Jernigan (1991 novel)

Jernigan is the 1991 debut novel by David Gates. The book received widespread critical acclaim, drawing comparisons to Richard Yates, Joseph Heller, and Frederick Exley. Jernigan was a finalist for the 1992 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction.

Jernigan
First edition cover
EditorGary Fisketjon
AuthorDavid Gates
Cover artistChip Kidd (design)
Anne Turyn (photo)[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
GenreTragicomedy
Published1991 Vintage Contemporaries
Media typePrint (hardback and paperback)
Pages256 pp
ISBN0679737138

Plot summary

Peter Jernigan, the eponymous narrator, is an alcoholic widower in his late 30s who tells the darkly comic story of his attempts to raise his teenage son Danny in the suburbs of New Jersey in the year following the suicide of his wife. When Jernigan begins an affair with Martha, the mother of Danny's girlfriend and a self-styled "suburban survivalist" who breeds rabbits in her basement, his drinking turns harder and his life begins to spiral completely out of control.

Critical reception

Reviewing the novel for The New York Times, critic Michiko Kakutani wrote, "The minute he starts talking, Peter Jernigan, the narrator of David Gates's astonishing first novel, grabs you by the lapels and compels you to listen to the sad-funny-tragic story of his life. His voice is one of those distinctive, all-American voices: brash, sarcastic, rueful and boyish, all at the same time. He sounds like a Holden Caulfield who has grown up to find himself trapped in a novel by Richard Yates."[2] Douglas Seibold of The Chicago Tribune wrote, "It is a compelling ride, and makes for compelling reading. But it is Jernigan's voice, the hectoring, profane, desperate voice with which he tells the story of his fall, that is the motivating force."[3] In reviewing the 2015 UK reissue of Jernigan for The Independent, Doug Johnstone wrote, "Re-reading Jernigan, I was struck all over again at how brutal and brilliant it is. The author Stuart Evers, in his insightful and passionate foreword to this new edition, claims that it deserves to be rediscovered in a similar fashion to Stoner or Revolutionary Road. While I agree with that sentiment entirely, Jernigan feels like a more powerful piece of writing than those books, a howl into the abyss, a very modern American rage against the indignities of life and death."[4]

Awards and honors
gollark: Not offer any integration.
gollark: The osmarks.tk command would just tell you of osmarks.tk.
gollark: Perhaps an osmarks.tk command.
gollark: Yes, it's terrible.
gollark: That sounds like a sensible system.

References
  1. "Anne Turyn, Image, Text". anneturyn.com. Retrieved 2016-08-31.
  2. Kakutani, Michiko (May 24, 1991). "Books of The Times; Inspecting the Ruins of a Contemporary Life". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-08-26.
  3. "The Bleak World of Peter Jernigan". Retrieved 2016-08-26.
  4. "Jernigan & A Hand Reached Down To Guide Me, Both by David Gates – Book". August 15, 2015. Retrieved 2016-08-26.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.