Jayber Crow

Bookseller recommendation

“I was first introduced to Mr. Berry through his essay collection What Are People For? and loved him from the moment I read the poem 'Damage,' which is at the beginning of the book. When I read fiction, I tend towards dystopian literature, science fiction, or high fantasy—genres that used to be nearly exclusive to us nerds, geeks, and outcasts but it seems nearly everyone reads today. So when I was told Jayber Crow was basically a novel where only very ordinary things happen, I expected it to be pretty in language but not particularly riveting—one of those books you have to put down many times to read something fun in between. I could not have been more wrong. It took me a long time to understand why I was so drawn in by this rather sleepy tale of a man who seems to do very little. He has a difficult life, but not horribly so. There are no fireworks here, nothing to draw us to him, no spectacle to keep our attention. But he sees a great deal and through thought and labour reveals a series of truths about the world we live in. It's true there are no fireworks, but if you read it, it just might light a fire inside you.”

— David • The Book Tavern