Josie and Jack (2005)

Reminiscent of McEwan's "The Cement Garden." The titual pair are the isolated children of an abusive, alcoholic (but fiercely intellectual) father, who homeschools them intermittently when it suits him, and bullies them constantly. Josie takes refuge in her unstable brother, Jack, but his self-serving behavior towards her becomes increasingly apparent when they run away from home together. Josie ultimately makes a surprising decision concerning Jack, which ends the book on a hopeful note (a relief, considering the wayward, con artist, borderline incestuous life she has led with her troubled brother.) ( )

This book is written very well, however it leaves me unsatisified. It deals with some disturbing topics, which may be the source of my dissatisfaction. It is also rather vague at some very key points. Just something about it is...off. However, as I stated before, it is well written and suspenseful in a "waiting for the other shoe to drop" kind of way. Worth it to give it a try if you can get past the disturbing parts. ( )

After I began reading this book, I was addicted. I kept thinking about Josie and Jack and about how the hell this story would end. Josie and Jack are sister and brother, primarily isolated from the rest of the world by their mostly absent professor father. Separated when very young, their mother took Jack and left Josie with her father. However, when Jack was eight years old, their mother died, and Jack went to live with his father and sister.

Both Jack and Josie are deeply troubled people, thanks to their crazy father, who basically abandons them all week to return home on the weekends to abuse, berate, and torment them. Eventually, Jack and his father have a falling out and Jack leaves, abandoning Josie. Jack returns six months later to take her with him.

They survive through living off of the women Jack happens to ensnare with his charm. But it is an un-secure and insecure way to live.

The overwhelming feeling that I got throughout reading this novel was one of despair. These two are desperate to remain next to each other in a strange, erotic, co-dependent, and antisocial way. They are the only people who can understand each other, and they desperately cling to each other while hurting each other in the process.

The power of the story comes from rooting for them while knowing you shouldn't; wanting them to be together, even though you know it's wrong and dangerous.

I found it sort of juvenile and eccentric for eccentricity's sake. The dark turns the story takes didn't bother me, but the vacuum the kids lived in, with no perspective on the outside world beyond their nihilism just didn't hook me. ( )