Jayber Crow

    
     My senior year of college I took a class on Wendell Berry. When I enrolled I had never heard of Wendell Berry, I only knew that he was a Kentucky author and that the class was rarely, if ever, offered. So naturally I went to the bookstore to take a look at some of his novels, which from first glance appeared to be about farming. I have nothing against farming, I honestly just don't know much about it and was unsure if I would be interested enough in the subject matter to get me through a semester. I was a little hesitant and a little curious going into the class but was exceedingly impressed with the emotion and depth in each novel that we studied. The class also covered several of his essays, short stories, and poetry and the more I read, the more I loved. Each of Wendell Berry's works examines the strength and ties of a community through love, loss, and change. The rural community of Port William is the backdrop for many of his novels and is roughly based on Berry's own life in his hometown of Port Royal, Kentucky. Berry's life and experiences are reflected in his work which repeatedly focus on the themes of respect for the land, membership of a community, and the importance of family.
     Jayber Crow was not one of the novels that we read in class however the name was mentioned in several of the novels we studied. I love that the more I read by Wendell Berry, the more I learn about not only the protagonist of my current book but also about characters from previous novels. Each new perspective further illustrates the intricate world of Port William that Berry has created. This particular novel is told by Jayber Crow, an elderly man reflecting on a lifetime of clients' stories as they intertwine with his own. Orphaned as a child, Jayber learns about life as an outsider that, in part, remains with him for the rest of his life. He is sent away to The Good Shepherd school which is not a fit for him but after many years gives him the idea that he has been called to the ministry. In college, it is not long before he realizes that the questions and uncertainties he has about his faith will prohibit him from ever becoming a minister. The only force that seems to drive him over the next couple of years is to make his way back to the place he was born. Though he no longer has any relatives he feels the only connection he has to the world lies in the area of Port William. By becoming the town barber Jayber not only learns about the private inner workings of the community but is also accepted into the membership of Port William.
     One if the best parts about this novel is that despite it's melancholy tone there are moments of humor and love that touch the reader as though you were part of it's world. Wendell Berry has the incredible ability to create vivid characters that linger with the reader long after the novel is completed. Here are a few passages that initially struck me and that I think will give you a glimpse of Berry's prose style:

"But the mercy of the world is time. Time does not stop for love, but it does not stop for death and grief, either. After death and grief that (it seems) ought to have stopped the world, the world goes on. More things happen. And some of the things that happen are good. My life was changing now. It had to change. I am not going to say that it changed for the better. There was good in it as it was. But also there was good in it as it was going to be." (p.296)

"And I knew that the Spirit that had gone forth to shape the world and make it live was still alive in it. I just had no doubt. I could see that I lived in the created world, and it was still being created. I would be part of it forever. There was no escape. The Spirit that made it was in it, shaping it and reshaping it, sometimes lying at rest, sometimes standing up and shaking itself, like a muddy horse, and letting the pieces fly. I had almost no sooner broke my leash than I had hit the wall." (p.83)

"Somewhere underneath of all the politics, the ambition, the harsh talk, the power, the violence, the will to destroy and waste and maim and burn, was this tenderness. Tenderness born into madness, preservable only by suffering, and finally not preservable at all. What can love do? Love waits, if it must, maybe forever." (p.294)

As you can probably tell I am a huge Wendell Berry fan, and though this post in no way does his work justice, I would highly recommend that you read something of his, as it is truly a joy.