Author: Dawn Tripp
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Random House
Book Release Date: 2024
Pages: 497
Source: Netgalley/Publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis: In this mesmerizing novel about Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, acclaimed author Dawn Tripp has crafted an intimate story of love and power, family and tragedy, loss and reinvention.
The world has divided my life into three:
Life with Jack
Life with Onassis
Life as a woman who goes to work because she wants to.
My life is all of these things, and it is none of these things. They continue to miss what’s right in front of them. I love books. I love the sea. I love horses. Children. Art. Ideas. History. Beauty. Because beauty blows us open to wonder. Even the beauty that breaks your heart.
Jackie is the story of a woman—deeply private with a nuanced, formidable intellect—who forged a legacy out of grief and shaped history even as she was living it. It is the story of a love affair, a complicated marriage, and the fracturing of identity that comes in the wake of unthinkable violence.
When Jackie meets the charismatic congressman Jack Kennedy in Georgetown, she is twenty-one and dreaming of France. She has won an internship at Vogue. Kennedy, she thinks, is not her kind of adventure: “Too American. Too good-looking. Too boy.” Yet she is drawn to his mind, his humor, his drive. The chemistry between them ignites. During the White House years, the love between two independent people deepens. Then, a motorcade in Dallas: “Three and a half seconds—that’s all it was—a slivered instant between the first shot, which missed the car, and the second, which did not. . . . A hypnotic burst of sunlight off her bracelet as she waved.”
This vivid, exquisitely written novel is at once a captivating work of the imagination and a window into the world of a woman who led many lives: Jackie, Jacks, Jacqueline, Miss Bouvier, Mrs. Kennedy, Jackie O.
My Review: Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis was one of America’s beloved First Ladies. She has been a symbol of strength during the dark moment when John F. Kennedy was killed. The historical novel, Jackie, follows her life and has portrayed her to be a supportive wife, a devoted mother as well as a survivor. It also tells the story of a woman who is on a quest for her own personal identity.
Jackie tries to give a personal and intimate look at the famous First Lady. However, I had a hard time caring and connecting with her. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis seemed to be very distant. This is due to the writing style, which focuses solely on the events of Jackie’s life rather than on Jackie as a character. Jackie is intelligent, elegant, and strong. She goes through many personal tragedies. I just wish that Jackie was a more developed character. I was very disappointed in how she was portrayed.
Overall, this book is about hardships, survival, and love. I thought that all of the characters were very flat. The dialogue was very stilted. Even though it is a long book, the story seems very rushed and disjointed. I think it would have been better if this was a book series on Jackie’s life. This is because it would have developed Jackie as a character better and that it would have more time for the reader to experience her story. I did find this book to be meticulously researched. However, this novel was meticulously researched and still a fascinating read because I love Jaqueline Kennedy Onassis! Therefore, Jackie is a worthy read for fans of the First Lady! I recommend this for fans of The Kennedy Debutante, The Pink Suit, and Jacqueline in Paris! However, I found And They Called It Camelot to be a more engaging and superior version than Jackie!
Rating: 2 ½ out of 5 stars
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