A Review in Brief: Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry
“Telling a story is like reaching into a granary full of wheat and drawing out a handful. There is always more to tell than can be told.” - Wendell Berry, Jayber Crow
“A Review in Brief” is where I offer my thoughts on a book or story from among the various facets of media, in as few words as I can manage (or as I may deem just considering the story in question).
Wendell Berry’s Jayber Crow is a rather large story to come from the collection of small moments. I appreciate the author’s emphasis on what may otherwise seem insignificant. Such a story can only be enjoyed by an individual who knows well what it means to value human life alongside our existence in this temporary place of Port William. Themes of belonging and the grief of passing times, places, and people will resonate with everyone who has glimpsed the mutability of the world at once in their life. To find yourself a part of the Port William membership (which I most certainly do as anyone may, though neither in time nor place), one will begin to recognize the rich, yet small, truths about life that have been captured for us, set into words and into stone in the life of Jayber Crow.
5/5 Stars (and well deserved)
I would highly recommend this book to the one who reads slowly for pleasure. You’d make a mistake squeezing this orange too quickly, for with the pulp, you may lose much of the good this story is trying to convey. Instead, let it steep in cold, where time reveals its rich flavor.
Favorite Quotes:
“To love anything good, at any cost, is a bargain.”
― Wendell Barry, Jayber Crow
“Telling a story is like reaching into a granary full of wheat and drawing out a handful. There is always more to tell than can be told.”
― Wendell Berry, Jayber Crow
“Some of the best things I have ever thought of I have thought of during bad sermons.”
― Wendell Berry, Jayber Crow
“Young lovers see a vision of the world redeemed by love.”
― Wendell Berry, Jayber Crow