Reviewed by Leonard Smuts for Readers' Favorite

The Jezebel Tracks by Gardner Landry is a tale of dysfunction, narcissism, addiction, and psychopaths. This may seem to be an unlikely vehicle for humor, but Gardner Landry carries it off with precision and style, while painting a bleak picture of his dysfunctional family. The biblical Jezebel is symbolic of evil. For the author, her spirit lived on in the form of his chain-smoking maternal grandmother, Elizabeth (Mema), father Fred, and grandfather Roy. His mother was weak and wholly subservient to her husband. The author’s father denigrated his achievements, while Mema blocked his law studies in 1989 for her own ends. She ran a quasi-Christian prayer group that functioned as a façade of normality that hid deeper ills. The characteristics of narcissism are explored, which include manipulation, playing victim, domination, emotional blackmail, attention-grabbing, and control, all concealed by skillful role play. Wealth is used as a weapon. Narcissists seem to be incapable of love, are sadistic by nature, and have no sense of doing wrong. The author saw himself as a “gullible empath” who did not understand the game. He reflects that the root cause of such cruel behavior is as much spiritual as psychological. His father had an affinity with the occult, seeming to attract dark entities. Fame and money versus happiness is explored as a secondary theme.

The Jezebel Tracks consists of a series of essays, so there is some minor overlap. Gardner Landry does not sugar-coat his experiences. The writing is frank and at times unsettling, while remaining easy to read and amusing. The author was born in Houston, and contrasts it with New Orleans. Both cities were strongly connected to his family history, and he describes some of their colorful characters. For me, Albert the cook was a standout as a perfect example of the family dysfunction. Other non-family victims of narcissism are featured, of which John Kennedy Toole is the most remarkable. Despite a bipolar breakdown in 1988 and suffering from both prostatitis and depression, the author survived. The deaths of his evil grandmother and father raised the question of forgiveness and whether their passing would bring release from earlier trauma. While not written as an analysis of narcissism, the author certainly provides a deeper and hard-hitting look into the minds of those whose aim is to manipulate and control. This Christian-themed book will resonate with those who have had similar experiences, and may alert others who are still trapped without realizing it, providing encouragement for them to break free.