My first Marilynne Robinson! I started my read with an awareness that this is an author with fans in high places including Barack Obama, with a list of literary awards to her name and with a reputation in part carved through having taught at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. I was eager to discover what set her writing apart. Jack is the fourth in four books in the Gilead series. Although I read it in isolation, and it is entirely possible to do so, I would strongly suggest reading in sequence simply to maximise context. It is the love story of Jack who ‘had come into the world trailing clouds’ and Della, a beautiful young black lady. A love between races not encouraged, not permitted at a time when prejudice was laid down in law. The emergent feelings are described beautifully, delicately peeling away in nuanced conversations and encounters. Jack describes himself as ‘without moorings’ - it’s a wonderful concise analogy of a man who is estranged from his father, has spent time in jail, flits between jobs and accommodations. Della is gentle, kind and patient, struggling to reconcile her love for a white man with the love and honour she feels for her deeply religious family. Every obstacle will be in their way and there’s a feeling of hopelessness and futility - as Jack says, ‘How can we do this without, possibly, ruining your life?’ Jack is described as a ‘destructive man in a world where everything can be ruined or broken’, but in Della’s company there is a kind of redemption and peace. I am totally in love with Robinson’s writing - she can pour the world into a sentence. Her writing painstakingly unpicks the nuances of a conversation, of meetings, of thought processes. It is like watching an exotic flower open. For fans of Robinson, for fans of writing where delicate and infinite observation is key this is perfect. It is however not for the impatient or plot driven. With thanks to Netgalley and Little Brown Book Group for a digital copy of this book.

This book is in essence a very thoughtful, empathetic and sensitive love story, but in post WW2 USA, love between a white man and a black woman could not be countenanced. We meet again the reprobate Jack, first encountered in the wonderful Gilead books, and his beloved Della, a schoolteacher and a cultured, sensitive soul, who falls deeply in love with Jack, in spite of his vicissitudes - that love is reciprocated and the story centres around the desperate struggle for these two beautiful people to be together in a deeply Christian, but also deeply prejudiced society, with the prejudice as deep on the black side as on the white. The writing style is ‘literary’ in the truest sense, and Robinson possesses an enviable vocabulary, but the complexity of language sometimes feels a little as if it is there for complexity’s sake, rather than to add anything to the story. The themes of prejudice, redemption, self control (or lack of it),alcohol dependence irrational behaviour and many others are explored with huge insight and empathy, making for an intense and moving read. The reader can’t help but want everything to work out for Jack and Della, but the obstacles they must overcome often appear to insurmountable. Many thanks to NetGalley and Virago for my review copy.

Marilynne Robinson’s prizewinning series of books based around the fictional town of Gilead have long been one of my favourites so I was thrilled to get the chance to review Jack, the 4th in the series. This one tells the story of John Ames Boughton the drunken, kleptomaniac son of Gilead’s Presbyterian minister and his love for Della, the spirited, intelligent daughter of a bishop who has left home to teach in St Louis where the two meet. This unlikely pairing might always lead to trouble but the fact that Jack is white and Della is black at a time when interracial relationships were illegal, can only mean trouble. The book begins in a cemetery where Jack and Della find themselves locked in at night, Jack by choice as it’s a good place for a drunken bum to sleep, Della by accident. The conversation between the two that night makes up a sizeable chunk of the novel and I did find it a struggle, probably only continuing with the book because I hoped it would get better. Luckily it did once the plot moved on to their difficulties as Della’s friends and family all tried to break up the relationship and Jack began to redeem himself by finding a job, while all the time trying to live by his own motto of do no harm and give Della up. Fascinating portrayal of life in America at that time and the racial tensions combined with Robinson’s theological viewpoint which fans will be delighted to read. Also works as a stand-alone novel if you haven’t read the others or like me you had forgotten much of the original story

Down on his luck Jack (a white guy) falls for beautiful, black Della in St Louis at a time when such a union was illegal and dangerous. Jack's love is touching, as he finds work playing the piano so that he can buy Della flowers, a book of poetry and improve his prospects with the girl he loves. He finds both kindness and cruelty along the way. Although this is the third in a trilogy, this book works well as a stand-alone. A poignant literary novel, full of memorable phrases and scenes.

Not going to lie - I found this book hard-going. It took me a good half of the book to really get into it. Jack and Della are the two central characters, falling in love is a major issue as he's a down and out white man, and she an educated black lady. I found it really hard to engage with the characters, they were rather vague, and initially the flitting around between timeframes bothered me too. However, half way in I suddenly sped up, and from the point that they really committed to one another, it got a whole lot easier to read, and I enjoyed it from thereon.