Sweet Jane by Joanne Kukanza Easley

By R.C. Gibson / February 10, 2020

Janie Jennings grew up in Odessa, Texas, in the 1960’s. She “believed in truth, justice and the American way, just like Superman.” But growing up poor in a home with an alcoholic mother can change a naive young girl. Add in the accidental death of a neighbor, the betrayal of a close friend, a dramatic suicide and some heartbreak, and you have a completely changed person. Now well into adulthood and long removed from her west Texas roots, Jane travels home for the funeral of her mother. Suppressed emotions well up from the past and tangle with insecurities, blame and mistakes in the present.

Sweet Jane manages to be poignant and funny at the same time. As Jane’s story is told through snippets of her past, her current situation feels like a cliff Jane couldn’t help but slide down. I longed for Jane to reconnect with the innocent and insightful child she once was… The child who realized that while a pig named Wilbur mourned over the impending death of Charlotte, a mere spider, nobody mourned when her alcoholic grandmother died.

Evocative and heartfelt, Sweet Jane exudes vitality. Joanne Kukanza Easley tells a compelling tale of redemption and forgiveness with just enough Texas to make you yearn for home.