Jackie

Tripp’s latest (after Georgia: A Novel of Georgia O’Keeffe) explores the inner life of Jackie Kennedy Onassis. The novel grabs attention from the start, with the horrific scene of Jack Kennedy’s assassination, leading Jackie into memories of the past. Jack and Jackie met in 1951 and embarked on their brief life together. As Jackie experiences the love, joy, sorrow, and sacrifice of her time with Jack and beyond, history is being made. After Jack’s death, the world moves on, but Jackie’s feelings of grief and loss never leave her, coloring the rest of her life. The historic political violence that took Jack’s life continues and deeply affects Jackie, especially the assassinations of Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King. Tripp’s conception of Jackie’s interior life—the life of a woman who was not just part of the Kennedy mythos but also cultured, charming, and creative—is incredibly detailed, moving, and poignant.