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A review by vivamonty
Jernigan by David Gates
3.0
When this book came out in 1991, many of the reviews compared its eponymous narrator with Holden Caulfield. There's some truth to that connection; Peter Jernigan is just as disaffected and fed up, though his additional years point not to youthful indiscretion as his problem, but instead the fact that he's a rotten person. Gates' trick is taking this unlikeable lout, driving him to the edge of alcoholic nihilism, and somehow instilling in him a voice that is just engaging enough for us to stick with him.
The book's reliance on contemporary references and its stiff position within the zeitgeist of 1988 means it hasn't aged as gracefully as some other novels. Jernigan is the type of character who is not currently in vogue; his sarcastic self-sabotage and piss-poor parenting don't quite lend themselves to sympathy. But as a novel of its time about the soullessness of just existing without purpose of direction, it's a fascinating read.
The book's reliance on contemporary references and its stiff position within the zeitgeist of 1988 means it hasn't aged as gracefully as some other novels. Jernigan is the type of character who is not currently in vogue; his sarcastic self-sabotage and piss-poor parenting don't quite lend themselves to sympathy. But as a novel of its time about the soullessness of just existing without purpose of direction, it's a fascinating read.