Jack (Oprah's Book Club)

A Novel

By: Marilynne Robinson

Narrated by: Adam Verner

Length: 10 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

"Robinson’s slow prose is the star here, and narrator Adam Verner gives great depth of emotion to Jack’s raw suffering and ethical dilemmas.... Come for the love story; stay for a couple who learn to find the beauty in broken humanity, and what grace can look like for those who love each other." (Booklist)

This program includes a bonus conversation with the author.

Marilynne Robinson, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Humanities Medal, returns to the world of Gilead with Jack, the latest novel in one of the great works of contemporary American fiction.

Marilynne Robinson’s mythical world of Gilead, Iowa - the setting of her novels Gilead, Home, and Lila, and now Jack - and its beloved characters have illuminated and interrogated the complexities of American history, the power of our emotions, and the wonders of a sacred world. Jack is Robinson’s fourth novel in this now-classic series. In it, Robinson tells the story of John Ames Boughton, the prodigal son of Gilead’s Presbyterian minister, and his romance with Della Miles, a high-school teacher who is also the child of a preacher. Their deeply felt, tormented, star-crossed interracial romance resonates with all the paradoxes of American life, then and now.

Robinson’s Gilead novels, which have won one Pulitzer Prize and two National Book Critics Circle Awards, are a vital contribution to contemporary American literature and a revelation of our national character and humanity.

A Macmillan Audio production from Farrar, Straus and Giroux

©2020 Marilynne Robinson (P)2020 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

New York Times Book Review Notable Books of the Year, 2020

The Guardian (UK) Best Books of the Year, 2020

Financial Times Books of the Year, 2020

Los Angeles Times Holiday Books Guide, 2020

Esquire Magazine Best Books of the Year, 2020

NYPL Best Books of the Year, 2020

Minneapolis Star Tribune Holiday Book Recommendations, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Best Books of the Year, 2020

Time Magazine Best Books of the Year, 2020

NPR Best Book of the Year, 2020

Poor Audio Choice

I found the narrator distracting and struggled to finish the book. I have read all the other Gilead novels and was so disappointed.

Elegant story, flawed performance

I thought the novel itself was good. I wasn't familiar with Robinson's work prior to this, but that didn't detract from listening to this book. What did, however, was the narrator's odd cadence. I'm sure he's a nice man. I just don't want to hear him speak anymore.

The Paralysis of Introversion

I liked the book for the interesting situation it presented and for Della's steadfast love and confidence in honoring their love. I also hated the endless self-absorbtion of the title character, Jack. All of his difficulties and problems and the pain he causes stem from thinking his every act and gesture has cosmic impact on others. i just want to shake him and tell him to get over himself. The author does an amazingjob keeping you reading/listening despite her very flawed protagonist.

A Drummer

Jack, “marches to his own drummer.” The drummer he hears, the environments to which the drummer leads him, and his perspective is interesting and revealing.

Ouch

I’m a big fan of this author. I enjoyed reading the other books in this trilogy + one. Jack is such a pathetic character. Following his thought process is painful...ouch. Reader did a nice job.

Staggering

Those fathomless inner skirmishes, the depth of intellectual appeal , the stunning turn of an ordinary thought, the genuity of impossible circumstances- all there. Challenge your notions, gently inspect morality, consider habits of faith. Verner's narration impeccable. I am compelled to listen again.

Such a wonderful book

I was transfixed by this story. So beautiful and such a tragic state of affairs. The writer has done an amazing job in describing the many thoughts of Jack .

Praise for Jack

Another beautiful book from Marilynne Robinson taking us further into the world of Gilead. Living in an interracial marriage myself the book made me think about the challenges couples faced when this choice was viewed with such negative societal judgement.
Our current political climate makes me fear that we are going backwards. We must not let that happen.

quite the series

After the third book in the Gilead series I didn't really expect there to be another book. But, after several years, this book came out. Interesting that the author chose to elaborate on an episode mentioned in the earlier books but never in great detail, not like in this book.

In the summer of Black Lives Matter comes this book where interracial love is front and center. This book was set in the 1940s and 50s where there were many vestiges of the Civil War remained. In the period from this timeframe to now, 2020, many more changes have come but there is still a longs way to go for equality to continue to evolve.

The author's books are intellectual and the listener needs to listen intently to grasp it all. You have to really want to listen to the story. The story touches on a tough life chosen by the two main characters. You wonder during the story whether society would end the relationship but you have to believe the author will give you some hope, which she does in the end. It won't be an easy life but the way of the world does come through.

If you haven't listened to the earlier books in the series I strongly recommend that you go to the beginning of the series and work your way though the earlier books.

Stunningly and Achingly Beautiful

The fourth book of the Gilead series, this one elaborating on John Ame’s friend and pastor’s wayward son, Jack Boughton and his life path.
It is heart wrenching and beautifully poetic.
I am hoping (oh please😉) for just one more book finishing Jack and Della’s story.