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The Very Model of a Man
A smug novel that aspires to rip the lid off religious convention & conviction. Jacobson (Roots Schmoots, '94, etc.) tackles the Hebrew Scriptures in this new effort. Narrated by Cain, the 1st murderer & the founder of the 1st city, the life led by Adam & his family is far different than that portrayed by pious chroniclers. Tho the group has already been expelled from Eden, creation is far from complete. The Earth still vibrates with the energy of formation. To even stamp one's foot is to set in motion a chain of reactions that could lead to some bizarre new species & there's plenty of reason to stamp one's foot. The omnipresent deity is getting on humanity's nerves & any attempt to discuss the matter leads to divine punishment because He's decidedly thin-skinned. Adam abuses Cain because the boy is the only thing in the world that he's unafraid of. To top things off, the new baby, Abel, is getting all of Eve's attention, leaving Cain feeling deprived. The boy vows that, even tho he loves his brother, he'll nonetheless kill him. The novel bounces back & forth between this story & Babel, where an aged Cain is telling his tale in a kind of one-man show for the amusement of the cynical citizenry, who crave entertainment & lack both a theology & a sense of humor. Also related are the stories of the Exodus & of Korah, a cousin of Moses & Aaron who led a rebellion against their leadership & authority. Lurking at the edges of it all is the mysterious Sisobk the Scryer, a member of a Cainite cult that's grown up around the fratricide. Condescension & anachronisms mar what comes across as 2nd-rate Joseph Heller or Philip Roth. Jacobson looks into faith & sees only dark corners.-Kirkus (edited)
352 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1992
8 people are currently reading
45 people want to read
About the author
Howard Jacobson
76 books385 followersHoward Jacobson was born in Manchester, England, and educated at Cambridge. His many novels include The Mighty Walzer (winner of the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize), Who’s Sorry Now? and Kalooki Nights (both longlisted for the Man Booker Prize), and, most recently, The Act of Love. Jacobson is also a respected critic and broadcaster, and writes a weekly column for the Independent. He lives in London.
Profile of Howard Jacobson in The New York Times.
“The book's appeal to Jewish readers is obvious, but like all great Jewish art — the paintings of Marc Chagall, the books of Saul Bellow, the films of Woody Allen — it is Jacobson's use of the Jewish experience to explain the greater human one that sets it apart. Who among us is so certain of our identity? Who hasn't been asked, "What's your background" and hesitated, even for a split second, to answer their inquisitor? Howard Jacobson's The Finkler Question forces us to ask that of ourselves, and that's why it's a must read, no matter what your background.”—-David Sax, NPR.
Profile of Howard Jacobson in The New York Times.
“The book's appeal to Jewish readers is obvious, but like all great Jewish art — the paintings of Marc Chagall, the books of Saul Bellow, the films of Woody Allen — it is Jacobson's use of the Jewish experience to explain the greater human one that sets it apart. Who among us is so certain of our identity? Who hasn't been asked, "What's your background" and hesitated, even for a split second, to answer their inquisitor? Howard Jacobson's The Finkler Question forces us to ask that of ourselves, and that's why it's a must read, no matter what your background.”—-David Sax, NPR.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 26, 2014
I read this because it's based on the Hebrew bible and enjoyed being able to get all the humor--a payoff for tens of thousands of dollars spent on degrees in religion--Finally!
April 28, 2025
I do like a revisionist Biblical retelling, and I was particularly interested in The Very Model of a Man because it wasn’t a Biblical retelling but a Talmudic one from a Jewish author, drawing on Jewish traditions. One of the things I find most irritating about Christianity is the way they have repurposed Jewish literature for their own purposes, claiming that the prophets are pointing to Jesus, that the story of Adam is pre-amble to Jesus, that the ‘Old Testament God’ seems to have a revelation himself to become the New Testament one.
From the off, the depiction of God in this book is scathing. He’s essentially a prissy, prudish busybody who doesn’t know what to do with his creation but create unnecessary laws and divisions to keep humanity on its toes and worshipping him. He’s slapdash and needy. He doesn’t just giveth and taketh away, he giveth so he can taketh away in the future. Also, angels are a terrible design and have awful skin conditions.
I loved the development of Adam, rather lost and bemused by his sudden coming into being, horridly aware of his status as breathing mud and unsure of his hands. Later, like the development of humankind, he does learn to work with his hands, making solid, ugly items that nobody really wants. Eve is courted by God for a while (though he’s too cowardly to come corporally) but is eventually abandoned and she spends her time doting on Abel and bathing him laboriously.
I loved how the book brings up that Cain is not only the first murderer, but the first person with a bellybutton, the first person born and raised. At first, he’s very happy, taking the initiative with naming things. This sets up a love of words that permeate him and the story’s telling. Indeed, he’s telling the story of his family in Babel, where he’s become something of a celebrity.
I have to say, I was confused about the relationship between Cain and Babel. In his telling of the story, there’s the one God who created his family and no-one else, but then he is in a city where there are clearly many other elses.
Jacobson describes Babel as a city with temples but no Gods. This is blatantly untrue, the Sumerian culture had Gods which were essential to the identity of each city - but that’s by-the-by. In the city he’s pursued by a satirist who comes from Eden (again muddling the first family stuff), a soothsayer who wears paper on his feet and has visions of future Talmudic renegades, and has an affair with a woman he doesn’t even like.
Some things happen, Cain is accused of a murder he doesn’t commit, he finds himself living in a very tall ziggurat, he has philosophical discussions about things.
The book very self-consciously plays with language, loves an obscure word, a roundabout phrase and a bout of punning or alliteration. It conjures a very oppressive mood and does create a very clammy existential horror at being the only family alive being watched by a jealous, incompetent God. However, there is a difference between a ‘tour-de-force’ and a book that wishes it were one.
From the off, the depiction of God in this book is scathing. He’s essentially a prissy, prudish busybody who doesn’t know what to do with his creation but create unnecessary laws and divisions to keep humanity on its toes and worshipping him. He’s slapdash and needy. He doesn’t just giveth and taketh away, he giveth so he can taketh away in the future. Also, angels are a terrible design and have awful skin conditions.
I loved the development of Adam, rather lost and bemused by his sudden coming into being, horridly aware of his status as breathing mud and unsure of his hands. Later, like the development of humankind, he does learn to work with his hands, making solid, ugly items that nobody really wants. Eve is courted by God for a while (though he’s too cowardly to come corporally) but is eventually abandoned and she spends her time doting on Abel and bathing him laboriously.
I loved how the book brings up that Cain is not only the first murderer, but the first person with a bellybutton, the first person born and raised. At first, he’s very happy, taking the initiative with naming things. This sets up a love of words that permeate him and the story’s telling. Indeed, he’s telling the story of his family in Babel, where he’s become something of a celebrity.
I have to say, I was confused about the relationship between Cain and Babel. In his telling of the story, there’s the one God who created his family and no-one else, but then he is in a city where there are clearly many other elses.
Jacobson describes Babel as a city with temples but no Gods. This is blatantly untrue, the Sumerian culture had Gods which were essential to the identity of each city - but that’s by-the-by. In the city he’s pursued by a satirist who comes from Eden (again muddling the first family stuff), a soothsayer who wears paper on his feet and has visions of future Talmudic renegades, and has an affair with a woman he doesn’t even like.
Some things happen, Cain is accused of a murder he doesn’t commit, he finds himself living in a very tall ziggurat, he has philosophical discussions about things.
The book very self-consciously plays with language, loves an obscure word, a roundabout phrase and a bout of punning or alliteration. It conjures a very oppressive mood and does create a very clammy existential horror at being the only family alive being watched by a jealous, incompetent God. However, there is a difference between a ‘tour-de-force’ and a book that wishes it were one.
May 22, 2011
having just read the finkler question, i was excited that i was going to start reading this.
...this is a hard book to read (at least for me). it was the only time i wish i had of had a hardcore sunday school education. however i got by, by using google. what i didnt get was Cain retrospectively telling his story to the citizens of Babel. or to be more precise, i didnt get a few of the Shinarite characters. in fact i dont know the story of Babel, its tower or the Shinarites. so that was a bit not to have an understanding of.
having said all of that i loved some of the writing in this book, particularly Cains dad Adam, carving out images of himself and ventriloquising these so as to upset his father (God), as well as his mum Eve anointing the angels to relieve them of their excema around their wings where the skin and feathers meet. but there was a lot of banging on by Cain about how much he loved his brother Abel.
i enjoyed this book for the first half but the rest of the book was a hard slog for me
...this is a hard book to read (at least for me). it was the only time i wish i had of had a hardcore sunday school education. however i got by, by using google. what i didnt get was Cain retrospectively telling his story to the citizens of Babel. or to be more precise, i didnt get a few of the Shinarite characters. in fact i dont know the story of Babel, its tower or the Shinarites. so that was a bit not to have an understanding of.
having said all of that i loved some of the writing in this book, particularly Cains dad Adam, carving out images of himself and ventriloquising these so as to upset his father (God), as well as his mum Eve anointing the angels to relieve them of their excema around their wings where the skin and feathers meet. but there was a lot of banging on by Cain about how much he loved his brother Abel.
i enjoyed this book for the first half but the rest of the book was a hard slog for me
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July 4, 2007Jacobson seemed try to be philosopical. But I could only understand nothing. Don't judge a book from its cover. Pfiuh!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews