4 out of 4 stars
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You Don't Know Jack is a work of faction by Don Ross. Faction is defined by Jack Odum, the protagonist, as "the combining of fact and fiction" and it's just one example of Jack's fondness for neologisms (newly coined words or phrases). Jack is an out of work writer making his first attempt at writing a novel. His love of faction and neologisms is the reason he's no longer employed as a journaller (think writer vs. writist, biographer vs. biographist).
The story is written in the first person and Jack takes the reader to his Thanksgiving weekend family reunion. He feels this is a good subject for a novel because there are so few Thanksgiving themed movies and likely his novel will be adapted to become a blockbuster film. This rather inflated view of himself is but one humorous aspect of Jack's personality. Jack regularly addresses the reader and also writes notes to the editor and/or publisher such as this one "Editors: We may be making history here by this simple act of an author thanking his readers for reading his book without their having to wait long hours in long lines at his simple book signing." You might have guessed by now that it's not the plot that you will enjoy most, but the humor. I was already laughing on page two when Jack wrote to his publishers that he thought large print would add depth and substance by making the book thicker!
I found the fun this author had with words to be hilarious. Jack writes to his editors and publishers that he may have missed some grammatical and spelling errors while proofreading and that when not sure of the correct word to use, he used both. This leads to smile inducing sentences like this one "Being dragged behind the fire truck were the carcasses (carcassi?) of a dozen turkeys (turki?), their bony remains bouncing on the concrete to the song “Here Comes Santa Claus.” You'll have to read the book to understand the context behind that!
Don't be fooled into thinking this book is nothing but silly humor. There are some interesting characters and some real emotion that provide a nice balance to the zaniness. Jack himself is a very well developed character who has some surprises for you. The author has also quite masterfully included some very touching moments and complex family issues. Jack is one of those characters that you'll enjoy spending time with, but you'll be glad to have known only in a book.
In summary, I would describe this book as a light hearted, hilarious adventure. I would recommend it to almost anyone, but particularly those who like to have fun with language. I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars.
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You Don't know Jack
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The mix of interesting characters and humor sounds like a winning combination.
