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4.19 AVERAGE
4.19 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I’m sure we’ve all learned a lot about the Kennedy years. Even though this book is historical fiction, it’s the first time I’ve read from Jackie’s perspective. It was almost like reading her diary. Even though some conversations are made up, this book is so well researched and it is rooted in history and actual events. Written in first person, it reminded me of Rodham by Curtis Sittenfeld.
I loved learning more about Jackie – as a mother, wife, sister, daughter-in-law, and especially as an advisor to JFK. While we know the impact that Jackie had on the world – for example through her fashion and updating of the White House – this book also shows her as an policy and communications asset to JFK’s presidency, both nationally and internationally. In this book, we see his presidency through her eyes.
As the timeline moved closer to November 1963, I could feel my anxiety and sadness rising as I read about JFK’s assassination from Jackie’s perspective. My kids are basically the same ages as Caroline and John were then, and my heart aches for what they went through at such a young age. I had similar feelings as the book entered 1968, knowing that Bobby Kennedy would suffer the same fate as his brother.
It takes a good writer to evoke those feelings while reading. It felt like I was truly reading how Jackie experienced these events.
Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review
This novel follows the fictionalized but historically influences life of the woman known as Jackie Kennedy Onassis.
This novel begins with a snapshot of the immediate aftermath of the assassination of JFK and what could be going through her mind in those moments. We jump right into the day Jackie met the man who was going to end up being her husband. We follow her journey from that day forward. Her work as a reporter, reluctantly dating Jack to quickly falling for him. Everything she gave up for his political career, motherhood, what it was like being the First Lady. The tremendous losses she experienced in life, her second marriage to a man who both helped her and hurt her. Her rise to adoration and the fall from grace. Her career in publishing, and her years living life on her own terms.
The days of Jackie O and JFK were way before my time, but their story and legacy shaped the way life is lived today. I have always been fascinated by the woman Jackie was, and this fictionalized exploration of her life really filled the gap in my knowledge. It made me think of her as a human being rather than the figurehead I saw her as. The author did such a good job of really making Jackie come to life on the page. It must have required hours upon hours of research to get the character and events right, and although we will never really truly know all the facets that comprised Jackie, I can definitely admire the work the author put in and her interpretation of perspective of Jackie.
This novel follows the fictionalized but historically influences life of the woman known as Jackie Kennedy Onassis.
This novel begins with a snapshot of the immediate aftermath of the assassination of JFK and what could be going through her mind in those moments. We jump right into the day Jackie met the man who was going to end up being her husband. We follow her journey from that day forward. Her work as a reporter, reluctantly dating Jack to quickly falling for him. Everything she gave up for his political career, motherhood, what it was like being the First Lady. The tremendous losses she experienced in life, her second marriage to a man who both helped her and hurt her. Her rise to adoration and the fall from grace. Her career in publishing, and her years living life on her own terms.
The days of Jackie O and JFK were way before my time, but their story and legacy shaped the way life is lived today. I have always been fascinated by the woman Jackie was, and this fictionalized exploration of her life really filled the gap in my knowledge. It made me think of her as a human being rather than the figurehead I saw her as. The author did such a good job of really making Jackie come to life on the page. It must have required hours upon hours of research to get the character and events right, and although we will never really truly know all the facets that comprised Jackie, I can definitely admire the work the author put in and her interpretation of perspective of Jackie.
Take one of the most famous, iconic women in modern history and write about her life. A high reaching prospect, indeed, but one Ms Tripp manages admirably; Jackie is well researched, engagingly written, and manages to also be compulsively readable. Even readers who know much of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis’s life, this one is still an intriguing read, written in JBKO’s “voice”. It absolutely kept me turning the pages.
I think this will also make a stellar listen.
Recommended!
Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the DRC
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
After hearing Zara (Shameless Podcast) talk about her review copy of this novel I was interested to read it too. I'm a historical fiction girlie and there's just something about Jackie Kennedy that I find intriguing. I spotted it within Hachette's Publicity Magazine and requested a copy. I was a little daunted at the size at first but soon fell into the short, sharp narration and story. I read the novel surprisingly quickly.
Here's what I liked:
-Author's note at the start of the book set the scene and the mood for the novel from the get go. The sentiment expressed within the author's note stayed with me as I read. In essence it was that historical fiction allows you to experience the mutiple dimensions of a story especially the experimental truths and emotional heart. To consider how people felt, not just what happened.
-Learnt more about Jackie Kennedy's life, especially about her life before meeting Jack, the loss she experienced throughout her life, her (and her sisters relationship) with Aristotle Onassis and career as a book editor. There was a strong focus on Women in history. "A woman has less to start with, so she has less to loose" (pg243).
-Memory and time was a powerful theme throughout the novel. "We never imagine it. That we will be there someday, centuries from now, skulls ground to unnamed and intimate fragments, trampled by new generations who, in turn can't imagine their lives will also be broken to dust. Jack would understand this, the nuanced implications... how everything marked critical, classified, urgent, eventually turns to this." (pg199).
-I thought the weaving of other important events in American History, especially Black History to be interesting. I wonder how much was fantasy and fact though. One of the most poignant quotes that still rings true today was "Jack was killed by American violence, he called it that once, the hatred that built this country" (pg 332).
-The book was ultimately a love story between two of the biggest figures of the 20th century. "The world is alive to me because of you" (pg260).
Here's what I didn't:
-Didn't like the inclusion of the poetic ramblings, I really liked it at the start, however, it grated on me by the end of the novel. Frequent shifts between monologue style narration to then thoughts and recollections that were in italics. Hopefully audio listeners don't find this too confusing.
-I feel like the novel relies on you as the reader to know key events and people. I knew the absolute bare minimum but felt that there was a lot I was expected to know. There were so many characters and it was difficult to know who they were and keep track of their relationship with the Kennedys. I did not have time to Google it all.
-Some of the story, especially around the time Jack died felt really repetitive especially in the throws of grief.
-Ultimately I felt like to story was written to reveal a more intimate side to Jackie Kennedy but I felt like it still hit the major plot points and brushed over a lot.
Overall I enjoyed my read of Jackie, interested to rewatch Jackie the 2016 movie staring Natalie Portman.
Thank you to Hachette Australia for my review copy.
Here's what I liked:
-Author's note at the start of the book set the scene and the mood for the novel from the get go. The sentiment expressed within the author's note stayed with me as I read. In essence it was that historical fiction allows you to experience the mutiple dimensions of a story especially the experimental truths and emotional heart. To consider how people felt, not just what happened.
-Learnt more about Jackie Kennedy's life, especially about her life before meeting Jack, the loss she experienced throughout her life, her (and her sisters relationship) with Aristotle Onassis and career as a book editor. There was a strong focus on Women in history. "A woman has less to start with, so she has less to loose" (pg243).
-Memory and time was a powerful theme throughout the novel. "We never imagine it. That we will be there someday, centuries from now, skulls ground to unnamed and intimate fragments, trampled by new generations who, in turn can't imagine their lives will also be broken to dust. Jack would understand this, the nuanced implications... how everything marked critical, classified, urgent, eventually turns to this." (pg199).
-I thought the weaving of other important events in American History, especially Black History to be interesting. I wonder how much was fantasy and fact though. One of the most poignant quotes that still rings true today was "Jack was killed by American violence, he called it that once, the hatred that built this country" (pg 332).
-The book was ultimately a love story between two of the biggest figures of the 20th century. "The world is alive to me because of you" (pg260).
Here's what I didn't:
-Didn't like the inclusion of the poetic ramblings, I really liked it at the start, however, it grated on me by the end of the novel. Frequent shifts between monologue style narration to then thoughts and recollections that were in italics. Hopefully audio listeners don't find this too confusing.
-I feel like the novel relies on you as the reader to know key events and people. I knew the absolute bare minimum but felt that there was a lot I was expected to know. There were so many characters and it was difficult to know who they were and keep track of their relationship with the Kennedys. I did not have time to Google it all.
-Some of the story, especially around the time Jack died felt really repetitive especially in the throws of grief.
-Ultimately I felt like to story was written to reveal a more intimate side to Jackie Kennedy but I felt like it still hit the major plot points and brushed over a lot.
Overall I enjoyed my read of Jackie, interested to rewatch Jackie the 2016 movie staring Natalie Portman.
Thank you to Hachette Australia for my review copy.
I really enjoyed this intimate look at the life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis from the point of her dating John F. Kennedy until her death.
“In the white space, the margins, and the gaps, that’s where life dwells.”
In this historical fiction novel, the author committed to capturing Jackie’s spirit by sharing her thoughts, conversation, and voice. The result is a realistic view of what Jackie experienced and what was important to her. Some interstitial chapters from John F. Kennedy’s perspective provide additional context about his relationship with Jackie. The book explores love, family, tragedy, and reinvention. I found it engaging, very interesting and thought provoking.
I highly recommend Jackie to those who enjoy a unique perspective on historical figures.
“In the white space, the margins, and the gaps, that’s where life dwells.”
In this historical fiction novel, the author committed to capturing Jackie’s spirit by sharing her thoughts, conversation, and voice. The result is a realistic view of what Jackie experienced and what was important to her. Some interstitial chapters from John F. Kennedy’s perspective provide additional context about his relationship with Jackie. The book explores love, family, tragedy, and reinvention. I found it engaging, very interesting and thought provoking.
I highly recommend Jackie to those who enjoy a unique perspective on historical figures.
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes