Jack Tales

In Jack Tales, author Michael Peter Nsubuga writes about life and its quirks through many mysterious lenses. The principals of the lenses are: Jack, the Day son, and the Night son. These three are seemingly contradicting characters with differing philosophies that are ultimately one and the same.  Nsubuga also represents some of his most intimate thoughts about life and love in the writings under the “Our father” and “I and she” groupings.” Drawing from writers such as William Blake and Audre Lorde, Nsubuga both unveils and veils his emotion through sections like “Weirdness.”


Nsubuga chose to name this book Jack Tales because of the universally applicable nature of the folk tales with the same name. Jack tales are stories in which the titular protagonist Jack uses his wits, charm and intelligence to overcome peril. Jack tales, like many other folktales, often have underlying lessons to impart. Jack tales are particularly popular because, despite being lighthearted in nature, they are stories about human nature. They showcase that a human, man or woman, no matter the obstacle, can surpass their limits and survive. 


Nsubuga whimsically organizes the book in such a manner that each shift in profound thinking or new thought is counter balanced with enough wit, humor or lighthearted melodrama. Jack Tales is a book about the thoughts both profound and childlike of the man who wrote it.