PINEAPPLE STREET by Jenny Jackson

Pineapple Street is a new novel from debut novellist Jenny Jackson, who during the day is an editor and Vice President at Knopf Publishers.

Pineapple Street is a new novel from debut novellist Jenny Jackson, who during the day is an editor and Vice President at Knopf Publishers. It is a character-driven story of the Stockton family, an old money family living in Brooklyn Heights, and covers a period of a few months through the lives of Darley and Georgiana, daughters of the wealthy Tilda and Chip, and Sasha, wife of their son, Cord.

I had been looking forward to this novel as it has been heavily promoted and bought it a couple of days after its release.

The story is not plot driven at all - on that front it’s a nothing story. The book is driven by the characters, which is probably why it didn’t land well for me.

Darley and Georgiana, while probably not awful people, are very hard to relate to. Both rich beyond measure (through family money), they live incredible spoiled lives without any true difficulties. There are certainly tough events that happen in their lives, but by the time they occur, sympathy for their plight is hard to find. Their mother is, frankly, an asshole. A rich, white, privileged asshole. If I knew her, I would hate her - and the problem is I know there would be many women just like her in New York and across the world.

Sasha is a far more likeable, relatable character - trying to fit in with people whose life experience is a different stratosphere from her own. She isn’t perfect but she’s far more palatable as a person.

I cannot be critical of Jenny Jackson for writing this book because she has written characters who are no doubt a reflection of people she knows and knows about. It’s not that these characters are not believable - it’s that they are a little too believable. It results in spending time with people who I would never personally enjoy relationships with or spend time with. It feels a little like going to a family reunion with people you’d generally prefer to not acknowledge every other day of the year.

This was a much hyped novel from a clearly well connected New York editor but I wonder if, had Jenny Jackson not been Jenny Jackson, whether this novel would be as well received as it has been. To me it was disappointing - a beach read at best.