A review by faintgirl
Jacob the Liar by Jurek Becker

4.0

For a novel with such a serious background, Jakob the Liar is astonishingly light hearted. The deft writing style of Becker manages to mix the lightness of hope with the dreadful happenings of Nazi Europe with a rare skill producing a novel that is both funny and devastating in equal turns. When Jakob is wrongly sent to the German headquarters in his Jewish ghetto, he accidentally overhears a radio announcement that the Russians are defeating the Germans in a town only 200 miles away. When he returns to his friends, he is unable to keep his discovery quiet, and events spiral from there. Beautifully written and deeply affecting.