Books of Jacob | Slow Read | Prologue

The story begins with a woman, Yente. Or does it begin the story of the story?

She swallows a piece of paper on which letters were written.

Then she wakes, although she thought she was dead.

She sees a man clumsily care for her. His name is Isaac Shorr.

But his mistakes do not trouble her. Something rich and strange has happened because she swallowed the piece of paper.

We do not yet know what it is. But,

“This is how it is now, how it will be: Yente sees all.” (p. 964)

This prologue is barely one page long. You will not need one whole week to read it.

So, take your time over the pages before the Prologue.

There is a map with all the places we will visit on this fantastic journey.

There is a table of contents with seven Books, thirty-one chapters, and many sub-headings. If you browse through the table of contents, you will meet the characters, dates, and story arc of this novel.

You may even notice that the final section of Book Seven, chapter thirty-one is titled, ‘Yente’. What does this clue hidden in plain sight tell us about the story of The Books of Jacob?

Every week during the Slow Read I will share three bonus elements for paid subscribers to enrich your Slow Read.

• a chat question, from which I am keen to her your experience of the book

• a viewpoint on characters, as they appeared in fiction and history

• a story that puts The Books of Jacob in its historical context .

Please subscribe and read on to get more from your Slow Read of The Books of Jacob