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J
J: A Novel | Howard Jacobson
Finalist for the 2014 Man Booker Prize“J is a snarling, effervescent, and ambitious philosophical work of fiction that poses unsettling questions about our sense of history, and our self-satisfied orthodoxies. Jacobson’s triumph is to craft a novel that is poignant as well as troubling from the debris.” —Independent (UK)   Man Booker Prize–winner Howard Jacobson’s brilliant and profound new novel, J, “invites comparison with George Orwell’s 1984 and Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World” (Sunday Times, London). Set in a world where collective memory has vanished and the past is a dangerous country, not to be talked about or visited, J is a boldly inventive love story, both tender and terrifying.     Kevern Cohen doesn’t know why his father always drew two fingers across his lips when he said a word starting with a J. It wasn’t then, and isn’t now, the time or place to be asking questions. When the extravagantly beautiful Ailinn Solomons arrives in his village by a sea that laps no other shore, Kevern is instantly drawn to her. Although mistrustful by nature, the two become linked as if they were meant for each other. Together, they form a refuge from the commonplace brutality that is the legacy of a historic catastrophe shrouded in suspicion, denial, and apology, simply referred to as WHAT HAPPENED, IF IT HAPPENED. To Ailinn’s guardian, Esme Nussbaum, Ailinn and Kevern are fragile shoots of hopefulness. As this unusual pair’s actions draw them into ever-increasing danger, Esme is determined to keep them together—whatever the cost.     In this stunning, evocative, and terribly heartbreaking work, where one couple’s love affair could have shattering consequences for the human race, Howard Jacobson gathers his prodigious gifts for the crowning achievement of a remarkable career.From the Hardcover edition.
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BarbaraBB
J: A Novel | Howard Jacobson
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#AlphabetGame Letter J

According to reviews I seem about the only one who enjoyed this book and it was hard to find a good book starting with J so there you have it. Some love for a book that deserves it!

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mreads
J: A Novel | Howard Jacobson
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J is for "J" have this book in my TBR but the ratings are pretty bad so might pass on it.

#30JuneBooks @howjessreads

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susanw
J: A Novel | Howard Jacobson
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How about a title with one letter? #novemberbythenumbers This one has been on my tbr forever. Anyone read it?

@JoeStalksBeck @Tiffy_Reads

BarbaraBB Yes! Very impressive. You should know nothing about it before. Just dive in and you‘re in for a great read! 7y
Cinfhen Clever! And my bookclub friend loved this one! 7y
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Simona
J: A Novel | Howard Jacobson
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My selection for #startswithJ Still unread ...

#andisaugust

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BarbaraBB
J: A Novel | Howard Jacobson
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Pickpick

I had no idea what I was getting myself into. This book overtook me tremendously. The relationship between Ailinn and Kevern I found hearbreakingly beautiful, they said so much with so little words. I was very fascinated by all that happens to them and the people they are surrounded by. And then there is the slow unveiling of WHAT HAPPENED IF IT HAPPENED. Very timely and political, and therefore also rather subjective. #manbooker

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Sweettartlaura
J: A Novel | Howard Jacobson
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Panpan

Not a fan. Only finished because it fit my #litsyatoz challenge. I get what Jacobson is saying here, but the execution was poor.

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Meganbub
J: A Novel | Howard Jacobson
Mehso-so

Hmm. Puzzled by this one. Sure ambiguity is a style, the reader can draw their own conclusions and whatnot. But I wanted something a little more solid by the end. I haven't outright dismissed it as annoying and a pan, so I guess it worked at least a little bit on me.

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Meganbub
J: A Novel | Howard Jacobson
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Can the title get anymore letter perfect? J for #J! #LitsyAtoZ

11 likes1 stack add
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cykitan
J: A Novel | Howard Jacobson
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Janitor
J: A Novel | Howard Jacobson
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Evening snacks.

MrBook Nice pic! I stopped reading "J". I'll have to start again. After all, I am partial to the letter. ? 8y
4 likes1 comment
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Janitor
J: A Novel | Howard Jacobson
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Danwilli2012
J: A Novel | Howard Jacobson
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Mehso-so

Pluto thought this book was a tough read. Metaphors layered on top of metaphors. Mainly about how Jewish people were treated and the unsettling rise of people saying the holocaust never happened. Set in a world after a tragedy may or may not have happened certainly leaves you unsettled.

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RyeAnnUh
J: A Novel | Howard Jacobson
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Hard at work.

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eliz_bree
J: A Novel | Howard Jacobson
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Pickpick

A thoughtful dystopian love story made up of equal parts whimsy (looking at you paper flowers and carved love spoons) and terror (a society obsessed with apologizing for something they refuse to acknowledge while also accepting quotidian violence). Disorienting, challenging & subtly hopeful.

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eliz_bree
J: A Novel | Howard Jacobson
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"She was in no rush to come out of her coma where it was warm and silent - she only saw words, she didn't hear them - and declare what she knew. She had no more reports to write just yet. It was good to look at the world slowly and evenly. You don't need to have your eyes open to see things."

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jennypark
J: A Novel | Howard Jacobson
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jennypark
J: A Novel | Howard Jacobson

That was what was cruel about superficial change: it exposed what could never change. Better to have stayed where she was and waited. As long as you are waiting you can't be disappointed. I was all right when I was in suspense, she thought. But that wasn't true either. She had never been all right.

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