Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry

Fans of Wendell Berry know his favorite themes are the importance of community and the disadvantages of runaway progress. His novel Jayber Crow is no exception. In his gentle, inimitable style Berry takes us through the ups and downs of Port William’s bachelor barber.

Born in 1914 and orphaned at a young age, Jayber Crow is now 72 years old and is looking back on his life.  He begins with early memories of the orphanage where he recalls asking hard questions about faith and getting few satisfying answers.  Even though he abandons Christianity for a time, he can’t get away from feeling that he is “blessed” and even “called”.  Biblical language is sprinkled throughout the book. On returning to Port William he writes, “In one breath I was lost and a stranger, and in the next I was found.”(p. 87)

One reason he scorned religion was because it preached against pleasure.

This religion that scorned the beauty and goodness of this world was a puzzle to me. To begin with, I didn’t think anybody believed it.  Those world-condemning sermons were preached to people who, on Sunday mornings, would be wearing their prettiest clothes... The people who heard those sermons loved good crops, good gardens, good livestock and work animals and dogs; they loved flowers and the shade of trees, and laughter and music; some of them could make you a fair speech on the pleasures of a good drink of water or a patch of wild raspberries... And when church was over they would go home to heavenly dinners of fried chicken, and creamed new potatoes and creamed new peas and hot biscuits and butter and cherry pie and sweet milk and buttermilk. And the preacher, having foresworn on behalf of everybody the joys of the flesh, would eat with unconsecrated relish. (p. 161)

Mattie Chatham is a key character in the book. Although they never marry, Jayber’s love for her causes a dramatic turning point in his life. Through his selfless love for her he learns to love others more deeply and to accept the mysteries of faith that he had previously rejected.

In a moment of musing he writes, It is not a terrible thing to love the world, knowing that the world is always passing and irrecoverable, to be known only in loss. To love anything good, at any cost, is a bargain. (p. 329)

It was a bold move for Christian.audio.com to offer this book selection since there is unchristian behavior throughout; readers of traditional Christian novels may be offended by some profanity, drinking and womanizing.  To top it off, the one  “Christian” in the book is the mean-spirited, unhappy Cecelia Overhold. Average reader beware! But if you want to read a well-written, poignant tale of one man’s search for love and for God, you’ll be touched by Jayber Crow.

That Distant Land by Wendell Berry

I go through about fifty books a year and rarely do I find more than one that touches me in the deepest part of my soul. Surprisingly, I’ve read two like that this year. Seven months ago it was Cry the Beloved Country and now it’s Wendell Berry’s That Distant Land.

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In Berry’s case, I’m still reeling from the emotional impact of the book and am not sure I can put my experience into words. From the very first paragraphs of the book I felt as though I’d been given a rare privilege. Not only did his narrative style draw me quickly into the story, but the people he described were so believable in their weaknesses and strengths, that I soon forgot they were fictional characters and felt a secret pleasure at eavesdropping into their lives.

How could I not love gangly Tol Proudfoot who married late in life and never ceased to adore his bride? Or faithful Jack who kept a vigilant watch over his nephew until he was sure he would not take revenge on his father’s murderer? Or Elton Penn who found healing from his brokenness in the farming community?

The stories, set in the fictional town of Port William, Kentucky, begin in 1888 and end about a hundred years later. The theme of many of them is the necessity (and responsibility) of our interrelatedness as human beings. In “The Wild Birds” Burley Coulter says, “We are members of each other. All of us. Everything. The difference ain’t in who is a member and who is not, but in who knows it and who don’t." (p.356)

Be prepared to read this book with a little ache around your heart. You’ll be touched by its tender friendships, its descriptions of the fragility and beauty of life, and its relentless pictures of suffering infused with grace. No matter how bad things get, Berry convinces you that life is good; it’s a gift worth opening because it is made rich by the love of good friends and neighbors.

There are too many beautiful passages to quote them all, but here’s a short sample:

It was a long walk because we had to go around the inlets of the backwater that lay in every swag and hollow. Way off, now and again, we could hear the owls. Once we startled a deer and stood still while it plunged away into the shadows. And always we were walking among the flowers. I wanted to keep thinking that they were like stars, but after a while I could not think so. They were not like stars. They did not have that hard, distant glitter. And yet in their pale, peaceful way, they shone. They collected their little share of light and gave it back. (p.369)