Jacob's Folly

Description

Masha Edelman yearns for her life to change, and to escape her strict family. In the same surburban town, a few streets away, reliable Leslie Senzatimore longs to be a hero.They have little idea of what lies ahead for them. About to enter their lives is Jacob, a man who has travelled a long way in life, and is determined to make his mark on the world for once and for all. What follows is a rollicking, sparkling story of family and belonging.

Rebecca Miller worked as a painter and actress before becoming a writer and director. She is the author of the short story collection Personal Velocity, her feature film adaptation of which won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, and the writer-director of Angela, The Ballad of Jack and Rose, and most recently, the novel and film The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, which was selected for Richard and Judy's summer reading club.

* Jacob's Folly is an extraordinary book. Miller's writing is vigorous, powerful and riveting. I was constantly surprised by the flights and dips of narrative, and its complexity, while from start to finish her wit and the clear, true characters kept the book grounded. A magnificent achievement -- Sadie Jones, author of The Outcast * Jacob's Folly is a wonderful book - fresh, original, always surprising, with delightfully drawn characters. Rebecca Miller is an excellent novelist -- Kate Atkinson * A highly imaginative exercise that turns out to be comic, raucous and tender, sometimes all at once Sunday Telegraph * Miller's prose is rich. Eccentric, witty, highly original The Times * Original and imaginative, this beautifully written novel is a witty and moving read; magical realism darkly filtered through a European eye Mail on Sunday * Glittering... ambitious, thought-provoking and frequently hilarious Financial Times * An intriguing jewel of a novel about temptation and desire Observer * In Jacob's Folly, Rebecca Miller has landed on a narrative voice that's antique, droll, racy and occasionally cutting...a delicately balanced triple narrative that jumps across centuries... this is an imaginative leap in new direction, yolking historical fiction to a contemporary drama Los Angeles Times * Bravura storytelling elevates this tale - narrated by a fly on the wall - from the merely fanciful to the fantastic... Miller has sent her characters on a daring odyssey that traverses history, religion, philosophy and cultural identity New York Times Book Review * Jacob's Folly is an ingenious, meticulously observed, profoundly absorbing and deeply satisfying read USA Today * Narratively speaking it's a remarkable feat how the author/filmaker [Rebecca Miller] agilely threads together three distinct narratives... Jacob's Folly is a rare book from a rare breed of artist Kirkus Reviews * The novel breathes sensuality... Readers will chuckle contentedly and without malice at a violent, life-affirming death. A deeply pleasurable, darkly comic, and original reinterpretation of Jewish history's "indestructible storyline" Booklist * Jacob's Folly is lively and unpredictable, but its antic humour disguises what is at heart a chastening cautionary tale Wall Street Journal * Scads of narrative threads are sewn together with impressive and often lovely wordplay to form a vast historical fabric of Jacob's Jewish family... An unusual and absorbing read Publishers Weekly * As brilliant as it is bizarre. Miller explores themes of identity, religion, ambition, guilt, desire, all through the consciousness of a fly. And yes, she pulls it off Glamour * Like Rip Van Winkle rewritten by Franz Kafka... [Miller] writes... with humour and grace New Yorker Observer * Thanks to Rebecca Miller's densely detailed prose, [Jacob's] transformation seems quite believable, propelling Jacob's Folly on its own strange and often wonderful flight Boston Globe * A feat of extraordinary imagination, a sexy, unapologetically lyrical novel that looks at the danger and allure of assimilation and the power of transformation, while blowing dust off the centuries-old question of fate versus free will Vanity Fair * Rebecca Miller is a luminous writer Observer * Marvellous, deep and rich, sexy, transgressive, terrifying and tough, and very, very funny-a great ingathering as multifaceted as a gem, or the eye of a fly! -- Tony Kushner, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright of Angels in America * Miller's writing style is sensuous, and her individual stories expand, opulently, in scope and emotional impact NPR * Fantastically original... Miller... is a writer whose graceful and original language make the challenge of Jacob's Folly a rewarding one. Her literary sensibility is vast and deep Moment Magazine * Rebecca Miller's graceful, ambitious novel spans time and geography and juggles several enmeshed narrative threads nimbly. She creates memorable characters with dark wit, lyrical prose and a propulsive storytelling rhythm... Dickensian and audacious, this imaginative novel has a cinematic quality... USA Today * Miller's novel raises important questions about what family means, and what society means, especially when one is at odds with the other Scotsman * Jacob's Folly is a virtuoso performance... an assured, magnificent novel that deploys the difficult it-narrative (from the perspective of an animal or object) with aplomb West Australian * Miller's creation is both brilliant and bizarre. Exploring themes of religion, identity, and the poser of hopes and dreams, she has created a genuinely original read Glamour * Raunchy, rollicking and inventive, Miller explores love and reincarnation in the daft but delightful tale Easy Living * A meditation on faith, goodness and freedom, Jacob's Folly is a cleverly executed and compelling novel. Darkly funny and rich with colour, this is one to savour We Love This Book * Miller is extremely sharp on the complexities of Jewish identity The Sunday Times * An intriguing book, with enough fizz and colour to make for a satisfying read Jewish Chronicle * From the outset the narrative is laden with thought-provoking themes... But there are moments of wry humour too Herald * An ingenious and ambitious flight of fancy Metro