The Memory of Old Jack

by Wendell Berry

Overview

Old Jack, born just after the American Civil War and dying in contemporary times, spends one beautiful September day in Port William, his home since birth, remembering.

The story tells of the most searing moments of Old Jack’s life, particularly his debt to his sister Nancy and her husband Ben Feltner, Old Jack’s model of what an honorable manhood and strength might be.

"Few novelists treat both their characters and their readers with the kind of respect that Wendell Berry displays in this deeply moving account . . . The Memory of Old Jack is a slab of rich Americana."—The New York Times Book Review

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781582430430
Publisher:	Catapult
Publication date:	10/08/1999
Series:	Port William
Edition description:	1ST COUNTE
Pages:	176
Sales rank:	180,534
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Wendell Berry is the author of fifty books of poetry, fiction, and essays. He was recently awarded the Cleanth Brooks Medal for Lifetime Achievement by the Fellowship of Southern Writers and the Louis Bromfield Society Award. For over forty years he has lived and farmed with his wife, Tanya, in Kentucky.

Editorial Reviews

Poet, essayist and fiction writer Wendell Berry has established himself as the consummate writer's writer. His grounding in agrarian themes-both sociologically insightful and intimately personal-harks back to the rich tradition of Faulkner. Over the past four decades, Berry has built an impressive body of novels and short stories devoted to the fictional rural hamlet of Port William, located in his home state of Kentucky. First published in 1974, The Memory of Old Jackrecounts the last days in the life of 92-year-old farmer Jack Beechum in the fall of 1952, as the self-sufficient man of the soil contemplates both his heartaches and triumphs. Veteran narrator Paul Michael brings Jack's meandering journey between the present and past into crystal-clear focus. His portrayal of the emotionally and sexually barren terrain of Jack's relationship with his wife, Ruth, evokes especially powerful angst concerning the disconnect between dutiful obligation and romantic passion. This audiobook release offers an excellent venue for new audiences to discover Berry, a seminal literary figure whose gifted storytelling challenges, provokes, inspires and affirms. A Counterpoint Press paperback. (May)

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