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There are currently 22 member reviews
for Jackie & Me
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Shelley C. (Eastport, NY)
Before Camelot
What I remember of Jack and Jackie Kennedy are the Camelot years. It was a time when they were the occupants of the White House and they were the glamorous, golden couple that everyone envied. Men wanted to be Jack. Women wanted to be with Jack (and teen-aged me was one of them) and at the same time wanted to be and/or look like Jackie. Later on, we would learn of the escapades of our hero; all the women coming through the back door. And we would wonder why? After all, he had Jackie!
"Jackie and Me", opens the door to the one sided romance. One can understand why she was attracted to him and he to her. But why did it go so far? Why did they ever marry? She knew who he was before they tied the knot. And as for him, did he ever really love her? Was he capable of loving anybody?
Mr. Bayard's book was terrific; allowing us a glimpse into the lives of two historical figures who barely know one another, and that the world glorified even though they didn't know them either. His writing kept me glued to the pages, wanting more and more of the story. I loved this book and truly recommend it. It was a delicious read.
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Diana C. (Boca Raton, FL)
Shakespearean in its scope
I knew I would adore this book. This author never fails to take the reader to places they were not expecting. This is at once a love story and a fable, with the moral being the all too familiar love lost amid a backdrop of poignant and sometimes painful memories. It features the very real relationships between John F. Kennedy and one of his dearest friends, Lem Billings and Lem's initially reluctant, and finally devoted, relationship with Jacqueline Bouvier. These are the very early years in John and Jackie's introduction and courtship, that ultimately result in their marriage. There was a profound undercurrent of sadness in this book, not just for the obvious tragedy that befell John F. Kennedy but for the all too familiar life experience of once having loved someone, having held them close and then, inexplicably, saw them slip through our fingers.
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Martha G. (Columbia, MO)
Jackie and Me
I was in high school/college during the "Kennedy years." They were almost like royalty to me. Reading "Jackie and Me" brought back so many memories of their lives and mine! I had to keep reminding myself that this book was fiction. The author's language and writing style swept me into the character's emotions, actions, and time. I found myself wondering "what if". I found it to be a convincing read, a read I would recommend to book clubs, and a thoughtful portrayal of a man both loyal and lonely.
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Theresa P. (Arkport, NY)
Jackie's pre-wedding years
A historic novel told from an unexpected narrator's view. Jack Kennedy's best school friend, Lem, tells the story of his introduction to Jackie Bouvier by JFK, and the unusual "courtship" years of the early 1950s he guides Jackie through at Jack's request.
It's a fascinating look of the preliminary years of Jack and Jackie's acquaintance up through their wedding. Lem proves to be as good a friend to Jackie as he is to Jack. He helps the relationship continue, in many ways far better than Jack. It isn't the fairy tale arrangement I would have expected--I only knew them as a married couple, and had never thought about what their earlier years had been.
Both the Kennedy family and the Auchincloss family are introduced in a way that often surprised this reader. Their home lives, the conversations they have, the expectations for their child's spouse they harbor, and their acceptance of the relationship are unusual.
The story will make for an interesting discussion, as the early years of their relationship are certainly not what I ever would have imagined. I am very glad I was chosen for a preview read. I encourage you enjoy this quick tale.
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Mary G. (Greensboro, GA)
Fascinating and Original
Jackie and Me focuses almost entirely on the courtship of Jacquelyn and Jack. It is told through the reminiscences of Jack's best friend from boarding school and his close confidant, Lem.
As portrayed by Bayard, the young Jacqueline Bouvier is an independent, strong-minded, contemporary woman who defied her mother's wishes that she make a suitable marriage and embarked on a journalism career. So how she came to marry the handsome, ambitious young politician who essentially courted her by proxy seems a strange choice.
Jack's "proxy" is his best friend Lem. Lem was witness to the entirety of the relationship of Jack and Jackie. Jack asked Lem to "keep an eye" on Jackie for him as he campaigned for the Senate. Lem and Jackie fell into a habit of spending time together on Sundays. Jackie's primary connection to Jack was through flirtatious phone calls and whatever information about him she could learn from Lem—who was close to the entire Kennedy clan. It became clear that Jack and Jackie actually had very little in common. Through Lem, the author pointed out a number of crossroads where the relationship might have ended. But Jackie, who had somehow developed a romanticized vision of Jack, stubbornly hung on.
Jackie and Me is a well researched and fascinating perspective on the King and Queen of Camelot. The author definitely comes across as "Team Jackie." Despite Lem's clear loyalty to Jack and the entire Kennedy clan, neither he nor his family are portrayed very favorably.
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Barbara P. (Mountain Center, CA)
Hindsight is 20/20
I was drawn to this book because the idea of Jackie reminded me of my mother, who was enamored by all things Jackie - and this book did not disappoint in giving us a glimpse into her world as a young woman attempting to find her place. Knowing how the public parts of her life played out, and seen through the eyes of Lem in those early years, gave the book a melancholy feeling. I don't feel that it is a spoiler to say that none of this ends well - from a dynamic young woman marrying into family of power, scandal and moral ambiguity, to Lem spending his life in the secret and in the shadow of larger than life friends. This is a good read, skillfully developed and masterfully woven - but I would not advise anyone to pick it up as a story of Jackie. It is the story of Lem as he facilitates the pursuit of a future first-lady on behalf of his idol.
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Peggy T. (Richardson, TX)
Jackie Pre Camelot
This book was good but not as good as his previous book Courting Mr. Lincoln. Maybe I expected too much because that previous book was so compelling. This was a bit pallid in comparison. I was a tween during the Camelot years and Jackie was interesting to me in the ensuing decades but maybe now I just don't care as much as I did. Also so, Lem was such a sad character that this book was a bit depressing. Not badly written but I just did not enjoy it as much as I thought it would.
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