Joe Jones

i first read Anne Lamott during a writing class in my undergrad, where we read her book on writing, Bird by Bird (hated the class, loved the book). i fell in love with her style instantly, and proceeded to read her other nonfiction works (Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith, Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith, and Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year). at some point, i also read one of her novels, Blue Shoe. i felt let down. i so enjoyed her nonfiction, and i don't remember much about the book, except that i ended up disappointed.

since the growing stack of books on my "to-read" shelf currently consists of a bunch of psych books and one or two theology books, i started craving something a bit lighter to read. so when we went to barnes & noble last week, i abandoned my typical perusal of the psych section to wander into the realm of fiction. i don't buy a lot of fiction, but with so many books already stacked on my shelf for me to read soon, i couldn't bring myself to purchase another psych book quite yet (especially after two mini book buying sprees on amazon in the last few weeks). so i bought another Lamott novel, hoping to not be so disappointed in this one.

i felt rushed by the time i decided to look at her books, so i didn't really take time to read the backs of any of them, i just grabbed the first one that wasn't Blue Shoe, and it happened to be Joe Jones.

i took my time reading it over a few days this past week, though i think it's style also lends to a slower reading. it's a book about the characters, not really about a plot. there really isn't much happening throughout the book, mostly dialogue and time spent in the characters' heads listening to their thoughts.

i was going to say the book revolves around the characters in a diner, but really, the book is the characters in the diner. not much happens, except for conversations, thoughts about the past, and building of relationships (and the strains and pains that come with them).

sometimes the characters are annoying, but i think that is part of what makes them seem human, real, and true. they are broken people, and they hurt each other and yet their honesty makes them desirable. i think they main difference between them and us (as non-characters, but real people), is that while we are equally broken and searching for relationships, we lie and hide and pretend to be something other than we are. i guess that's what makes us most like the title character, Joe Jones, who is part of this group, but never really completely. he's hurt them out of fear, he's troubled by his own reality, he craves what they have but is himself the one at fault for the distance between him and the others. he refuses to step into the relationship as authentically as the others, so when he hurts them or they hurt him, relationships aren't mended as readily as when those same hurts happen among the others.

wow, that was vague. i got lazy and didn't feel like describing each of the characters. so all you get is this vague description.

so i guess, if you like a book with action or a fast-paced storyline, don't read this. but for something different than others, something that is about the characters more than the story, it makes for an interesting read.