Jack Reacher - Fictions Greatest Minimalist

Jack Reacher - Fictions Greatest Minimalist

On Twitter a few weeks back, I came across one of those random conversation starter questions: “If you could be any fictional character, who would you be?”. My immediate response was Jack Reacher. Although a less, in fact, non-violent version. A peace-loving Jack Reacher if you will. Keeping the strong coffee, new clothes every other day and of course the folding travel toothbrush.

As you can tell I have a real soft spot for Lee Child’s ubiquitous series. But maybe not for the reasons that most people do. What most fans get from the Reacher books are the fictional resolutions that everyday life just cannot provide. The formula is: Problem. Reacher. Solution. The lone vigilante that comes to town and sets the world to right. Imposing justice in ways the average Joe cannot dare to dream of. All good for a beach paperback.

But why do I love Reacher? Mostly it’s his minimalism. He is fictions greatest minimalist. He travels super light. An old passport, some cash, an ATM card, and a folding toothbrush are his only luggage. His tastes in food are minimal. Strong black coffee and cheeseburgers. He has a minimalist wardrobe. He only has one outfit. Which gets dumped when he buys his next one every few days or so. He is a man of few words. He’s a man of action. In every way he epitomises the ‘less is more’ philosophy.

Even his creator, Lee Child (now his younger brother Andrew has been handed the baton) writes the slow bits fast and the fast bits slow. Thus, even the writing style is minimalist. There is a great quote by Lee (aka Jim Grant) in a NYT piece regarding his minimalist Manhattan apartment: “I love minimalism, which to me is more than a decorative style,” he said. “It’s a fundamental choice which ties into my character Jack Reacher. He has this desire — he wants everything he needs and nothing he doesn’t.”

Everything he needs and nothing he doesn’t. What a great ethos when it comes to consumption. Being satisfied with our needs and cutting our wants.

Now, much has been written about minimalism of late. Popularisers such as “The Minimalists” (Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus), Colin Wright, Marie Kondō, or Fumio Sasaki have took it mainstream. But it’s nothing new. Like all things, its cyclical. In times of excess (e.g. 1000’s of kettles you could buy) humans crave less. In times of scarcity (e.g. post war) we crave more. I think it’s fair to say we have hit peak stuff. Is it time for each of us to re-evaluate our relationship with said stuff? Keeping only what we need or ‘sparks joy’?

I guess the fundamental issue is really whether having lots of material goods makes us any happier or not. I posit that it does not. And I would suggest it can in fact have the opposite effect. Rather than put forth this argument here, I will explore this topic more in the coming months via the blog as I try to implement the minimalist ethos more in my own life.

Because I must admit off the bat that I’m a hypocrite. I’m not a yet minimalist. At least not in the conventional sense. I must own at least 30 shirts for example. Yet, I have been exploring this topic in books and podcasts for a while now and have been thinking about its principles, such as quality over quantity (see blog post) for years. Also, I have slowly been pairing down my gear. So, I guess I am a mini-minimalist.

This seems fitting. As minimalism is all about the process, not the destination. It’s not about setting the goal of owning the same amount as Jack Reacher. It’s different for each of us. It’s not about a set number of items. (Sidebar: This is a hot topic in minimalist forums. Item count. What constitutes an item? Is a pack of cards 1 item or 53 (52cards plus the box)?)

And it doesn’t just apply to things. It can be applied to technology (digital minimalism), to entertainment (access over ownership), etc. You name it, it can be minimised. Because as a society we have overdone it in just about every area of life.

Now we can begin to cut it all back.

And like Reacher find everything we need and (nearly) nothing we don’t.

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