''Remember Jack Hoxie'' is a 1969 novel written by Australian author

Jon Cleary Jon Stephen Cleary (22 November 191719 July 2010) was an Australian writer and novelist. He wrote numerous books, including '' The Sundowners'' (1951), a portrait of a rural family in the 1920s as they move from one job to the next, and '' The ...

. It was a deliberate departure from the author after writing a series of adventure novels, being set in the world of pop music.

Plot

An insurance adjuster accompanies his teenage pop idol son on tour.

Background

Cleary was inspired to write the novel after seeing an Australian pop star leaving Mascot airport for London:

He was surrounded by hundreds of squealing fans, reporters, photographers, and TV cameras. The TV kept zooming on to the faces of his parents, who stood a little away, looking totally bewildered by the whole thing. This intrigued me. How did ordinary parents feel when their son was caught up in a world far beyond their understanding?"

Later in London Cleary travelled with a pop group for six weeks to do additional research. "I ended up with haemorrhoids of the eardrums. But, believe me, I found another world." Cleary originally intended to use the title for another novel, a story set in the Middle East, but that became ''Season of Doubt''.

Reception

The critic from the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' said "it is evident that the pop music scene is not an element in which Mr Cleary is very comfortable. His narrative skills are squandered on a frail recipe that lacks his customary involvement."'Remember Jack Hoxie', ''New York Times'' 14 Sep 1969: BR29 Film rights were bought by the son of

Walter Mirisch Walter Mortimer Mirisch (born November 8, 1921) is an American film producer. He is president and executive head of production of The Mirisch Corporation, an independent film production company, which he formed in 1957 with his brother Marvin ...

but no movie resulted.Jon Cleary Interviewed by Stephen Vagg: Oral History
at

National Film and Sound Archive The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national co ...

References

External links

''Remember Jack Hoxie''
at

AustLit AustLit: The Australian Literature Resource (also known as AustLit: Australian Literature Gateway; and AustLit: The Resource for Australian Literature), usually referred to simply as AustLit, is an internet-based, non-profit collaboration betwee ...

(subscription required) {{Jon Cleary 1969 Australian novels William Collins, Sons books William Morrow and Company books Novels by Jon Cleary