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September book discussion: Jack, by Marilynne Robinson

finelinefineline Shipmate, Host Emeritus
in Heaven
Our September book for discussion is Jack, by Marilynne Robinson. It's the last book in her Gilead quartet.

It's not necessary to have read the other books, as they are all standalone books about the same characters/community, and they are not in chronological order. We actually discussed Robinson's book, Home (also about Jack, but from the perspective of his sister Glory), back in April 2016, on the old Ship, so if you're curious to see that discussion, go here.

There is a Guardian review of Jack here, which I found interesting- it views it as a Calvinist romance.

I will post some questions on 20th September. Apologies for the delay in posting this thread - I was back at work this week after the summer break, and everything else momentarily slipped my mind!

Comments

  • CaissaCaissa Shipmate
    Looking forward to reading it. I had to borrow through our university's interlibrary loan system.
  • TrudyTrudy Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    I loved this whole series, if you can call it a series. I will try to make time to reread Jack before the discussion.
  • MiliMili Shipmate
    I have begun reading the book. It's not a book I would usually read, but can already see a lot of interesting discussion points.
  • SarasaSarasa All Saints Host
    I need to download this. I am very ambivalent about the whole 'series'. They are books I think I ought to like, but I can't really warm to them. Having said that I did enjoy Gilead more on a second reading for a real life book group.
  • finelinefineline Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    Sarasa wrote: »
    I need to download this. I am very ambivalent about the whole 'series'. They are books I think I ought to like, but I can't really warm to them. Having said that I did enjoy Gilead more on a second reading for a real life book group.

    I actually didn't warm to Jack in the way I warmed to Home, though I found it interesting and enjoyable once I accepted it was very different in style, and stopped expecting it to be different. I've found each of these books very different from each other.
  • TrudyTrudy Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    One thing I find interesting about this "series" is that it actually goes backward in time. The events of Gilead and Home are pretty much concurrent with each other; Lila occurs before Gilead, and Jack is earlier still. I don't know if Robinson ever conceived of it as four linked books originally, but the latter two are prequels rather than sequels, and I think it's an interesting way to approach your story and characters -- not to ask "what happened next" but "what happened before, to make these people the way they are?"

    Home and Jack are my favourites of the four, because I am so intrigued by the character of Jack.
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