The Memory of Old Jack (Port William)
by Wendell Berry
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Book Summary Information
Author: Wendell BerryEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1999-10-08
ISBN: 1582430438
Number of pages: 223
Publisher: Counterpoint
Book Reviews of The Memory of Old Jack (Port William)
Book Review: A Long Day's Journey
Summary: 5 Stars
Whether it be in his essays, his poems, or his prose, Wendell Berry has proved himself time and again to be an observant and intelligent writer about life. Having read nearly all of the Port William stories and novels, I came to "The Memory of Old Jack" already somewhat familiar with the main character's life, ready to know more about this model of a man who has played such an integral role in the life of one town.
"The Memory of Old Jack" unfolds over the last day of Jack Beechum's life, in September of 1952. Now an old man who doesn't want to feel himself a burden to anyone, he has moved off his farm and taken up residence at the local hotel for the last eight years of his life. He finds that he cannot stay in the present for long; his mind is so overwhelmed with the memories and losses of his past, that he finds himself almost constantly drifting back in time, reliving the best and the worst all over again. Yet the memory mentioned in the title does not belong to Old Jack alone, but to everyone who has been blessed to know him; even after Jack passes, the memory of him and all his quirks will live on in those who preserve his ways.
Reading the stories that Wendell Berry has crafted about the town of Port William is like returning home. They are double-edged odes to a simpler time and way of life, at once longing and hopeful, sorrowful and happy. They are also an investment; Berry's stories are usually slow in unfolding, weaving back and forth between past and present, the edges of time blurring in the reader's mind. Yet every trip to this imagined town is more than worth it, every word drawing life from fiction, each memory a finely crafted work of art.
Summary of The Memory of Old Jack (Port William)
In a rural Kentucky river town, "Old Jack" Beechum, a retired farmer, sees his life again through the shades of one burnished day in September 1952.
Bringing the earthiness of America's past to mind,The Memory of Old Jack conveys the truth and integrity of the land and the people who live it. Through the eyes of one man can be seen the values of Americans strived to recapture as we arrived at the next century.
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