A review by bobbo49
The Memory of Old Jack by Wendell Berry

5.0

 Yes, I do absolutely love this series of Port William stories. This one is about one of the original settlers, Old Jack Beachum, born in 1860 and died in 1952. Mostly set in the last year of his life, he reflects back on all that he has seen, felt and experienced in his long life on the farm, all of the changes that the country and the world have gone through, and what he thinks it means (or doesn't). He is not impressed by the changes wrought by technology, by the exodus to the cities. "The new ignorance is the same as the old, only less aware that ignorance is what it is. It is less humble, more foolish, and frivolous, more dangerous."

As always, Berry's writing is beautiful and captivating, and his characters' behaviors and reflections are substantial food for thought.