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Title: An abyssmal failure
Review: Berry proves through this novel that he clearly should not be writing large works of fiction. Large sections of the book seem to completely ignore the story just so Berry can give an outlet of his feelings. The idea that some of the deep questions Jayber asks really come from a partially educated man who can then turn around and do some incredibly stupid things, like pretend to marry a woman is preposterous. The story is unsatisfying. Few of the characters are endearing, and none of them stick around longer than it takes for Berry to make a supposedly poignant social commentary about people like that. As a read for fun, 2 stars seems generous for such an purposeless, unsatisfying, and disappointing novel.
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