Brother of the More Famous Jack
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- Create Date：2022-04-28 08:52:54
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Barbara Trapido
- ISBN：1526612658
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Summary
Stylish， suburban Katherine is eighteen when she is propelled into the heart of Professor Jacob Goldman's rambling home and his large eccentric family。 As his enchanting yet sharp-tongued wife， Jane， gives birth to her sixth child， Katherine meets beautiful， sulky Roger and his volatile younger brother， Jonathan。 Inevitable heartbreak sends her fleeing to Rome， but ten years later， older and wiser， she returns to find the Goldmans again。
Reviews
Kiki
，
Having read the superlative praise for this novel， I started this coming-of-age story thinking surely I’d end it wishing I’d discovered this book 20 years ago。 Instead I found that， while full of still very recognisable British sensibilities， this was clearly of its time and not a book that stands up well in contemporary Britain。
C。 B
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I bloody loved this。 This edition features a blurb by Meg Mason and I can see its influence on her 'Sorrow and Bliss。' It is wonderfully witty and sharp - which makes its moments of poignancy all the more shocking and true。 It's part of an oddly specific genre of books that I really love - eccentric families， sisters， sadness and romance （think 'Sorrow and Bliss'， and 'I capture the Castle'）。 There are， of course， elements that have dated poorly （the heroine being relatively untroubled by her re I bloody loved this。 This edition features a blurb by Meg Mason and I can see its influence on her 'Sorrow and Bliss。' It is wonderfully witty and sharp - which makes its moments of poignancy all the more shocking and true。 It's part of an oddly specific genre of books that I really love - eccentric families， sisters， sadness and romance （think 'Sorrow and Bliss'， and 'I capture the Castle'）。 There are， of course， elements that have dated poorly （the heroine being relatively untroubled by her relationship with a fascist; some of the feminism v much of its time）。 But there are also many， many really sharp observations about sex， relationships and power， and so many moments that were genuinely both hilarious and moving。 Will seek out more by Trapido。 。。。more
Damien O'Brien
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Fantastic
Lucy
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3。5*
Claire Fuller
，
What a joy this book is。 A literary romance。 Aged about 19 Kath meets a bohemian family with six children and falls in love with them， and especially the eldest son， Roger。 And I fell in love with them。 After the end of that first love affair， Kath moves to Rome， and it is ten years before she catches up with the Goldmans again， when she falls in love with another one of them。 It's a coming-of-age story about whether in the late 70s in England women can actually get a family and a career。 On the What a joy this book is。 A literary romance。 Aged about 19 Kath meets a bohemian family with six children and falls in love with them， and especially the eldest son， Roger。 And I fell in love with them。 After the end of that first love affair， Kath moves to Rome， and it is ten years before she catches up with the Goldmans again， when she falls in love with another one of them。 It's a coming-of-age story about whether in the late 70s in England women can actually get a family and a career。 On the front Meg Mason says， it's 'utterly ageless'。 And in some ways it is - an ageless subject - but in others it's a wonderful period piece full of phrases I forgotten like， 'something chronic'。 （Only the middle section in Italy stopped me from giving it five stars， really because it was too slight and too quickly dealt with。） 。。。more
Jonathan
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I ran out of books on holiday， so nicked this one from my wife’s pile。 Never heard of it or the author， and was thoroughly and completely won over。 Enjoyed every page of it， and will certainly be reading more of hers。
Eolann
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Couldn't click with this; the central appeal of the book is the delight that Trapido's narrator Katherine take in the Goldman family， and how （despite allowing them flaws） she still continues to find them endearing， funny， sexy etc。 I mostly found them pretty boring and occasionally awful。 The section of the book when Katherine goes of away from them was by far the most interested but， but she （and the book） quickly get subsumed in the tedious Goldmans again。 Couldn't click with this; the central appeal of the book is the delight that Trapido's narrator Katherine take in the Goldman family， and how （despite allowing them flaws） she still continues to find them endearing， funny， sexy etc。 I mostly found them pretty boring and occasionally awful。 The section of the book when Katherine goes of away from them was by far the most interested but， but she （and the book） quickly get subsumed in the tedious Goldmans again。 。。。more
LittleSophie
，
Reading this book in 2022 feels weirdly scandalous because it would never be published like this nowadays。 The tone of witty nonchalance that persists for the most part would feel completely out of place today when writing about misogyny， weird power dynamics in relationships， single motherhood etc。 This very much belongs to the school of scrappy and resourceful heroines who enjoy a lot of uncomplicated sex （think Jilly Copper etc。）。 Snarky dialogues abound， everyone insults everyone， people hav Reading this book in 2022 feels weirdly scandalous because it would never be published like this nowadays。 The tone of witty nonchalance that persists for the most part would feel completely out of place today when writing about misogyny， weird power dynamics in relationships， single motherhood etc。 This very much belongs to the school of scrappy and resourceful heroines who enjoy a lot of uncomplicated sex （think Jilly Copper etc。）。 Snarky dialogues abound， everyone insults everyone， people have truly horrible opinions but aren't cast out over them， feminism is tackled but everyone gets a ton of leeway anyways。 I find myself baffled and charmed in equal measure - sort of loved this actually。 。。。more
April Holmes
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There are very many problematic things about this book， and also， it is one of my favourite things I’ve ever read。
August Cosentino
，
It’s hard to imagine a luckier young woman than Katharine， the protagonist of Barbara Trapido’s 1982 novel “Brother of the More Famous Jack。” A child of humble beginnings （her father was the local greengrocer in a provincial English hamlet）， she is granted the opportunity to study philosophy with Jacob Goldman， a furry， boisterous， lefty professor from London’s East End。 And then her real life begins。The novel， a bildungsroman of a sheltered young woman’s encounter with the wider world， is comed It’s hard to imagine a luckier young woman than Katharine， the protagonist of Barbara Trapido’s 1982 novel “Brother of the More Famous Jack。” A child of humble beginnings （her father was the local greengrocer in a provincial English hamlet）， she is granted the opportunity to study philosophy with Jacob Goldman， a furry， boisterous， lefty professor from London’s East End。 And then her real life begins。The novel， a bildungsroman of a sheltered young woman’s encounter with the wider world， is comedy gold。 Katharine doesn’t just get the pleasure of Jacob’s company but that of his eccentric， fractious family。 That includes Jane， Jacob’s long-suffering wife， who tends to her garden， and tussles with her male chauvinist husband; Jacob’s shy but beautiful son， Roger （who goes to Oxford and quietly sweeps Katharine off her feet）; and his fiery brother Jonathan， who plays the flute and swears at his mum。 Katharine also meets John Millet， the debonair， stylish family friend who happens to be gay。Trapido’s droll prose， reminiscent of Swift and Wilde， shows why her works are long-listed for the Man Booker as well as other fiction prizes。 And it can explain why a book like “More Famous Jack” can transport you from Rome to Hampstead Heath without your raising an eyebrow。 For anyone who’s ever fancied themselves a world adventurer， this novel is great escapist fare。 Passport not required。 Follow me at acsntn。substack。com 。。。more
Billie Yankie
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I read this for work， so I will not be giving it a rating， but I will leave a review。This is a good example of contemporary fiction in the style of Andre Aciman or Sally Rooney， in the sense that it is written in a very interesting way。 I wouldn't say the dialogue is excessive， but it does deliver the main story。And despite reading from the PoV of Katherine， we never really glimpse her deeper emotions。 The story is told rather dispassionately。There are a few TWs， so beware。 I read this for work， so I will not be giving it a rating， but I will leave a review。This is a good example of contemporary fiction in the style of Andre Aciman or Sally Rooney， in the sense that it is written in a very interesting way。 I wouldn't say the dialogue is excessive， but it does deliver the main story。And despite reading from the PoV of Katherine， we never really glimpse her deeper emotions。 The story is told rather dispassionately。There are a few TWs， so beware。 。。。more
Jo
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This was a re-read for me of a book I read in my early twenties。 I loved it then and loved it again。 In retrospect， I can see how the characters helped to shape who I've become， and the choices I've made in life。 I wanted to be Jane - foul-mouthed， hands in the dirt， surrounded by love and babies。 This was a re-read for me of a book I read in my early twenties。 I loved it then and loved it again。 In retrospect， I can see how the characters helped to shape who I've become， and the choices I've made in life。 I wanted to be Jane - foul-mouthed， hands in the dirt， surrounded by love and babies。 。。。more
Claire
，
Hi hi， it’s the voice of an unpopular opinion。 I really did hate this book， but don’t despair， it’s mostly me。 In defence of Trapido， I’m not a fan of a preppy， humorous novel， so my reaction is mostly a me thing。 In defence of myself， I don’t think this novel has aged very well。 The two star are there largely because I think if this was your style， Trapido has done a nice-ish job of writing some zingy dialogue。 But I cannot abide by the awful way women are objectified in this novel， and the app Hi hi， it’s the voice of an unpopular opinion。 I really did hate this book， but don’t despair， it’s mostly me。 In defence of Trapido， I’m not a fan of a preppy， humorous novel， so my reaction is mostly a me thing。 In defence of myself， I don’t think this novel has aged very well。 The two star are there largely because I think if this was your style， Trapido has done a nice-ish job of writing some zingy dialogue。 But I cannot abide by the awful way women are objectified in this novel， and the application of a comedic tone to some fairly horrific life experiences grated me like a lemon zest。 。。。more
David
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Superb writing - and Trapido's ability to grant real emotional honesty to most of her characters - were not enough to overcome aspects of this novel I found unpleasant。 Despite some strong， quirky traits， and aspirations toward independence， the women are largely second-class citizens。 There's a lot of talk about their unique power and individualism， but not enough supporting action to codify it。 While motherhood comes in for some well-earned scrutiny， women in general are glorified as sexual ob Superb writing - and Trapido's ability to grant real emotional honesty to most of her characters - were not enough to overcome aspects of this novel I found unpleasant。 Despite some strong， quirky traits， and aspirations toward independence， the women are largely second-class citizens。 There's a lot of talk about their unique power and individualism， but not enough supporting action to codify it。 While motherhood comes in for some well-earned scrutiny， women in general are glorified as sexual objects and this is implied to be their highest calling。 I did laugh in places but grimaced much more often when it became clear that these circumstances would not be improving dramatically。3。5 stars 。。。more
Dan
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Great fun， even in its bleakest episodes。 I wish that I could unravel why I enjoyed this so much， perhaps due to my willful suspension of disbelief。 Jake and the entire Goldman clan felt like cartoon characters to me， based on naive fantasies of progressive Jewish intellectuals。 My dissatisfaction， however， failed to affect my enjoyment。 I appreciated Brother of the More Famous Jack as somehow bright and warm， if not substantial。 3。5 stars
Will
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4。5
Virág
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I read it for the sentimental garbage episode， and in that the hosts said it was a book about Laurie （from little women） and honestly， that is the best way to describe it。 It is about falling in love with a family and yourself and about hiding in Italy and motherhood and childhood and education and money and I could go on， It is really about life。I would die for every one of these characters but I also want to hit every one of them。
Taff Jones
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Completely of its time - I don’t think families who talk quite like this do or could exist any more， but the writing is sublime。 There’s a reference to a Monteverdi song that a character sings at one pint; look it up…it’s great！
Abby
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“Boyfriend trouble is only temporarily disfiguring” this was a lot of fun， but I finish this book feeling I have aged 5 years （not a bad reaction）
Rachel
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 In every respect， this book was aggravating， enraging， or both。 It tells the story of Katherine， a precocious university student in the （I guess？） seventies， who becomes enmeshed in the family of one of her philosophy professors through the interlocution of the professor’s friend， a purportedly gay man who takes occasional excursions into heterosexuality by sleeping with extremely young women。 If this sounds deeply insane and unpleasant， it’s because it is！ Katherine is an astonishing person， an In every respect， this book was aggravating， enraging， or both。 It tells the story of Katherine， a precocious university student in the （I guess？） seventies， who becomes enmeshed in the family of one of her philosophy professors through the interlocution of the professor’s friend， a purportedly gay man who takes occasional excursions into heterosexuality by sleeping with extremely young women。 If this sounds deeply insane and unpleasant， it’s because it is！ Katherine is an astonishing person， and by extension so is Trapido。 In the course of this book and a decade of her life， Katherine cheerfully reveals that she is not only okay with， but romantically interested in: fascists; rapists; paedophiles; misogynists; domestic abusers; and any Venn diagram combination of the above。 We first encounter Jacob， the professor for whom Katherine has an abiding affection and admiration， in his home with his wild children and pregnant-for-the-sixth time （house）wife。 Of contraception， he declares:“A hundred years ago women ruined their health swallowing lead pills， and poking at themselves with crochet hooks。 Now they ruin their health swallowing hormone pills and pushing copper hooks into the neck of the uterus。 You may call it progress if you like。”YES， I FUCKING WILL， ACTUALLY。 For one thing， UNLIKE you， Jacob， I’d actually be having the babies！ Pills and IUDs are much more reliable and safe than lead pills and crochet hooks， even though you， a … *checks notes* MAN， are suggesting they’re EQUIVALENT， like ad-hoc approaches to birth control are THE SAME as the massive advancements seen in the twentieth century that not-coincidentally correlate with the biggest liberation in women’s rights and liberties in …。 ever。 Also？ FUCK YOU。This is how Jacob describes his friend John， Katherine’s lover cum professional gay man:“We all know and love John as a dear friend， not so？ […] And we all know， of course， that some of our best friends go in for sodomy， buggery， child-abuse， you name it。”I think that’s what Epstein said too， right？Katherine next enters a relationship with Jacob’s eldest son Roger， a mansplaining gaslighter that Katherine never actually gets over， despite the fact that she ends the book married to his brother。 （Of the vile Jonathan， more anon。） After a traumatic break-up， Katherine flees to Italy and falls in love with Michele， a divorced man， on the basis of: minding his children when he’s late to pick them up for the airport， watching him yell at his children when he’s the one at fault， and dropping them off at their mother’s while acting like a disgusting prick the entire time。 Michele is literally a fascist; Katherine drops the information and turns to the camera to chirp ‘That’s hot！’ Paris Hilton-style。 Michele abandons Katherine when she falls pregnant and refuses an abortion – which， why？ WHY？ The baby dies of cot-death aged twelve weeks， but Katherine is shacked up with Jonathan and pregnant again in the same space of time， so I can’t say I was overly convinced by this as a portrayal of parental bereavement。And then there’s Jonathan， who canonically had an affair with a TEENAGE STUDENT he was TEACHING AT THE TIME。 She conveniently divorced him （to finish！ school！） so he was free to declare his longstanding crush on Katherine when she returns to England for extensive inpatient treatment for her depression， conversations about which appear to function as legit come-ons in this universe。 Jonathan writes what sound like Martin Amis-esque books full of bodily emissions and tells Katherine:“I plan to rape you with my new Bisset mop while you read Jill Tweedie。”and:“I’m going to heave my weight off your ribs every morning and leave you in a tacky pool of my ooze。”The first one is profoundly horrifying， but I wonder if the second is supposed to be titillating？ If so … to who？ There’s dirty talk， and there’s primary school gross-out talk， and it’s very clear which this one is - to everyone except Jonathan， I guess。I’ve outlined the plot in a way that suggests that it’s written in a sensible， novelistic fashion， but this is not the case。 We have highly detailed （sometimes present tense） chapters in which we watch everyone walk about and eat meals and change clothes， followed by a few scanty paragraphs in which， for example， Katherine moves to Italy and gets knocked up by a fascist with nothing in the way of description， let alone insight。 At the end we meet some schoolfriends of Jonathan’s younger sisters， who are visiting Jacob and Jane’s house。 They have no role in the plot except to allow Katherine to describe how fine she is with the fact that Jonathan is eyeing up these teenagers like he wants to have sex with one or any of them。 Katherine's a Cool Girl！ Jonathan then gets into a vicious， nasty argument with his mother about the fact that she wants Katherine to have a more equitable marital situation than she endured。 “[…] quite a lot of men will cook now and again if their wives lay in the garlic and root ginger and whatever else is necessary for the star turn。”This whole argument seems old hat now， but perhaps it was fresh in 1982; what’s affronting about it is how utterly violent Jacob and Jonathan are in their denunciations of Jane’s entire lived experience。 Throughout it all， Katherine sits there with a silly smile， thinking of absolutely nothing， I presume， because there’s no indication she takes this interchange on board or has any feelings about it。 I mean， earlier in the novel Jane remarks:“[…] when the twins were born I screwed out of Jacob the right to use disposable nappies […]”Of a man who does no cleaning or childcare！ She had to BEG to use disposable nappies！ I had to lie down on the floor， I was so overcome， but Katherine is just thinking about how hot fascists are again， I guess。 This is what made me so fundamentally angry with this book: all the ingredients are there to show a woman coming to the slow and horrified realisation that she’s been taken for a fool by a bunch of thundering misogynists， but it never happens。 Katherine appears to think the main feminist win is not being too bothered when your male partner wants to trade you in for a newer model。 I wanted to kill her and then myself。“[Leone] reminded me often of those little girls in the junior school who told you not to wear your shiny pink dress to the party because they were going to wear theirs。 And you didn’t wear it， even though you had got your own dress first and it wasn’t fair。 And then you went on being flattered when they chose you first for their side in games。”The only piece of good writing in the entire revolting book。 。。。more
Molly
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That last paragraph was perfect。the Goldmans is the best fictional family ever written。
Maria
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I love book serendipity: I've kept hearing about this novel from You're Booked podcast （the host Daisy Buchanan and her friends seem to adore it and they bring it up every other episode）， and here it was waiting for me at the lending shelf of a Turkish hotel。 Pretty unlikely！ I've read it in one day on the beach。 It didn't change my life or anything， but it's really laugh out loud if you like British humour （I do）。 I love book serendipity: I've kept hearing about this novel from You're Booked podcast （the host Daisy Buchanan and her friends seem to adore it and they bring it up every other episode）， and here it was waiting for me at the lending shelf of a Turkish hotel。 Pretty unlikely！ I've read it in one day on the beach。 It didn't change my life or anything， but it's really laugh out loud if you like British humour （I do）。 。。。more
KFK
，
It's a crazy read， but worth it。 It's a crazy read， but worth it。 。。。more
Hilary
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A terrific novel， not surprised it won a Whitbread prize for fiction。 Katherine， a young suburban girl is befriended by the Goldmans， a Bohemian Jewish family of slightly eccentric intellectuals。 She is fascinated and sometimes appalled by their outrageous behaviour but becomes drawn into their circle。 After being dumped by one of the sons she goes off to Italy where she really comes of age and goes through the whole range of experiences before returning to England following a tragic episode in A terrific novel， not surprised it won a Whitbread prize for fiction。 Katherine， a young suburban girl is befriended by the Goldmans， a Bohemian Jewish family of slightly eccentric intellectuals。 She is fascinated and sometimes appalled by their outrageous behaviour but becomes drawn into their circle。 After being dumped by one of the sons she goes off to Italy where she really comes of age and goes through the whole range of experiences before returning to England following a tragic episode in her private life。The writing is sharp and funny， earthy and sometimes lewd。 Conversations are rapid-fire exchanges which leave you chuckling and/or thinking。 Written in 1982， this is an enjoyable read which evokes the seventies very well。 Loved it and have already ordered the sequel。 。。。more
Jenna Gareis
，
Five things about Brother of the More Famous Jack by Barbara Trapido。 1/5⭐️s1。 You know how when you were growing up and you were told that if you don’t have anything nice to say you shouldn’t say anything at all？ That’s pretty much where I’ve landed with this book。 2。 It was recommended as an if/then by a librarian because I’d told her I loved Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson。 3。 This was a complete miss on that account。 4。 I keep seeing people use the words “charming”， “funny” Five things about Brother of the More Famous Jack by Barbara Trapido。 1/5⭐️s1。 You know how when you were growing up and you were told that if you don’t have anything nice to say you shouldn’t say anything at all？ That’s pretty much where I’ve landed with this book。 2。 It was recommended as an if/then by a librarian because I’d told her I loved Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson。 3。 This was a complete miss on that account。 4。 I keep seeing people use the words “charming”， “funny”， and “heartwarming” to describe this book。 I think pompous， sordid， and jaded would be much more appropriate。 5。 I guess I can’t win them all with these librarian recommends titles。 。。。more
Georgia
，
i mostly enjoyed it once i got over the involuntary squeamishness of reading a book about people called 'roggs' and 'jonty'。 i mostly enjoyed it once i got over the involuntary squeamishness of reading a book about people called 'roggs' and 'jonty'。 。。。more
Lucy Torrent
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Bibliotherapy - School of Life "Prescription" Bibliotherapy - School of Life "Prescription" 。。。more
Maddelyn
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If you can get past the casual 80s racism and sexism， the very British banter is top notch。 I’m as in love with the Goldsteins as I am with Salinger’s Glass family。
Ella Myers
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The epitome of a book you want to live in。 You are immediately drawn in by the Goldmans， in all of their loving， chaotic unorthodoxy， and their ramshackle house in the countryside， littered with children， dilapidated furniture， musical instruments and books of annotated poetry。 Yet even though the Goldmans are always this beacon for the narrator， Katherine， it is her story that you become most invested in。 Trapido discusses really， really dark subject matter but this is the opposite of a depress The epitome of a book you want to live in。 You are immediately drawn in by the Goldmans， in all of their loving， chaotic unorthodoxy， and their ramshackle house in the countryside， littered with children， dilapidated furniture， musical instruments and books of annotated poetry。 Yet even though the Goldmans are always this beacon for the narrator， Katherine， it is her story that you become most invested in。 Trapido discusses really， really dark subject matter but this is the opposite of a depressing book as you see how Katherine copes with what she goes through and finds happiness despite it all。 The best sort of sentimental， deeply meaningful schmaltz that I will be reading over and over again。 。。。more
Angela Leonard
，