Crazy Jack (Hardcover)

by Donna Jo Napoli (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Donna Jo Napoli's fiction for teens often puts a contemporary twist on old fairy tales, offering new depth and psychological insight. In previous young adult novels she has retold "Hansel and Gretel" from the point of view of the witch (The Magic Circle) and the story of "Rapunzel" from a multitude of perspectives (Zel), and has turned the tale of "Rumpelstiltskin" inside out (Spinners). Here she follows the traditional story of "Jack and the Beanstalk" pretty closely--the cow traded for magic beans, the vast beanstalk reaching up a cliff, and the cannibalistic giant chanting "Fee, fi, fo, fum" are all present. But Napoli enriches the tale with a romance between Jack and a neighbor girl and the mysterious disappearance of Jack's father, all told in vibrant poetic language and studded with authentic details of country life in the 1500s. On another level, she adds resonance to the narrative by creating an oedipal dimension--a disturbing buried suggestion that the devouring giant is a dangerous aspect of Jack's otherwise loving father. In the same manner, the giant's wife, who feeds Jack luscious food and hides him from the giant, recalls his own mother in the aspect of temptress. All this is very subliminal, but even younger readers will feel the mythological power as they devour this exciting story. (Ages 10 to 14) --Patty Campbell

From Publishers Weekly
Revisiting Jack and the Beanstalk, Napoli (Spinners) makes the plot bleaker but the message inspirationalAan uneasy mix that reduces rather than expands the impact of the familiar story. Jack is nine when his father gambles away the family farm and later accidentally steps off a cliff to his death. The narrative then skips ahead seven years. Jack batters himself unconscious in a yearly attempt to climb that same cliff; it is to his madness that his mother attributes his famous exchange of their cow for magic beans. As in Beneduce and Spirin's version (see their Jack and the Beanstalk, reviewed above), this giant is complicit in Jack's father's death, but there are a number of innovations. Jack hopes to win back the love of his childhood sweetheart, Flora, whose purity stands in sharp contrast to the woman in the giant's castle, here a lascivious sort who cares more for riches than for freedom. Much is made of following one's dreams: e.g., the fairy who gives Jack the magic beans urges him to stay true to his love of farming. The stolen treasures lose their luxury once Jack comes back to earthAthe hen (no, not a goose) remains a prolific layer but of ordinary (not golden) eggs, the lyre becomes an instrument for Jack ("I play a freedom song for the woman of the castle"). It is no surprise when Flora leaves her materialistic suitor for Jack with his good values. Napoli has made an odd trade of her own, swapping the boundlessness of archetypal fantasy for a touch of piety. Ages 12-up. (Oct.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers (October 12, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385326270
• ISBN-13: 978-0385326278
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,568,818 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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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 "ailanna" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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 "zarrindast2" (Grapevine, TX United States) - See all my reviews

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 (Lehi, Utah United States) - See all my reviews

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.