wife. He's hardly attentive to his daughter. He's demanding of those who work for or with him. At times Old Jack seems rather self-aware, other times he seems blinded by the commitments long ago cemented in the depths of his being. Regardless, he never seems compelled to repent, to make a change. Readers may mourn his failure to repent, whether because of stubbornness or ignorance. But while Old Jack's failure to repent may be cause for lamentation, there are several profound moments in the book worthy of celebration.

I'm thankful for Old Jack's wisdom, or, more appropriately, Wendell Berry's wisdom, and for the opportunity to get to know the folks of Port William.

All I can say about this book is that it is probably the best book of fiction I have read to date. I have read other books from the Port William series beginning with "A Place on Earth" which introduced me to most of Port William's citizens. Then I found the books highlighting the lives of certain Port William citizens. Thanks to Wendell Berry I personally know most of these people and I appreciate each one for varied reasons. I was there when Burley Coulter first saw his only boy. I swapped stories with the loafers at Jayber Crow's barber shop. I fell in love with Mat Felter for his character and love of family. Mr. Berry is blessed with what it takes to give us the best in in-depth reading. His characters became real to me and I shared their joy, sorrow, happiness, jokes, births, and deaths. Their lives tell us stories that not only entertain us but also leave us better in one way or another. When you read the last paragraph, the last sentence of "The Memory of Old Jack", you should be prepared to sit quietly for a few minutes. You will have just finished reading something that will not be forgotten quickly and shouldn't be taken lightly. Old Jack represents the end of an American era that, to me, is as devastating as the last of the free-living American Indian.

Reading The Memory of Old Jack is taking a journey through a man's life--the times he's proud of and the times he regrets but understands with a clarity that only comes from age. Soren Kierkegaard said that "life can only be understood backwards; the trouble is we have to live it forwards." Old Jack does this well and Berry manages to tell his story in a way that Old Jack's understanding brings understanding to our own life experiences.