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Kj's Reviews > Jayber Crow
Jayber Crow
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An easy five star rating for this one- half way through I already knew it had become one of my favorite books.
Not driven by plot, in fact not "driven" in any sense, this is a story that walks you gently and honestly through many parts of a life. It's hard to put words to a reading experience such as this one that takes you deep into the heart of what it means to live, to be alive. Despite its fiction narrative, "Jayber Crow" feels far closer to a guided mediation on youth and age, Progress vs. nature, community vs. materialism. About every five pages, a passage would knock me over with its distillation of truth and beauty from that which is most obvious and taken for granted. Over and over, I read things that made me say "I have always thought/felt that, and no one has ever put language to it." I've never used "integrity" to describe a book, but that is what this book showed me, and in a way that feels livable and desirable.
Wendell Berry's heart for the things that run deeper than the passing of years, leads me, more than anything I have yet to encounter, towards an understanding of where our American culture sold its soul in exchange for borrowed fantasies of what qualifies as a life. And at the same time, this is one of the most hope-giving narratives I've ever had the blessing to sit with night after night.
Oh read it. Read it. I don't know what else to say.
Not driven by plot, in fact not "driven" in any sense, this is a story that walks you gently and honestly through many parts of a life. It's hard to put words to a reading experience such as this one that takes you deep into the heart of what it means to live, to be alive. Despite its fiction narrative, "Jayber Crow" feels far closer to a guided mediation on youth and age, Progress vs. nature, community vs. materialism. About every five pages, a passage would knock me over with its distillation of truth and beauty from that which is most obvious and taken for granted. Over and over, I read things that made me say "I have always thought/felt that, and no one has ever put language to it." I've never used "integrity" to describe a book, but that is what this book showed me, and in a way that feels livable and desirable.
Wendell Berry's heart for the things that run deeper than the passing of years, leads me, more than anything I have yet to encounter, towards an understanding of where our American culture sold its soul in exchange for borrowed fantasies of what qualifies as a life. And at the same time, this is one of the most hope-giving narratives I've ever had the blessing to sit with night after night.
Oh read it. Read it. I don't know what else to say.
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Reading Progress
January 3, 2009
– Shelved
Started Reading
January 26, 2009
–
Finished Reading
March 20, 2009
– Shelved as:
own-it
April 12, 2009
– Shelved as:
seattle-school-of-theology
March 11, 2011
– Shelved as:
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by
Ross
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rated it 5 stars
Jun 30, 2010 08:52AM
You've summed up my feelings about this book perfectly.
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Just finished this book and you hit the nail on the head. You wrote my review for me.
Lovely review. I'm not quite done with the book yet but I too can tell it's going to be a favorite of mine. I find myself wanting to read it to calm down and re-orient myself in the world.
