Jacob Have I Loved discussion

I am reading this book

"Jacob I have Loved" is a great book. Did you like it?

Yes I thought it was a great book and the ending was very nice. The only 2 things that I didn't like was that
*******SPOILER*******
1. Cal marries Caroline
2. Never directly confronts he mother

Emma wrote: "Yes I thought it was a great book and the ending was very nice. The only 2 things that I didn't like was that
*******SPOILER*******
1. Cal marries Caroline
2. Never directly confronts he mother"

I soooo agree with you. It kind of sucks how even in the end her best friend chose caroline over her.

It has been many years since I read it, but I remember thinking: She now understands her mother's actions. As a teenager she had a very negitive view of her educated mother marrying her father, but she did exactly the same--marrying a less educated man. And she was very happy with her marriage and her life.

Christy wrote: "Emma wrote: "Yes I thought it was a great book and the ending was very nice. The only 2 things that I didn't like was that
*******SPOILER*******
1. Cal marries Caroline
2. Never directly confron..."

Henryetta wrote: "It has been many years since I read it, but I remember thinking: She now understands her mother's actions. As a teenager she had a very negitive view of her educated mother marrying her father, b..."

Christy wrote: "Emma wrote: "Yes I thought it was a great book and the ending was very nice. The only 2 things that I didn't like was that
*******SPOILER*******
1. Cal marries Caroline
2. Never directly confron..."

Emma wrote: "Yes I thought it was a great book and the ending was very nice. The only 2 things that I didn't like was that
*******SPOILER*******
1. Cal marries Caroline
2. Never directly confronts he mother"

But she did confront her mother as they were washing the window outside. Her mother handled it calmly and sort of lead way for her to figure out what she wanted to do with her life. Although she did end up in a parallel life as her mother with a husband similar to her father, the point was that she didn't just end up staying home and taking care of the kids, she was actually fulfilling her education by becoming a the most needed and reliable nurse in her area. She was needed and accepted.

I've read this book maybe about 3 times and I each time it felt as if I read it for the first time. It's one of the top books have I loved.

The Mighty Katara wrote: "♥ Aphrodite wrote: "I've read this book maybe about 3 times and I each time it felt as if I read it for the first time. It's one of the top books have I loved."

Just finished reading it, and it w..."

Great book isn't it?! I like to see the movie version but if it doesn't capture the authenticity of the book, I'll be disappointed.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097608/...

I haven't watched it but looking forward to watching it...if you ever watch it, let me know your view :)

I did not like the book. Sure the last 50+ pages were good. However, books do not get a good rating from me if it takes me 180+ pages to like it! I have heard over the years that this is a good book-that is the reason I read it-Sadly I was disappointed!

This was one of my favourite books as a teenager. As I read, my heart just bleeds for her, and sibling rivalry and jealousy is such a universal theme. I haven't read it in years so I'll have to pull it out and reread it.

Lousie feels like her parents love only Caroline, but in the end she learns that they like her even more than Caroline. Really? Why not show her in some way? Why were her parents being so ignorant?

I don't understand how could Louise's parents be so ignorant! They let her earn the money for Caroline. I would be just appalled! Poor Louise. If they really loved her more than Caroline, why not show her in some way?

Julie, I think people used to have the idea that showing a child overtures of love would somehow weaken that child. They felt it akin to spoiling. The mantra that you can't spoil a child with love is, I believe, quite a new phenomenon, or at least within the last couple of generations. Also, I think her parents felt that Louise had so much more strength and resourcefulness in her, that she would achieve no matter what, whereas they felt Caroline would never achieve anything if it weren't handed to her. Realizing this, which I think Louise does in the end, is part of her growing up.

I liked how the author showed the importance of birth order, and also the biblical references. The ending needed work though or better editing.

I haven't read the book since middle-school years, but I remember being fond of it.

I really liked this book and how the author used an unreliable narrator to show how destructive bitterness can be. I learned a lot from this book and I'm really glad I read it.

The one thing I really didn't like about it though is how they took that bible scripture and misinterpret it in such a bad way, never actually looking at what it meant or the context involved. I reality it isn't a mean scripture and it had nothing to do with the story in the book.

This was one of the most depressing children's/YA books I have ever read. It was such a chore to read. It had the sadness of a Shakespearean tragedy with none of the artistic value or redeeming qualities. Honestly they shouldn't have bothered with the bittersweet ending. It should have ended with her drowning herself ala Werther or going insane like Myshkin.

it didn't have a happy ending and while that is refreshing, it is also annoying.

Elizabeth wrote: "it didn't have a happy ending and while that is refreshing, it is also annoying."

It had a bittersweet ending for the most part. I was disappointed it didn't go full blown tragedy, as I felt this would have been more consistent with the relentlessly bleak tone of the rest of the book.

I thought it was a great book, I liked how at the end she made the mother hold the other twin.