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Overview
In the backwoods of Mississippi, a land of honeysuckle and grapevine, Jewel and her husband, Leston, are truly blessed; they have five fine children. When Brenda Kay is born in 1943, Jewel gives thanks for a healthy baby, last-born and most welcome. Jewel is the story of how quickly a life can change; how, like lightning, an unforeseen event can set us on a course without reason or compass. In this story of a woman's devotion to the child who is both her burden and God's singular way of smiling on her, Bret Lott has created a mother-daughter relationship of matchless intensity and beauty, and one of the finest, most indomitable heroines in contemporary American fiction.
In this masterful portrayal of a mother's heartbreak and her devotion to a child who is both a blessing and a burden, Bret Lott takes a quantum leap forward. He transports readers to the backwoods of Mississippi, to 1943 and to the subject of truly great novels -- love's redemptive power.
Synopsis
Each of Jewel Hilburn's six children is a blessing. But her youngest, Brenda Kay, who was born with Down syndrome, is also a burden. The smallest accomplishments are milestones in Brenda Kay's life, and Jewel must devote her complete attention to the child. Set in 1943 in backwoods Mississippi, Jewel is a haunting tale of heartbreak and the redemptive powers of love. Drawing from the real-life experiences of his grandmother and aunt, author Bret Lott spins a masterpiece of truth and triumph, capturing the joy of Brenda Kay's first steps and the strain the dependent child puts on the rest of the Hilburn family.
Chicago Tribune
Bret Lott's Jewel is a beautifully crafted first-person epic of one poor southern woman's personal duel with God....This is a voice we don't want to stop hearing....Some of the tenderest scenes of family love since those in Dickens....
Editorials
From Barnes & Noble
Jewel and her husband, Leston, have been blessed by a fifth child, a girl they name Brenda Kay. But Brenda Kay, who was born with Down's syndrome, is also a challenge. In this inspirational and deeply moving audiobook, Jewel realizes that Brenda Kay is her special gift from God. Read by Celia Weston.Boston Globe
Bret Lott has a gift for making the ordinary seem luminous. In Jewel, he applies his art to a broad canvas and produces what may stand as his masterpiece....Lott matches the honest strength of his characters with that of his prose. His Jewel is a force of nature, her story rising out of a perfect, seamless union of teller and tale.Chicago Tribune
Bret Lott's Jewel is a beautifully crafted first-person epic of one poor southern woman's personal duel with God....This is a voice we don't want to stop hearing....Some of the tenderest scenes of family love since those in Dickens....Judith Freeman
In this sweeping and beautifully written book, Mr. Lott has given us something unusual -- an unsentimental account of the life of a woman from rural Mississippi who transcends poverty and ignorance to become part of a pioneering movement in the treatment of children with Down syndrome. . . .He has written a story that portrays one family's devotion to the weakest of its members, and in the process he has created a parable for our age.— The New York Times Book Review
LA Times Book Review
Lott is one of the most important and imaginative writers in America today. His eye for detail is unparalleled; his vision -- where he looks -- is like no one else's in this country.Publishers Weekly -
Jewel Hilburn, the strong-willed narrator of this haunting novel set in rural Mississippi, lavishes the parental love she never received upon her own child, who is afflicted with Down's syndrome.Library Journal
Jewel Hilburn is 39 years old and the mother of five when Brenda Kay is born. A Down's Syndrome child, Brenda Kay becomes the focus of her mother's world and forever alters the life of the Hilburns. Jewel tells her own story, but her life becomes so intertwined with that of her daughter that such milestones as Brenda Kay's first step at age two and her learning to write the letter "B'' at age 18 become joint achievements. Based on the lives of the author's grandmother and aunt, Jewel captures the intricate details of raising a retarded child -- the total dedication demanded of a mother, the child's impact on the rest of the family, the joy and heartbreak of having a child who will remain eternally six years old. Lott has produced a powerful novel.-- Thomas L. Kilpatrick, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale Library
Library Journal
Jewel Hilburn is 39 years old and the mother of five when Brenda Kay is born. A Down's Syndrome child, Brenda Kay becomes the focus of her mother's world and forever alters the life of the Hilburns. Jewel tells her own story, but her life becomes so intertwined with that of her daughter that such milestones as Brenda Kay's first step at age two and her learning to write the letter "B'' at age 18 become joint achievements. Based on the lives of the author's grandmother and aunt, Jewel captures the intricate details of raising a retarded child -- the total dedication demanded of a mother, the child's impact on the rest of the family, the joy and heartbreak of having a child who will remain eternally six years old. Lott has produced a powerful novel.-- Thomas L. Kilpatrick, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale Library