Jacob's Folly

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
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 * *