This review is from: Jacob Have I Loved (Paperback)
As I read books, I like to immerse myself into the world—so much so that I can feel and sympathize with the main character. However, when the main character is somebody that you would hate in real life, it’s impossible to relate to their feelings, which is something I feel has to happen if you are to read a book and feel at the end like you have learned something and that you are better off afterwards. In the case of “Jacob Have I Loved,” the main character, Sara Louise, is envious and mean and the exact kind of person that makes other people miserable. Throughout the book, all she does is complain about life, although she never really tries to make it better.
In the book, one of the messages that is portrayed is that it’s wrong to try to be good and work hard to reach your goals. For example, Caroline, her younger twin sister, is pretty, good at singing, and everybody likes her, while Sara Louise seems to insist on not adapting to society’s expectations. As somebody who can relate more to Caroline, I found that I couldn’t read the book without hating Sara Louise, for the whole book is a rant about how everything and everybody, including God was against her.
In the book she falls in love with this old man who is 53 years older that her, who I might add her crazy grandmother also loves, even though he is married. The whole situation is extremely weird and you feel awkward just reading it. She also has an obsession with hands and for a good part of the book; you just hear her talking about hands, including the old man’s. She goes on and on about what hands symbolize in a person, while you (impatiently) wait for her to stop talking.
At the end of the book you just think ‘what did I just waste my time reading?’ and like I said before, you're supposed to feel like you gained something and that you’re a better person after reading a book, but after finishing "Jacob Have I Loved," I feel worse and like nothing was gained, but time was lost. in the end I just feel "what was the point of this book?"
In the book, one of the messages that is portrayed is that it’s wrong to try to be good and work hard to reach your goals. For example, Caroline, her younger twin sister, is pretty, good at singing, and everybody likes her, while Sara Louise seems to insist on not adapting to society’s expectations. As somebody who can relate more to Caroline, I found that I couldn’t read the book without hating Sara Louise, for the whole book is a rant about how everything and everybody, including God was against her.
In the book she falls in love with this old man who is 53 years older that her, who I might add her crazy grandmother also loves, even though he is married. The whole situation is extremely weird and you feel awkward just reading it. She also has an obsession with hands and for a good part of the book; you just hear her talking about hands, including the old man’s. She goes on and on about what hands symbolize in a person, while you (impatiently) wait for her to stop talking.
At the end of the book you just think ‘what did I just waste my time reading?’ and like I said before, you're supposed to feel like you gained something and that you’re a better person after reading a book, but after finishing "Jacob Have I Loved," I feel worse and like nothing was gained, but time was lost. in the end I just feel "what was the point of this book?"
You can see the 2-star review here.
