Synopses & Reviews
A luminous novel—funny and moving in equal measure—that shines with the authors unique talentsJacobs Folly is a rollicking, ingenious, saucy book that takes on desire, faith, love, acting—and reincarnation.
The novel brims with sparkling, unexpected characters: Jacob, a Jewish peddler living in eighteenth-century France; Leslie and Deirdre Senzatimore, a settled American couple; Masha, an alluring young Ultra-Orthodox Jew, who is also gravely ill. In Rebecca Millers self-assured second novel, these four individuals will find their fates intertwined when Jacob is reincarnated as a fly in contemporary Long Island.
Millers quirky humor and acute, original intelligence animate a wonderfully memorable protagonist. Through the unique lens of Jacobs consciousness, she explores transformation in all its different guises—personal, spiritual, literal. As she considers the hold of the past on the present, the power of private hopes and dreams, and the collision of fate and free will, Millers world—which is our own, transfigured by her clear gaze and by her sharp, surprising wit—comes to life. Leslies desire to act as hero and rescuer; Jacobs disastrous marriage to the childlike Hodle and his obsession with Masha—Miller sketches her characters interior lives with compassion, subtlety, and an exceptionally light touch. Jacobs Folly is wildly inventive and ultimately moving; it will leave the reader, no less than its characters, transformed.
Review
Praise for The Private Lives of Pippa Lee
“Miller is a luminous writer and the visual impact of her sentences carry something of the cool impersonality of an Edward Hopper painting.” —The Observer
Review
Praise for Jacobs Folly:
“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.” —Abigail Meisel, The New York Times Book Review
“Rebecca Miller has landed on a narrative voice thats antique, droll, racy and occasionally cutting—imagine an 18th century French rake being played by David Niven . . . Delicately balanced . . . [Jacobs] richly imagined life in Paris that makes the story delightful: details of ritual handwashing, his poisonously flatulent wife, a mystical cousin and a meticulous police officer overseeing the tiny Jewish population . . . Complex and ambitious . . . Delightful [and] bawdy.” —Carolyn Kellogg, The Los Angeles Times
“Thanks to Rebecca Millers densely detailed prose, such a transformation seems quite believable, propelling Jacobs Folly on its own strange and often wonderful flight . . . Millers vivid writing captures both [Jacob and Mashas] worldviews with a wit and restraint that underlines their essential differences, as well as their similarities . . . Stylish and lively . . . Engrossing.” —Clea Simon, Boston Globe
"In Rebecca Miller's enjoyably oddball novel Jacobs Folly, the 18th-century Frenchman Jacob Cerf has been reincarnated as a housefly in present-day Long Island . . . Jacob's Folly is lively and unpredictable, but its antic humor disguises what is at heart a chastening cautionary tale." —Sam Sacks, The Wall Street Journal
“At bottom, then, Jacobs Folly is about that most elemental of contests: the struggle between good and evil, between the ultimate reward that awaits those who obey the rules and the temporal pleasures of letting ones freak flag fly. Miller dynamically conjures up one elaborate story and substory after another, all speaking to this cosmic tug of war. Jacob, of course, whizzes about trying to overturn divine order and stir up chaos. In the tradition of the best literary demons from Miltons Satan on down, hes more fiendishly funny than the goody-goodies who are struggling against temptation . . . Millers writing style is sensuous, and her individual stories expand, opulently, in scope and emotional impact . . . [A] rich novel about the rewards and terrors of transformation.” —Maureen Corrigan, NPR
“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 . . . More than anything, she has a superb ability to turn a phrase. Jacob's Folly is an ingenious, meticulously observed, profoundly absorbing and deeply satisfying read.” —Claudia Puig, USA Today
“[An] ambitious, absorbing novel . . . Narratively speaking, its a remarkable feat how the author/filmmaker agilely threads through three distinct narratives . . . Jacobs Folly is a rare book from a rare breed of artist.” —S. Kirk Walsh, Kirkus (starred review)
“Marvelous, deep, rich, sexy, transgressive, terrifying, 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
“Rebecca Miller . . . is a writer whose graceful and original language makes the challenge of Jacob's Folly a rewarding one. Her literary sensibility is vast.” —Katharine Webber, Moment
“Having died at age 31 in 1773 Paris, Jacob Cerf thinks hes been turned into an angel when he first “wakes up” hovering above Leslie Senzatimore in front of his Long Island home. But Jacob is no angel, although his supernatural powers include reading thoughts, traveling through others memories and perhaps implanting ideas. He quickly understands Leslie, who has coped with his lifes traumas, including his fathers suicide and his sons deafness, by becoming a gentile mensch. The volunteer firefighter is a devoted husband and father who supports his extended family of losers even when his boat repair business is struggling through the recession. Leslies genuine goodness reminds Jacob of his father, an observant Jewish peddler unhappy at Jacobs lack of interest in Torah, so Jacob wants to topple Leslie from his pedestal of righteousness. Accompanying Leslie on a hospital visit, Jacob wanders off and lands (literally) in the room of Masha, a lovely 21-year-old Orthodox Jew with heart problems and a secret desire to become an actress (theater is a leitmotif throughout). Falling for Masha, the first Jewish woman he ever loved, Jacob decides to enhance her opportunities by separating her from her familys religious Orthodoxy. He travels between Masha and Leslie planting ideas within their brains until their fates intersect. Meanwhile, Jacob tells his own story: his disastrous arranged marriage, his flirtation with Hasidism, his desertion of his Jewish identity to become the valet of a libertine count, his sexual escapades. The three characters live in different genres: Jacob a comical, absurdist picaresque, Leslie a domestic tragedy and Masha a bittersweet coming-of-age melodrama. Yet the parallels, particularly between Masha and Jacob, are unmistakable. Miller forces readers to consider the dangers along with the values of assimilation and pits moral choice against fate.
A challenging read, yet remarkably entertaining and ultimately gripping.” —Kirkus (starred)
“Miller embeds readers in the outsized consciousness of a fly, the modern reincarnation of Jacob, a Jewish peddler taken from eighteenth-century Paris and stripped of his identity. Via an enigmatic capacity to enter minds, the fly encourages young, Orthodox Mashas forbidden stage aspirations while simultaneously inciting a botched bid to ‘rescue her. Because of consistent narration, Millers intricate plots are never confusing. Rather, they are foils across time and space, offering measurements of survival, belonging, inheritance, the cost of transformation—whether coerced or voluntary—and outcomes overpowering of intention. Jacob acts undetected by his targets, but a far more inscrutable figure reveals his role in the satisfying conclusion. The novel breathes sensuality, creating sounds of languages mixing in dusty streets, the feeling of being bareheaded, without yarmulke, for the first time, and even an oranges distinctive smell. Readers will chuckle contentedly and without malice at a violent, life-affirming death. A deeply pleasurable, darkly comic, and original reinterpretation of Jewish historys ‘indestructible storyline, alighting thoughtfully on forces both individual and collective, internal and external, from genocide to assimilation.” —Cynthia-Marie OBrien, Booklist (starred)
“Scads of narrative threads are sewn together with impressive and often lovely wordplay to form a vast historical fabric of Jacobs Jewish family. Miller . . . is so clever when dwelling in the mind and body of that insect that the reader is rarely exasperated. An unusual and absorbing read.” —Publishers Weekly
Praise for The Private Lives of Pippa Lee
“Miller is a luminous writer and the visual impact of her sentences carry something of the cool impersonality of an Edward Hopper painting.” —The Observer
Review
Praise for Jacobs Folly:
“[An] ambitious, absorbing novel . . . Narratively speaking, its a remarkable feat how the author/filmmaker agilely threads through three distinct narratives . . . Jacobs Folly is a rare book from a rare breed of artist.” —S. Kirk Walsh, Kirkus Reviews
“Marvelous, deep, rich, sexy, transgressive, terrifying, 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
“A hugely ambitious, wildly imaginative novel by Miller . . . about a dead 18th-century French Jew brought back to life as a fly in 21st-century America.
Having died at age 31 in 1773 Paris, Jacob Cerf thinks hes been turned into an angel when he first “wakes up” hovering above Leslie Senzatimore in front of his Long Island home. But Jacob is no angel, although his supernatural powers include reading thoughts, traveling through others memories and perhaps implanting ideas. He quickly understands Leslie, who has coped with his lifes traumas, including his fathers suicide and his sons deafness, by becoming a gentile mensch. The volunteer firefighter is a devoted husband and father who supports his extended family of losers even when his boat repair business is struggling through the recession. Leslies genuine goodness reminds Jacob of his father, an observant Jewish peddler unhappy at Jacobs lack of interest in Torah, so Jacob wants to topple Leslie from his pedestal of righteousness. Accompanying Leslie on a hospital visit, Jacob wanders off and lands (literally) in the room of Masha, a lovely 21-year-old Orthodox Jew with heart problems and a secret desire to become an actress (theater is a leitmotif throughout). Falling for Masha, the first Jewish woman he ever loved, Jacob decides to enhance her opportunities by separating her from her familys religious Orthodoxy. He travels between Masha and Leslie planting ideas within their brains until their fates intersect. Meanwhile, Jacob tells his own story: his disastrous arranged marriage, his flirtation with Hasidism, his desertion of his Jewish identity to become the valet of a libertine count, his sexual escapades. The three characters live in different genres: Jacob a comical, absurdist picaresque, Leslie a domestic tragedy and Masha a bittersweet coming-of-age melodrama. Yet the parallels, particularly between Masha and Jacob, are unmistakable. Miller forces readers to consider the dangers along with the values of assimilation and pits moral choice against fate.
A challenging read, yet remarkably entertaining and ultimately gripping.” —Kirkus (starred)
“Miller embeds readers in the outsized consciousness of a fly, the modern reincarnation of Jacob, a Jewish peddler taken from eighteenth-century Paris and stripped of his identity. Via an enigmatic capacity to enter minds, the fly encourages young, Orthodox Mashas forbidden stage aspirations while simultaneously inciting a botched bid to ‘rescue her. Because of consistent narration, Millers intricate plots are never confusing. Rather, they are foils across time and space, offering measurements of survival, belonging, inheritance, the cost of transformation—whether coerced or voluntary—and outcomes overpowering of intention. Jacob acts undetected by his targets, but a far more inscrutable figure reveals his role in the satisfying conclusion. The novel breathes sensuality, creating sounds of languages mixing in dusty streets, the feeling of being bareheaded, without yarmulke, for the first time, and even an oranges distinctive smell. Readers will chuckle contentedly and without malice at a violent, life-affirming death. A deeply pleasurable, darkly comic, and original reinterpretation of Jewish historys ‘indestructible storyline, alighting thoughtfully on forces both individual and collective, internal and external, from genocide to assimilation.” —Cynthia-Marie OBrien, Booklist (starred)
“Scads of narrative threads are sewn together with impressive and often lovely wordplay to form a vast historical fabric of Jacobs Jewish family. Miller . . . is so clever when dwelling in the mind and body of that insect that the reader is rarely exasperated. An unusual and absorbing read.” —Publishers Weekly
Praise for The Private Lives of Pippa Lee
“Miller is a luminous writer and the visual impact of her sentences carry something of the cool impersonality of an Edward Hopper painting.” —The Observer
Review
Praise for Jacobs Folly:
“Delightful, bawdy, detailed and complicated.”—Carolyn Kellogg, Los Angeles Times
“At bottom, then, Jacobs Folly is about that most elemental of contests: the struggle between good and evil, between the ultimate reward that awaits those who obey the rules and the temporal pleasures of letting ones freak flag fly. Miller dynamically conjures up one elaborate story and substory after another, all speaking to this cosmic tug of war. Jacob, of course, whizzes about trying to overturn divine order and stir up chaos. In the tradition of the best literary demons from Miltons Satan on down, hes more fiendishly funny than the goody-goodies who are struggling against temptation . . . Millers writing style is sensuous, and her individual stories expand, opulently, in scope and emotional impact . . . [A] rich novel about the rewards and terrors of transformation.” —Maureen Corrigan, NPR
“[An] ambitious, absorbing novel . . . Narratively speaking, its a remarkable feat how the author/filmmaker agilely threads through three distinct narratives . . . Jacobs Folly is a rare book from a rare breed of artist.” —S. Kirk Walsh, Kirkus (starred review)
“Marvelous, deep, rich, sexy, transgressive, terrifying, 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
“Rebecca Miller . . . is a writer whose graceful and original language makes the challenge of Jacob's Folly a rewarding one. Her literary sensibility is vast.” —Katharine Webber, Moment
“Having died at age 31 in 1773 Paris, Jacob Cerf thinks hes been turned into an angel when he first “wakes up” hovering above Leslie Senzatimore in front of his Long Island home. But Jacob is no angel, although his supernatural powers include reading thoughts, traveling through others memories and perhaps implanting ideas. He quickly understands Leslie, who has coped with his lifes traumas, including his fathers suicide and his sons deafness, by becoming a gentile mensch. The volunteer firefighter is a devoted husband and father who supports his extended family of losers even when his boat repair business is struggling through the recession. Leslies genuine goodness reminds Jacob of his father, an observant Jewish peddler unhappy at Jacobs lack of interest in Torah, so Jacob wants to topple Leslie from his pedestal of righteousness. Accompanying Leslie on a hospital visit, Jacob wanders off and lands (literally) in the room of Masha, a lovely 21-year-old Orthodox Jew with heart problems and a secret desire to become an actress (theater is a leitmotif throughout). Falling for Masha, the first Jewish woman he ever loved, Jacob decides to enhance her opportunities by separating her from her familys religious Orthodoxy. He travels between Masha and Leslie planting ideas within their brains until their fates intersect. Meanwhile, Jacob tells his own story: his disastrous arranged marriage, his flirtation with Hasidism, his desertion of his Jewish identity to become the valet of a libertine count, his sexual escapades. The three characters live in different genres: Jacob a comical, absurdist picaresque, Leslie a domestic tragedy and Masha a bittersweet coming-of-age melodrama. Yet the parallels, particularly between Masha and Jacob, are unmistakable. Miller forces readers to consider the dangers along with the values of assimilation and pits moral choice against fate.
A challenging read, yet remarkably entertaining and ultimately gripping.” —Kirkus (starred)
“Miller embeds readers in the outsized consciousness of a fly, the modern reincarnation of Jacob, a Jewish peddler taken from eighteenth-century Paris and stripped of his identity. Via an enigmatic capacity to enter minds, the fly encourages young, Orthodox Mashas forbidden stage aspirations while simultaneously inciting a botched bid to ‘rescue her. Because of consistent narration, Millers intricate plots are never confusing. Rather, they are foils across time and space, offering measurements of survival, belonging, inheritance, the cost of transformation—whether coerced or voluntary—and outcomes overpowering of intention. Jacob acts undetected by his targets, but a far more inscrutable figure reveals his role in the satisfying conclusion. The novel breathes sensuality, creating sounds of languages mixing in dusty streets, the feeling of being bareheaded, without yarmulke, for the first time, and even an oranges distinctive smell. Readers will chuckle contentedly and without malice at a violent, life-affirming death. A deeply pleasurable, darkly comic, and original reinterpretation of Jewish historys ‘indestructible storyline, alighting thoughtfully on forces both individual and collective, internal and external, from genocide to assimilation.” —Cynthia-Marie OBrien, Booklist (starred)
“Scads of narrative threads are sewn together with impressive and often lovely wordplay to form a vast historical fabric of Jacobs Jewish family. Miller . . . is so clever when dwelling in the mind and body of that insect that the reader is rarely exasperated. An unusual and absorbing read.” —Publishers Weekly
Praise for The Private Lives of Pippa Lee
“Miller is a luminous writer and the visual impact of her sentences carry something of the cool impersonality of an Edward Hopper painting.” —The Observer
Synopsis
In Rebecca Millers dazzling and inventive new novel, we meet characters separated by time but united in their desire to live a life of their own choosing, free from the constraints of community and tradition.
In eighteenth-century Paris, Jacob Cerf is a Jewish street peddler burdened by a disastrous young marriage but determined to raise himself up by whatever means he can. His richly observed life in Paris Jewish ghetto is radically altered when he gains entrance to the opulent world of the aristocracy and the freedom to create his own identity. More than two hundred years later, Jacob reappears in surprising form in the suburbs of Long Island. He soon becomes obsessed by a young Orthodox Jewish woman with a secret ambition. Determined to change her fate, Jacob takes it upon himself to entangle her with a conflicted volunteer fireman. As Jacobs mischievous plans unfold, the burdens of duty and the pull of desire will twist the lives of all three.
Rebecca Miller explores the hold of the past on the present, the power of private hopes and dreams, the collision of fate and free will, and change in all of its various guises. Transfiguring her world with a clear gaze and sharp, surprising wit, she brings Jacobs Folly vividly to life.
About the Author
Rebecca Miller 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 Private Lives of Pippa Lee (FSG, 2008), which she also adapted for the screen. Her other films include Angela and The Ballad of Jack and Rose. She lives in New York and Ireland with her family.
Reading Group Guide
1. Discuss Jacobs storytelling style. How does he create a tragicomic tone? Which passages moved you the most? When did you find yourself laughing inappropriately?
2. Jacob and Masha face difficult decisions about whether to follow religious tradition. Do their family legacies empower them or hinder them? Would you have turned down Monsieur le Comtes job offer? Would you have said yes to Elis marriage proposal?
3. Discuss Hodels transformation. In the novel, is sexuality something to be savored, or does it spell doom?
4. How does Leslie relate to his older sister? Does Masha have much in common with Deirdre and the other women in Leslies life? What makes him well suited to his job as a rescuer?
5. Visiting from Poland, Gimpel claims that Jacob has become too much like the French. What does it cost Jacob to assimilate, leaving behind even his name? What does it cost Gimpel to be himself? By the end of Jacobs life in France, has he abandoned or discovered his true self?
6. What do Mashas roles onstage, which place her in a world that is so different from her own, mean to her? What role does she have to play in her negotiations with Nevsky? How does Jacobs skill as an actor in daily life prepare him for a career onstage?
7. Ultimately, does Hugh lead Masha to a better life, “healing” her in a way? What was at the heart of Pearls fears?
8. What historical details did you discover about eighteenth-century France by reading Jacobs tale? How does his anti-Semitic world compare to Mashas New York?
9. What does Antonias story illuminate about class, leverage, and survival as Jacob tries to find security?
10. Shortly after Jacobs awkward Good Friday experience, the count says that he is naming the pyramid “Jacobs Folly” to commemorate the Jews liberation from Egypt and one of their heroes. Discuss the many ironies of the buildings name (and the novels title).
11. In chapter 42, Maxs story serves as a bridge between the Old World and the United States. Is this a novel in which history repeats itself, or do the characters become masters of reinvention?
12. What do you predict for Jacob? Will his final prayer be answered? How have his experiences affected his relationship with God?
13. Discuss the book in comparison to Rebecca Millers previous novel, The Private Lives of Pippa Lee. Do Pippa, Masha, and Jacob speak to any common themes about fate and risk?
14. If you could be a fly on the wall of a family three hundred years from now, what would you hope to see? What type of family would you want to set up housekeeping with?