Jakob the Liar

by Jurek Becker

Book Overview

One of the most remarkable novels of the Holocaust ever written, Jakob the Liar is a tale of everyday heroism and the extraordinary power of illusion. Set in an unnamed German-occupied ghetto, the story centers on an unlikely hero, Jakob Heym, who accidentally overhears news of vital importance: the Russians are advancing on a city three hundred miles away. As Jakob's tidings rekindle hope and the promise of liberation, he feels compelled to elaborate...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0452281709
• ISBN13: 9780452281707
• Release Date: September 1999
• Publisher: Plume Books
• Length: 244 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Just read it

You won't regret the time or money spent on this book. Just read it. AFTER you've read the book, watch the movie. Robin Williams is a master. There's not much more I can say, because once you experience this tale for yourself, you won't need someone else's words to describe it.

A touching Act of Kindness

"JACOB THE LIAR," by Jurek Becker is a good example of how humane a person can be despite the place and situation that he/she is found. In this case is inside the ghetto, where Jacob Heym, a jew prisoner of the Germans accidentally overheard the news of a German radio saying, "troops succeeded in halting the Bolshevist attack 12 miles from Bezenika." He spread the news with the good intention of bringing hope and faith to the abandoned people there. And to stop the suicides that were committed due to the desperation of no help. Unfortunately, time past and nothing happened until one day someone betrayed them and went with the Germans, who immediately responded to this in search of the imaginary radio. The book is great as the movie, except that imagination plays a big role here so stop wasting time and check it out.

Jakob The Liar

Umm...... How do I find out how many pages it has?!?!?!?!?

Lies and Hope during the Holocaust

The role of "fiction" in the midst of horror so stark it cannot be endured: this is the central premise of Jurek Becker's holocaust novel Jacob the Liar. Jacob Haym, a prisoner in a Jewish ghetto toward the end of World War Two, is mistakenly caught out after curfew, and ordered to the camp office. While there, he overhears a radio report that the Russian army is nearby; amazingly, the camp officials allow him to return to the ghetto. When he tells the others what he has heard -- that salvation is perhaps 300 miles away -- no one believes him until he makes up the lie that he has a secret radio (Possession of a radio by ghetto inhabitants was a serious infraction, punishable by death). This single ray of hope, though, is not enough for his neighbors and co-workers; since Jacob has a radio, surely he can give them more frequent updates. Hence, Jacob becomes a "liar", inventing radio reports of the war coming ever closer to the camp, and with its approach the promise of salvation. The role of hope in the midst of seeming hopelessness is central to Becker's stark novel. Jacob tries to "give up" his lies several times, but discovers that the community has come to depend on him. With the advent of his radio reports, suicides in the ghetto have stopped. A different "spirit" is in the community. If Jacob stops his wholly fictionalized "radio" reports, the former hopelessness would return. What is better: a pleasant lie or unblinking verity? Becker's novel does not make for happy reading. Hope, in the end, was a chimera. Nonetheless, this is a magnificent book, and worthy of wide readership. Becker's characters -- every one of them -- is fully drawn, and believable. One truly feels Jacob's dilemma, and his absolute frustration with the role of "sage" he has unwittingly thrust upon himself. The book jacket indicates the book has been made into a movie -- I will be looking for the film at our local video store.

This a beautiful, sad, realistic book.

This is a story about Jacob, who lives in the ghetto, world war two, and by one simple small white lie, brings into the immposible life at the ghetto, a small glimmer of hope. People stop commiting suicide, lovers start talking about marriage, old rivals remind each other of long forgotten debts. All the while, their hard miserable lives go on. It's one of the most sensitive, realistic and sad books I have ever read. Don't miss it.The ending is one you will never forget.