Hi, everyone!
Today is my turn on the Fig Tree Books Blog Tour for JACOBO’S RAINBOW by David Hirshberg. This is a wonderful literary historical fiction that reads as a historical memoir.
Below you will find a book synopsis, my book review, an about the author section and the author’s social media link. Enjoy!
***
Book Synopsis
JACOBO’S RAINBOW is set primarily in the nineteen sixties during the convulsive period of the student protest movements and the Vietnam War. It focuses on the issue of being an outsider, an altogether common circumstance that resonates with readers in today’s America. Written from a Jewish perspective, it speaks to universal truths that affect us all.
On the occasion of the 15th anniversary of a transformative event in Jacobo’s life – the day he is sent to jail – he writes about what happened behind the scenes of the Free Speech Movement, which provides the backdrop for a riveting story centered on his emergence into a world he never could have imagined. His recording of those earlier events is the proximate cause of his being arrested. Jacobo is allowed to leave jail under the condition of being drafted, engages in gruesome fighting in Vietnam, and returns to continue his work of chronicling America in the throes of significant societal changes.
Nothing is what it seems to be at first glance, as we watch Jacobo navigate through the agonies of divisive transformations that are altering the character of the country. Coming to grips with his own imperfections as well as revelations about the people around him, he begins to understand more about himself and how he can have an impact on the world around him … and how it, in turn, will have an effect on him.
The novel can be read on three levels: 1) as a coming of age story; 2) as a metaphor for what is happening on college campuses today, in terms of the shutting down of speech and the rise of anti-Semitism; 3) as a novel about Jewish identity and what life is like for the outsider.
JACOBO’S RAINBOW
by David Hirshberg
Fig Tree Books LLC; May 4, 2021
ISBN hardcover: 9781941493281, $19.95; e-book: 9781941493-298, $9.99
Audiobook Retail: 9781705281567; Library: 9781705281574
***
My Book Review
RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars
JACOBO’S RAINBOW by David Hirshberg is a wonderful literary historical fiction novel that reads as a historical memoir set primarily during the tumultuous nineteen sixties.
Jacobo Toledano is the protagonist and the unique main character who chronicles his life in this memoir style tale. Jacobo comes from an isolated small community in New Mexico which leaves him with an unbiased view of the world and as an outsider he is the perfect storyteller for this tale.
On the fifteenth anniversary of the day Jacobo is sent to jail, he begins to write his story. He arrives at university only to be swept up by a charismatic leader of the Free Speech Movement and the protests of the Vietnam war. All the characters he writes about comes to life on the page with perceptive insights and sensitivity. His recording of these events is the cause of his being arrested.
Jacobo is given a choice, stay in jail or be drafted to fight in Vietnam. The gruesome fighting comes alive on the page and I remember watching it nightly on the news. (This was the first war to come into American homes nightly on the national news programs.) When he returns, he continues to chronicle a changing America.
This is a coming-of-age story set against the social upheaval of the nineteen sixties. It is also a tale of triumph over adversity, prejudice, lies and loss. This story and the past few years demonstrate that history can and will repeat itself if we are not ever observant and caretakers of everyone’s rights and freedom.
I highly recommend this novel and author!
***
About the Author
David Hirshberg is the pseudonym for an entrepreneur who prefers to keep his business activities separate from his writing endeavors. As an author, he adopted the first name of his father-in-law and the last name of his maternal grandfather, as a tribute to their impact on his life. His first novel, My Mother’s Son was published in 2018 and won nine awards. Reviewers have compared Hirshberg’s writing to Michael Chabon’s and Saul Bellow’s, among others.
Social Media Link
Website: https://davidhirshberg.com/
Twitter: @david_hirshberg
Purchase Links
