My Brother Jack
George Johnston
An Australian classic, My Brother Jack is the story of Davy and Jack Meredith, two brothers growing up in a Melbourne suburb during the years between the First and Second World War.
Born to a drunken, abusive father and a caring, loving mother, the boys are distinctively different from an early age. While the older brother Jack is a tough fighter, who drinks, swears and wenches, the younger brother Davy lives a quiet existence under the shadow of his brother, preferring the company of books. During the depression years, the fortune of the brothers starts to change. Davy earns a good income and a growing popularity as a writer. With a glamorous wife, a new house in a new suburb and a set of fashionably desirable friends, Davy seem to have it all. Yet feeling straitjacketed by constraints of his new status, Davy yearns for the grounded simplicity and honesty of Jack’s life.
At the advent of WWII, the brothers grow further apart as Davy’s status and importance increases. With the relationship of the brothers taking 180 degrees turn, Jack looks up to his younger brother, showing the type of admiration that as youngsters, Davy felt towards jack.
Flawless and effortless prose has ensured that both My Brother Jack and its sequel Clean Straw for Nothing win the prestigious Miles Franklin Award. However, the book feels dated which may explain why it’s rarely studied anymore in the Australian schools. 3 stars
About Me
- Banafsheh Serov
- Australia
- I am passionate about the written language. I love writing, reading, reviewing, selling and promoting books. I am an independent bookseller with over 20 years of experience in the book trade. Together with my partners, I actively aim to improve our bookstore's range and services to better reflect the needs of our community and clientele. In 2008, my memoir 'Under A Starless Sky' was published by Hachette, Australia. Since then, I had a short story 'Jasmine Petals' published in 'Stories of Belonging' (Finch) and in 2013, released my first full-length novel, The Russian Tapestry, also by Hachette. I am currently writing my second novel. I strive daily to improve my skills and stretch the limits of my craft. My love of books has naturally lead to reviewing. You can follow me on Twitter @B_Serov, Facebook www.facebook.com/BanafshehSerov and Goodreads www.goodreads.com/author/show/1429016.Banafsheh_Serov
1 comment:
I have just finished reading 'My Brother Jack" and I thought it was a good solid story with a satisfying conclusion. I enjoyed the Australian idiom throughout, even though some of the slang is not as common place today. But most of all I enjoyed the book for what it captures in "time and place'. Australia is now a very different place to the one that Davy and Jack inhabited. Throughout the book, and particularly towards its concluding chapters, there is a foreshadowing of the things that are about to change in Australia forever. I understood the "mythical" element of the Australian character in Jack who says exactly what he thinks and doesn't like sissys or wowsers. On the other hand, there is the contrasting and more realistic characterisation of Davy, who, initially at least, appears incapable of taking a position on anything much at all. It is a novel that does a pretty good job of capturing Australia between the wars and in no way would I say that it is "dated". It is no more "dated" than are the works of Shakespeare, William Faulkner or Chaucer. There is a tale to be told and Johnston does a good job.
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