My Brother Jack is George Johnston's classic 1964 novel that tells the story of two brothers and how the cope with grief, death, and loss in their own separate ways. The novel is semi autobiographical and takes place during the tumultuous times of World War II as David Meredith, the narrator of the novel, and his older, "more typically Australian" and direct opposite brother Jack as the two trudge their way from childhood to adulthood, during the Great Depression, World War II, and other trials and tribulations that many experience throughout your life.
The novel was written by the author in a semi autobiographical fashion. The author did live through the Great Depression and World War II and experienced other events and aspects of the novel. The novel incorporates Australian popular culture and stereotypes, making it resonate with the audience. It spawned two additional novels in the "David Meredith" series, all of which continued the tradition of being semi autobiographical.
The novel was adopted into two television series, one in 1965 and the other in 2001; in 2013 it was adapted into a film. The two television series' were more well-received (6.1 out of 10 at IMDb and 7.7 out of 10 at IMDb, respectively) than the film, which currently holds a 5.6 out of 10 on IMDb.
Upon release, My Brother Jack was met with profound critical acclaim. Says Illustrated London News: "(My Brother Jack) is one of the greatest books written this century." It currently holds a 3.9/5 on review aggregator site Goodreads.com. The novel also won the prestigious Miles Franklin Award, showing its tremendous quality and its profound impact on Australian culture and the literary world in general.
