Jack

 For those of you who have never read Gilead or Home by Marilyn Robinson, I strongly urge you to read them (in that order).  They are beautiful books of family,  love, and acceptance.  Her new book, Jack, tells the back-story of John Ames Boughton, the son of a beloved preacher, who was always a bit of a black sheep in the family, although his father always understood, forgave and loved Jack.

I found Jack to be rather slow and hard to get into at first and if I hadn't read the two above named books, I'm not sure I would have stayed with it.  I'm very glad that I did stay with it.  In the end, there was grace.

The story is about Jack and Miss Della Miles in the 1940's in St. Louis. Jack was living pretty much the life of a bum-sleeping in a flophouse, unemployed and often drunk.  Miss Della Miles was a black schoolteacher living in St. Louis.  One day Jack came across Della walking in the rain and he offered his umbrella and walked her home. And when they got to her home she invited him in for some tea.  And Jack fell in love.  One night they went to dinner together and Jack abruptly left the diner, leaving Della alone.  She was quite upset and when he came around later that evening, they bickered and laughed and talked.  And Jack agreed to leave her alone.  However, a year later they ran into each other in a locked-for-the-night cemetery and the relationship began anew despite all of the problems they knew they would encounter being a racially mixed couple in St. Louis.

Looking back, this is really a beautifully written book.  I already look forward to visiting it again sometime!