Jeffrey Kerr
Political Satire / Texas Humor / Texas Fiction
Date of Publication: April 7, 2020
PRAISE for The Republic of Jack:
“Jeff Kerr’s Republic of Jack is a ribald, raucous farce of Texas politics that often exposes the self-serving cynicism boiling beneath the surface of public debate.”
“Jeffrey Kerr’s ideal Texas politician—a man truly for these bitter times—bites off more than any enabler could ever chew in this romp of a new novel, The Republic of Jack! It’s time for readers to discover this writer’s range, intelligence, humor, and, ultimately, compassion. Or maybe you should just go and see his movie or read his catalog of nonfiction titles! In any case, it’s Jeff Kerr’s time.”
AMAZON
I think that with the chaos going on within my beloved country and especially within the great state of Texas, The Republic of Jack by Jeffrey Kerr could not have come at a better time. It pokes fun at the misguided and misunderstood ideas that allow terrible things like misogyny and racism to run rampant. And it is my fervent hope that even just one person whose hatred for our country, a particular race or nationality, sexual orientation, religion, or gender will read this book and realize how ridiculous their hate is. Surprisingly, this book opened my eyes to the outlandish things that politicians will say just to garner favor with a large group of voters. It gives me a little bit of hope that a particularly uncouth political figure is just trying to keep a group happy… but I’m not holding my breath.
Kerr has a clear picture of each main player in this story and paints each one so well. I particularly liked the different varieties of politicians: super driven and handsome men, the super ugly, overweight or nearly dead men, and then the few women who were usually old or not good-looking, but usually both. Behind the flurry of assistants who help these people reach their political aspirations, you have the languid trophy wives who consume whole bottles of expensive booze and play amorous musical chairs.
Jack is the prize lion in the middle of this circus. The desire to be a winner is the ringmaster cracking the whip, urging him to do things he doesn’t want to do just to win the crowd over. But unlike the lion, Jack has the ability to free himself from the situation without mauling everyone in sight. His journey is comical at times but I could feel the gravity behind certain situations. This is fiction but I still feel for the human that could truly go through something similar.
If you are looking for an outrageous read, you came to the right place. Don’t let my touchy feely analysis put you off. I found myself smirking and guffawing throughout most of this book. There were a few tried and true jokes, but there were plenty that I had never heard before that I found hilarious. I found this whole book to be a delightful look at what could be if everyone took everything too far. I don’t know if it was the author’s intent, but I found it to be a great balance between comedy and a cautionary tale.
Who should read this book? Anyone old enough to handle some sexually explicit situations and crude language. Who would get the biggest kick? Texans, of course, followed by other citizens of the U. S. of A. But I think that the other countries around the world who are watching Texas and the U.S. with wide eyes right now would probably get a kick out of it as well.
Website ║ Facebook ║ Twitter ║ Instagram
————————————-
July 7-17, 2020
|
7-Jul
|
Notable Quotable
|
|
|
7-Jul
|
Notable Quotable
|
|
|
8-Jul
|
Excerpt
|
|
|
8-Jul
|
Review
|
|
|
9-Jul
|
Review
|
|
|
10-Jul
|
Character Interview
|
|
|
10-Jul
|
Review
|
|
|
11-Jul
|
Scrapbook page
|
|
|
12-Jul
|
Author Interview
|
|
|
13-Jul
|
Review
|
|
|
14-Jul
|
Guest Post
|
|
|
14-Jul
|
Review
|
|
|
15-Jul
|
Playlist
|
|
|
16-Jul
|
Review
|
|
|
16-Jul
|
Review
|
|
missusgonzo 
I like what you said about how this is a tale with balance between humor and being a cautionary tale. That’s the best delivery we can ask for. Thanks for a great review.