THE VERDICT SO FAR

Have you read edition one of The Mark yet? If you haven't, definitely start with Neil Randall's piece, "Three Little Boys" because it's an excerpt of the (amazing) novel "The Nine Lives of Jacob Fallada." Randall has appeared in multiple editions of The Mark, and for good reason. His writing immediately captures the attention of the reader and keeps it until the very end. In "The Nine Lives of Jacob Fallada," we follow the title character through his life, starting as a young boy. Jacob is mistreated by almost everyone he's ever been around, and the novel revolves around how Jacob deals with this rejection. He doesn't take it very well, and tends to retreat into himself rather than deal with his feelings and speak up for himself. Though he was mistreated a lot as a child and young adult, towards the end, he finds people that wish to be kind to him. I like this novel a lot because it shows the reader that, even though it might seem like the world is out to get you, there is always good to be found. Jacob reveled in the rejection and darkness of his world, and it made him an alienated and sad person. I wonder, if he hadn't retreated into himself like he did, his story would be different?

That being said, I don't want you to think that this is some mushy, boring coming-of-age story that is no fun to read. Randall writes in a surrealist way that keeps your attention. If you want to know what I mean, check out "Three Little Boys" in edition one! What else do you have to look forward to in this book? A talking dog smoking a cigarette at a bar. The stories get to be strange at some points, but there's enough reality ingrained in them that the reader just kind of goes along with it. I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone that is looking for a surreal coming-of-age story that grabs and holds your attention from the beginning to end.

                                                                                                Jessica Purgett – Editor, The Mark Literary Review

The Nine Lives of Jacob Fallada hits the farcical heights it's aiming for. It's got plenty going for it, thanks to an excellent plot and an experienced wordsmith. A dark, bitter-sweet comedy drama with a distinctly cinematic feel to it.

Emerald Book Reviews

There are revelations and twists to keep you on our toes; The author, Neil Randall, is clearly out to confound our expectations, and in this work has done an excellent job of it. Not to be missed and highly recommended.

Atlantic Way Review

Dark, bitter-sweet comedy drama.

The Nine Lives of Jacob Fallada is a dark, bitter-sweet comedy drama. It’s a shady and ghastly story, which is horrifyingly hilarious, captivating and brilliantly written.

The contrast between tone and content is a characteristic talent of only a few authors. Fallada pays as much attention to his sentences as he does to his plots, shifting or consolidating meaning with the use of a single word. His writing is impeccably honed, full of juxtapositions and qualifications that help to create a creeping sense of unease while laughing out loud!

This book has shaped up to be a very satisfying if rather harrowing tale of the unexpected.

A well-deserved five stars and highly recommended.

                                                                                                                                Pierce Kenny – UK Book Reviewer

Poor Jacob! This is possibly one of the saddest books I have ever read. Jacob who lives with his vile Aunt is involved in an incident as a child which stays with throughout his whole life. However, it is after this event that he discovers art and this gift helps him throughout the rest of his sad life and he uses it as a coping mechanism and it does help him.

Each of the nine chapters represent another story of Jacob’s life and mostly with unfortunate consequences. Although the book was very dark and sad, I hoped that Jacob would find some peace and I won’t give away anything but I was gripped with this little book.

So much is packed into the Jacob’s nine lives I think it will stay with me for a long time.

                                                                                                Karen Reads and Recommends – UK Book Blogger

One of my 2019 goals was to read novels I wouldn’t normally reach for. The Nine Lives of Jacob Fallada isn’t a genre of novel I have read a lot of. Dark comedy is very different for me but I am glad I said yes to this one.

The story has its hilarious moments and its horrifying moments. It’s brilliant, really. Neil Randall has written a captivating novel I had trouble putting down. He has this wonderful ability to create a sense of unease while making you laugh. That is some awesome talent.

I loved everything about this book. The plot, the characters, the writing…I highly recommend checking it out!

Rating:

5/5☆                                                            Jessica Belmont – Book Blogger & Writer

It's a series of stories, represented by chapters, a summary of a life in short episodes. Life defining moments and experiences that Jacob holds on to as more important than other moments. In a way it is a very Kodak moment, flashback or memories in a noirish and almost satirical style.

It gives the story a specific style. On screen one would perhaps present a fading out into blackness after every episode, a short interval and then another that starts off in an entirely different time and place.

It's uncomfortable at times and bends the frame of reality a wee bit in places, as fiction is wont to do. I think the author wants show the extreme in an attempt to showcase the damage inflicted upon Jacob and victims in general. Sometimes reality is far worse than any fictional scenario.

Whilst I understand the whole idea that the bullies and abuse make Jacob the shell of the man he becomes, I am also inclined to disagree with that element of the book. Jacob the child, the teen, the young and older man all show a propensity towards violence and inflicting pain. Whether that is a self-fulfilling prophecy caused by abuse and neglect, a protective stance or something more innate, is worth a discussion. Also debatable is how much we control our own outcomes, regardless of the input of others, be it negative or positive input.

What isn't debatable of course is that a lifetime of neglect, abuse and bullying can define the life of the victim. However not every victim becomes violent or remains the underdog going forward.
Randall makes a good point about perception. Jacob is already predisposed to think the worst of people, ergo doesn't know how to react or recognise when there is no ill intent aimed his way. Towards the end there is an interesting conversation between Jacob and one of the boys from the incident he perceives to be the catalyst of everything. Jacob is surprised by the fact there could have been an alternative scenario for that day and perhaps his life.

It's difficult to fit this into a genre per se. It's a contemporary read with the feel of a noirish fictional memoir.

                                                                                                                Cheryl M.’s Book Blog – UK Book Blogger

The Nine Lives of Jacob Fallada is a strange book, and sitting at my computer now I am finding it hard to put my thoughts about it into words. At first, I just thought it was all very weird, the lack of emotion in the retelling of Jacob’s life, the way each chapter skipped forward so much in time with limited reference to what had gone before, not to mention the very peculiar social experiment that Jacob was subjected to.

As the events of each chapter unfolded, I found myself questioning the reliability of the narrator. After all, how could someone who claims to be so innocent so often find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time? Could this account of Jacob’s life be trusted or was it his distorted view of how his life had gone so wrong? However, as I thought about it more, I came to see just how clever this book really was. If you just took a snapshot of all the bad things that had happened to you and erased all the good, what would your life story look like? Jacob must have had good times in his life, but by choosing not to show those, Neil Randall presents a very clear image of just how easy it is for someone to become isolated, slipping through the cracks of society, scared of showing any emotion to the outside world.

All in all, this is an extremely thought-provoking book that gave me a lot more than I bargained for.

                                                                                                                                Mai’s Musings – UK Book Blogger

Dark, Compelling and Endearing Read!

The Nine Lives of Jacob Fallada is a highly compelling, emotional and enthralling, Dark Satire That will get under your skin.

Jacob has a pretty Heart breaking and horrific past. He was bullied by the other kids for his appearance. He was beaten up. Always seeming to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Knowing things are wrong he always ends up taking the brunt of the punishment.
But one terrible incident will change his life and haunt him forever!

One thing that gets Jacob through this dark and painful time, is his love of art.
Instead of a diary. Jacob uses his art to capture his memories and emotions from events that happen through his life.
Often the paintings are dark and eerie as he expresses how he feels.

But as the story moves forward, we see how Jacobs past and present start to merge together. Does the Past really shape your future?

As I mentioned before this book will get under your skin, Jacob is a character that you can't help feel heart-broken for.

No one likes to see someone get bullied and Jacob is clearly being let down by everyone including the Adults in his life!

But what Randall does is show you how Jacob uses his awful experiences and turns them into art to make sense of what happens to him and the world around him, A coping mechanism.
He explores Loneliness, Anger, Fright, the need to belong and fit in, how peer pressure can effect vulnerable people, how the past shapes the future and building relationships with people.

The Nine Lives of Jacob Fallada is a Compelling, Thought Provoking and Endearing read.
Although this book is dark at times there is some light hearted satirical humour weaved in to keep things light. Which I really appreciated.

Each chapter represents an event in Jacobs life. The chapters are fairly short, punchy and show Jacobs life.
I only wish it was a little longer to showcase some more, maybe light hearted times in his life just to get a comparison so to speak.

I'm not too sure where I would place this book in terms of genre but it certainly has a coming of age, noir feel. Although it is said to be Literary Fiction.

Overall a thoroughly enjoyable read, that will certainly get you thinking, and keep you intrigued.
I'm looking forward to reading more from Neil Randall.

Dash Fan Book Reviews

Nine Lives of Jacob Fallada is the story of an outsider, whose existence in this world is sadly wrought with anguish, torment, and ridicule. Written in 3rd person, this novel consists of nine solitary moments within Jacob’s life, showing key, and often frustrating scenes where the outside world has no idea how to accept him. It’s a short piece, only 180 pages on my ereader, but in that time delivers exactly what it intends to.

Typically, when giving a review, I talk about things like pacing, or the style in which the author has decided to write the novel in, as these are the things, I’m the most drawn to. I don’t give a star rating here, because for me, that’s an incredibly flawed system. My five stars could be your one star. Yesterday, actually, to fully digress (I promise there’s a point here) I was in the city discussing books with my other half’s little cousin. Now, I don’t read a massive amount of children’s fiction, mostly through time constraints, but some of my absolute ride or die favorites are in that category. One of those would be the Percy Jackson series. She on the other hand, didn’t care for those books. They just weren’t her cup of tea, which is the exact reason I don’t give star ratings on this blog. Bias is as bias does, and that’s why when I read reviews, I’m looking for whether the arcs work, if a novel is plot or character driven, or if the reader felt things matched up properly. I love when people enjoy books, and I see that too, but I want to know why. I want to know what about a book they liked, not just that they did, because there’s so many books out there, no one could read them all.

In 2004 (bear with me, we’re almost at that point I promised), Christopher Booker claimed in his novel The Seven Basic Plots, there were (as you guessed) only seven plots in the world. For him, these were Overcoming the Monster, Rags to Riches, The Quest, Voyage and Return, Rebirth, Comedy, and Tragedy. In his opinion, every single piece of fiction you could think of, would come under one of those headings. Now, whether you believe that number to be gospel or not, I do agree a finite amount of plot types has to exist, so am not about to argue (especially as I’m sure you’re wondering where the hell I’m going with this) and on top of that, there are simple, basic structural guidelines groups of work tend to follow. Different genres have different expectations and ‘formulas’, but overall, structurally, there are tendencies which simply flow the nicest. It’s what comes after, when the author adds their individual style into a piece, that I get most excited and want to talk about. I want, at the end of the day, to know what they did to take something so ingrained into the human existence as telling a story and make it their own.

Every point I make is made with the aim to help you decide if a book is for you or not. Yes, I’ll say if I liked a book. I’ll bloody scream it, because I’m chaotic and don’t follow my own rules, but overall, I like to be aware that what I find amazing, you might not, so write with that in mind.

And that, my sweet reader, brings me nearer to the point I’ve been promising.

This book, The Nine Lives of Jacob Fallada, had one of the most powerful chapters I have ever read, with an ending to that specific scene which summed up the entire atmosphere of the book for me. It wasn’t long, nor graphic, but the tone was set and didn’t relent. I was moved, but I was also uncomfortable and incredibly unsettled. It wasn’t gross, nor was it explicit, but this chapter, where Jacob faces an unusual rehabilitation technique after being involved in a schoolyard bullying mishap, isn’t one I’ll ever forget. It made me feel sick, and then sad. It had me internally seething with rage, genuinely horrified, and everything in between. When I look for that individuality within a piece, this delivered tenfold. It was paced wonderfully, with only one chapter per important moment, spanning decades effortlessly and showed a life so confusing to the outside world, it became hyperbolic in many ways, but also stuck so close to painful realism it could literally happen to anyone. We witness Jacob’s life, we hear his voice and thoughts, but like the world around him, we’re never truly let in completely. The thoughts we know are important, never frivolous, and truthfully, we experience so little that even what we do know becomes only smatterings of puzzle pieces against a largely blank canvas. We know just as much around him in many regards, and yet become so palpably moved by his life we become attached and protective. Maybe that’s just me though, but Jacob quickly became someone I was attached to.

The other thing this novel delivered on was voice, as I’m sure you’ve gathered. Every sentence Randall writes is elegant, and shows his experience. He’s skilled, and he knows his own style inside and out. For a story like this, that fact is important, and I wasn’t let down in the slightest.

So, what’s that point I’ve been threatening?

This book will not be for everyone.

If you’re not a fan of being uncomfortable, this will upset you. It should come with trigger warnings, and I should have opened with that, but if you’re affected by abuse, manipulation, or have severe trauma in your past, be mindful of that if you give this book a read. It isn’t grotesque, and as I said, it’s not explicit in any way, but Randall doesn’t need a thousand words like I do to make a point, nor does he need shock factor. Be aware, be mindful, and if you’re looking for something traditional or to make you feel happy, I’m not sure you’ll find that here.

If, however, you’re intrigued, go get Nine Lives of Jacob Fallada, because it’s something incredibly special, which will be polarizing, but for me, sang with uniqueness.