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Jakob the Liar Jurek Becker Leila Vennewitz 9780452281707 Books

Download As PDF : Jakob the Liar Jurek Becker Leila Vennewitz 9780452281707 Books

Jakob the Liar Jurek Becker Leila Vennewitz 9780452281707 Books

Fairy tale as hope.
Set in a Polish ghetto under Nazi occupation, Jacob Heym is walking one night when a guard, playing mind games with him, tells him he is out past curfew and to report to the police station (where Jews have been seen entering but never leaving) to turn himself in and ask for his 'well-deserved' punishment. While in there with his heart in his throat, Jacob hears news of a battle between German and Russian forces relatively close. He is released, as it was well before curfew, but while working the next day with Misha, a young, strong, blue-eyed Jew, Jacob tells him that the Russians are winning and are on their way to saving them from the Nazis. When Misha gently disbelieves him, Jacob is seized by a thought - he knows this because he has a hidden radio (which is forbidden to Jews). He swears Misha to secrecy but you know where this is going, to paraphrase Benjamin Franklin, two people can keep a secret if one of them is dead. In an effort to give hope to his fiance's family, he tells. One thing leads to another and the entire ghetto looks upon Jacob as a savior and follow him with their eyes and themselves, begging for updates on their 'imminent' rescue. Jacob is forced to construct battles and updates. Even the 8-year-old orphan Lena, whom he took in when her parents were deported hears of it. She demands to see the radio. Jacob refuses to show it to her but hides behind a wall and pretends to BE the radio. A relatively skilled impersonator, he pretends he's a radio personality telling a fairy tale of a sick princess who is made well when a cloud she demands is brought to her. The cloud is a piece of cotton but since she believes that is what clouds are made of, she rises from her sickbed. Is that not what Jacob's lie is doing for the people of the ghetto? Suicides, which were prevalent, have plummeted to zero.
Jacob however, buckling under the pressure, eventually breaks and confesses to a friend who has been haunting him for updates that his tale was false. The friend smiles and tells him he is not angry with him. The next day, Jacob discovers that he has hung himself. Does Jacob keep the tale going? The author, a Holocaust survivor himself, gives three different endings to the story. One he says is true.


Tags : Jakob the Liar [Jurek Becker, Leila Vennewitz] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <DIV>One of the most remarkable novels of the Holocaust ever written, <b>Jakob the Liar</b> is a tale of everyday heroism and the extraordinary power of illusion. Set in an unnamed German-occupied ghetto,Jurek Becker, Leila Vennewitz,Jakob the Liar,Plume,0452281709,General,Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945);Fiction.,Jews;Germany;Fiction.,World War, 1939-1945;Germany;Fiction.,Fiction,Fiction - General,Fiction General,Germany,Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945),Jews,Movie-TV Tie-In - Novelizations,World War, 1939-1945

Jakob the Liar Jurek Becker Leila Vennewitz 9780452281707 Books Reviews

Umm...... How do I find out how many pages it has?!?!?!?!?
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.
"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.
Looked pretty used!
Very disappointing
Jakob the Liar is a great piece of historical fiction. I had to read it for a class about the Holocaust in German culture, and it tied in well with our class discussion.
This novel is a somber story of hope gone sour, about people and their attempt to make their fears and hopelessness better in futile situations, in this case, the Holocaust. Jacob, after overhearing a radio report about the Russians coming closer, lies about having a radio. He becomes the news bearer. Told in 3rd person, is it Jacob who is lying, or is the narrator lying about the entire incident. I won't say more about the plot.

This book is a must own and should be reread once in a while for it's richness in language. It has a sort of Kundera way in its writing (the long beginning about "trees").

A plus for me is the dust jacket with the film stills from the absolutely excellent 1975 East German adaptation starring the brilliant, late Vlastimil Brodsky ("Closely Watched Trains") and Armin Mueller-Stahl (before his escape from E. Germany), which is also scripted by Becker (skip the US version, which is a reworking and Hollywood-ization of the original novel).

Extremely touching and sad and beautiful! A Masterpiece!
Fairy tale as hope.
Set in a Polish ghetto under Nazi occupation, Jacob Heym is walking one night when a guard, playing mind games with him, tells him he is out past curfew and to report to the police station (where Jews have been seen entering but never leaving) to turn himself in and ask for his 'well-deserved' punishment. While in there with his heart in his throat, Jacob hears news of a battle between German and Russian forces relatively close. He is released, as it was well before curfew, but while working the next day with Misha, a young, strong, blue-eyed Jew, Jacob tells him that the Russians are winning and are on their way to saving them from the Nazis. When Misha gently disbelieves him, Jacob is seized by a thought - he knows this because he has a hidden radio (which is forbidden to Jews). He swears Misha to secrecy but you know where this is going, to paraphrase Benjamin Franklin, two people can keep a secret if one of them is dead. In an effort to give hope to his fiance's family, he tells. One thing leads to another and the entire ghetto looks upon Jacob as a savior and follow him with their eyes and themselves, begging for updates on their 'imminent' rescue. Jacob is forced to construct battles and updates. Even the 8-year-old orphan Lena, whom he took in when her parents were deported hears of it. She demands to see the radio. Jacob refuses to show it to her but hides behind a wall and pretends to BE the radio. A relatively skilled impersonator, he pretends he's a radio personality telling a fairy tale of a sick princess who is made well when a cloud she demands is brought to her. The cloud is a piece of cotton but since she believes that is what clouds are made of, she rises from her sickbed. Is that not what Jacob's lie is doing for the people of the ghetto? Suicides, which were prevalent, have plummeted to zero.
Jacob however, buckling under the pressure, eventually breaks and confesses to a friend who has been haunting him for updates that his tale was false. The friend smiles and tells him he is not angry with him. The next day, Jacob discovers that he has hung himself. Does Jacob keep the tale going? The author, a Holocaust survivor himself, gives three different endings to the story. One he says is true.