What do you think?
Rate this book
Jire
"The neighbors said that Bale hadn’t always been a drinker, at least not until the Kurasiti came to the city. That had happened when Jire was only four years old, and her father had found his way to drink ever since. All the older folks said nothing in the whole city had been the same after that, but she didn’t know any different. What she did know was that she needed money for food tonight, and her father wasn’t going to get it for her."
Jire is one girl in a city of thousands; a city ruled by invaders who take everything they can and leave nothing for people like her. But none of that matters for her. Not when Bale can't be bothered to give up drinking long enough to work for a living, or when the need to eat every night outweighs her every other concern. If Jire is going to survive today, just as she has every day that came before it, then she will have to do it just as she has so many times before: alone.
Jire is one girl in a city of thousands; a city ruled by invaders who take everything they can and leave nothing for people like her. But none of that matters for her. Not when Bale can't be bothered to give up drinking long enough to work for a living, or when the need to eat every night outweighs her every other concern. If Jire is going to survive today, just as she has every day that came before it, then she will have to do it just as she has so many times before: alone.
54 pages, Paperback
Published February 2, 2018
9 people want to read
About the author
David Gowey
10 books16 followersDavid Gowey lives with too many books (at least for his current apartment) but only one cat. He is currently working on his doctorate in Sociocultural Anthropology, having accepted the idea that if his degree doesn't make him unemployable enough, trying to be an author just might.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 1, 2017
In Jire David Gowey asks a timeless question. What does a soul need to endure?
Why she doesn't cut free of this burden I don't know. Perhaps it is love. Perhaps it is the fear of enduring this life alone, no longer moored by familial ties. Perhaps shared misery is a cherishable kindness.
Why she doesn't cut free of this burden I don't know. Perhaps it is love. Perhaps it is the fear of enduring this life alone, no longer moored by familial ties. Perhaps shared misery is a cherishable kindness.
December 14, 2017
In Jire, Gowey takes a serious look at poverty, colonialism, and the endurance of the human spirit. With the odds stacked against her, Jire has to balance, every day, between the weight of caring for a father who bleeds her dry, and the weight of a society that demands every bit of effort she can muster in exchange for food. Every choice she makes influences her chances for survival.
Gowey offers us a day in the life of Jire, a day that turns out differently in many respects, and yet the same in others. The language is elegant and yet real, the dialogue terse and believable, and the message is universal.
Gowey offers us a day in the life of Jire, a day that turns out differently in many respects, and yet the same in others. The language is elegant and yet real, the dialogue terse and believable, and the message is universal.
August 3, 2022
(Review I wrote on Amazon, 2018)
This was an engaging little novella. Jire is a story that follows a girl--for whom the book is named--through a single day in her life. A day that is much like any other in her young life, where from beginning to end, she is forced to take responsibility where her violent drunkard of a father will not. The book has a very slice of life feel to it, giving the reader little glimpses into Jire's responsibilities, relationships with other characters, her physical and emotional struggles regarding her father, and all of the other little details that create an authentic atmosphere which is all too easy to become immersed in. Beautiful writing, and storytelling at its finest.
This was an engaging little novella. Jire is a story that follows a girl--for whom the book is named--through a single day in her life. A day that is much like any other in her young life, where from beginning to end, she is forced to take responsibility where her violent drunkard of a father will not. The book has a very slice of life feel to it, giving the reader little glimpses into Jire's responsibilities, relationships with other characters, her physical and emotional struggles regarding her father, and all of the other little details that create an authentic atmosphere which is all too easy to become immersed in. Beautiful writing, and storytelling at its finest.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews