Review of Joey
Posted: 23 Sep 2021, 14:45
[Following is a volunteer review of "Joey" by Jennie Linnane.]
Joey by Jennie Linnane is a story of a mentally stunted man who’s good heart touches everyone in his life. The story is set in a small Australian town, spanning the first half of his life in the decades between the 1940’s and 1990’s. The story is told in letter form through the perspective of multiple characters. Each character tells their own story, but through their interstitial interactions with Joey, we learn about his character and motivations. This book is third in a series, but it is not required to have read the other two in order to follow this story.
The story being exclusively told through letter form is both a positive and negative for this book. It is a great way to get the perspective of each character and the inner-workings of their minds. However, the nature of the characters looking back at events can cause a lack of tension and it frequently falls into telling, not showing events that could have been much improved by experiencing the action first hand.
I have not read the other two books in the series, so I don’t know the historical significance of all the characters, but there are too many characters introduced for this story. Each person has an encounter with Joey which helps provide more insight into his character, but there were simply too many people to keep track of. Specifically, with Joey’s half-sisters Robyn and Shirley in chapters 5 and 6. They do provide information for Joey’s relationship with his step-father, but that could have been accomplished with Natalie, who we already know and who continues to be a main character throughout the rest of the story.
The book finds its rhythm after chapter 9; the stories begin to more tightly intertwine and create a narrative that carries into the end of the book. The first half of the book is more disjointed, mainly introducing the various characters and developing the back story of the town. Joey himself is not mentioned as heavily in these sections, which is a shame, as the most interesting moments are when we interact more heavily with Joey. The growth of his relationship with his girlfriend Alice in the latter half of the book provide the highlight interactions of the story.
Linnane does a fantastic job setting up generations of people whose lives intertwine and have knock-on effects throughout the decades. Events that happen years ago have an effect on the present day, which feels very satisfying to identify as the reader. The history of the town is developed well enough to enjoy references the older people make to it. Like when George calls the Ironbark Hill house, “Tom Elphick's old place". There are details like that all over this book and it really adds to the overall depth of the story.
Overall, I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. It is professionally edited, but it is not “great” fiction made to make you question a deep psychological concept or to thrill you with an exciting story. The foreshadowing is blunt and clunky, and the delineation between time gets easily muddled. This is a book to pick up on a rainy afternoon when you need a cozy time spent with small town people with low stakes. And for that it is perfect.
******
Joey
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Joey by Jennie Linnane is a story of a mentally stunted man who’s good heart touches everyone in his life. The story is set in a small Australian town, spanning the first half of his life in the decades between the 1940’s and 1990’s. The story is told in letter form through the perspective of multiple characters. Each character tells their own story, but through their interstitial interactions with Joey, we learn about his character and motivations. This book is third in a series, but it is not required to have read the other two in order to follow this story.
The story being exclusively told through letter form is both a positive and negative for this book. It is a great way to get the perspective of each character and the inner-workings of their minds. However, the nature of the characters looking back at events can cause a lack of tension and it frequently falls into telling, not showing events that could have been much improved by experiencing the action first hand.
I have not read the other two books in the series, so I don’t know the historical significance of all the characters, but there are too many characters introduced for this story. Each person has an encounter with Joey which helps provide more insight into his character, but there were simply too many people to keep track of. Specifically, with Joey’s half-sisters Robyn and Shirley in chapters 5 and 6. They do provide information for Joey’s relationship with his step-father, but that could have been accomplished with Natalie, who we already know and who continues to be a main character throughout the rest of the story.
The book finds its rhythm after chapter 9; the stories begin to more tightly intertwine and create a narrative that carries into the end of the book. The first half of the book is more disjointed, mainly introducing the various characters and developing the back story of the town. Joey himself is not mentioned as heavily in these sections, which is a shame, as the most interesting moments are when we interact more heavily with Joey. The growth of his relationship with his girlfriend Alice in the latter half of the book provide the highlight interactions of the story.
Linnane does a fantastic job setting up generations of people whose lives intertwine and have knock-on effects throughout the decades. Events that happen years ago have an effect on the present day, which feels very satisfying to identify as the reader. The history of the town is developed well enough to enjoy references the older people make to it. Like when George calls the Ironbark Hill house, “Tom Elphick's old place". There are details like that all over this book and it really adds to the overall depth of the story.
Overall, I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars. It is professionally edited, but it is not “great” fiction made to make you question a deep psychological concept or to thrill you with an exciting story. The foreshadowing is blunt and clunky, and the delineation between time gets easily muddled. This is a book to pick up on a rainy afternoon when you need a cozy time spent with small town people with low stakes. And for that it is perfect.
******
Joey
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon