Jacob's Folly

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 ambitions flight of fancy Metro