Just Jones: Sometimes a thing is impossible… until it is actually done (A Noticer #4)

Reviewed by:

G. Connor Salter, Professional Writing alumnus from Taylor University, Upland, IN.

Title:

Just Jones: Sometimes a thing is impossible… until it is actually done (A Noticer #4)

Author:

Andy Andrews

Publisher:

W Publishing Group

Publication Date:

September 8, 2020

Format:

Hardcover

Length:

280 pages

OVERVIEW

It’s been a while since bestselling novelist Andy Andrews saw the man who helped him turn his life around. Known simply as Jones (“not Mr. Jones, just Jones”), the elderly man had a rare ability to bring people down to what was really holding them back, so they could see what they needed to find new freedom. Then at 3:29 in the morning, Andy’s phone rings: Jones is back in Andy’s town… and in jail. After bailing Jones out, Andy discovers his friend has opened a five and dime store. As the summer rolls on, all kinds of townsfolk visit the store, and find that talking to Jones does something they don’t expect. What will he accomplish this time?

While Andrews includes a character named and based on himself in the story, the plot and characters are fictional. Jones functions as a Christ figure, although sometimes his platitudes sound less like the Gospels and more like self-help. The way Andrews shifts back and forth from telling his story to sermonizing with Jones as a mouthpiece doesn’t always work, and like many Christian Fiction novels there are characters who are a bit one-dimensional.

However, the setting and style that Andrews creates for the book means that the story works better than one would expect. The story takes place in a small Southern town, and much of it simply follows the townspeople and their interactions with each other. This is the kind of territory that Southern writers like Flannery O’Connor, Harper Lee and Mark Twain explored in their work. Their stories frequently had melodrama and bizarre characters, and didn’t mind delving into theological territory and moralizing a bit. O’Connor’s work particularly did this in the context of encounters with unconventional Christ figures who shook up other characters’ beliefs and expectations. Andrews doesn’t have her penchant for dark comedy, but his writing style has something very old-fashioned about it.

Consequently, what should just be a cheesy story really works, even though it has its rough patches. Andrews produces something funny and insightful, as well as spiritual.

ASSESSMENT

Rating (1 to 5 stars)

4 stars

Suggested Audience

Readers who like a kind of character-driven story about small town life, with religious overtones to it.

Christian Impact

The author uses his Christ figure to challenge other characters, which leads to various scenes of people facing their issues and finding redemption.