Jacobo’s Rainbow

by David Hirshberg

Jacobo's Rainbow is an historical literary novel set primarily in the nineteen sixties during the convulsive period of the student protest movements and the Vietnam War. It focuses on the issue of being an outsiderthe 'other'an altogether common circumstance that resonates with readers in today's America. Written from a Jewish perspective, it speaks to universal truths that affect us all.

On the occasion of the 15th anniversary of a transformative event in Jacobo's life the day he is sent to jail he writes about what happened behind the scenes of the Free Speech Movement which provides the backdrop for a riveting story centered on his emergence into a world he never could have imagined. His recording of those earlier events is the proximate cause of his being arrested. Jacobo is allowed to leave jail under the condition of being drafted, engages in gruesome fighting in Vietnam, and returns to continue his work of chronicling America in the throes of significant societal changes.

Jacobo's Rainbow is a story of triumph over adversity (hypocrisy, loss, lies, murder, concealment, prejudice) that is told with vivid descriptions, perceptive insights, humor and sensitivity, which enables the reader to identify with the characters who come to life in a realistic fashion to illustrate who we are, how we behave, and what causes us to change.

It can be read on three levels: (1) The story of what it was like to have lived through and been a participant in the Free Speech Movement and the Vietnam War ('The Sixties'); (2) A metaphor for what is going on college campuses today, in terms of the shutting down of speech and the rise of anti-Semitism; and (3) What life is like for the 'outsider.'

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Jewish

352 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 4, 2021

Reviews

[Deacon Tom (Feeling Better) · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Jacobo’s Rainbow” takes us on a trip through the 1960-70's. The author does a wonderful job of blending historical facts into a stunned story of self-discovery, belonging, and identity challenges.

Jacobo’s journey takes him from a college campus, in the Free Speech movementbbNext to prisons ND then to Vietnam.

I really had a personal stake in this story because it was see in the timeframe of my own coming of age. Also, it it connects to the current vculture wars and threats to free speech we

A fine book that I am proud to recommend.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

["Avonna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Check out all of my reviews at: https://www.avonnalovesgenres.com

JACOBO’S RAINBOW by David Hirshberg is a wonderful literary historical fiction novel that reads as a historical memoir set primarily during the tumultuous nineteen sixties.

Jacobo Toledano is the protagonist and the unique main character who chronicles his life in this memoir style tale. Jacobo comes from an isolated small community in New Mexico which leaves him with an unbiased view of the world and as an outsider he is the perfect storyteller for this tale.

On the fifteenth anniversary of the day Jacobo is sent to jail, he begins to write his story. He arrives at university only to be swept up by a charismatic leader of the Free Speech Movement and the protests of the Vietnam war. All the characters he writes about comes to life on the page with perceptive insights and sensitivity. His recording of these events is the cause of his being arrested.

Jacobo is given a choice, stay in jail or be drafted to fight in Vietnam. The gruesome fighting comes alive on the page and I remember watching it nightly on the news. (This was the first war to come into American homes nightly on the national news programs.) When he returns, he continues to chronicle a changing America.

This is a coming-of-age story set against the social upheaval of the nineteen sixties. It is also a tale of triumph over adversity, prejudice, lies and loss. This story and the past few years demonstrate that history can and will repeat itself if we are not ever observant and caretakers of everyone’s rights and freedom.

I highly recommend this novel and author!

[Nursebookie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jacobo’s Rainbow is a book set in the 60’s surrounding Vietnam War and the Free Speech Movement which provides the backdrop of this immersive and thought provoking story.

Though set in the past, the universal themes of this book is relevant to today’s issues.

I found the writing to be insightful and observations deeply moving.

This book is written from the American Jewish perspective and evokes a captivating narrative inclusive of our universal voice that address races, genders, ethnicity and really embracing humanity.

What a poignant and powerful read I enjoyed!

[InD'tale Magazine · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Jacobo's Rainbow" is a fictional memoir that reads true to life with its elegant prose and historical detail!

Read full review in the 2021 May issue of InD'tale Magazine.

[Linda Zagon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Linda Zagon of Linda’s Book Obsession Reviews “Jacobo’s Rainbow” by David Hirshberg, May 4, 2021

David Hirshberg, the author of “Jacobo’s Rainbow” has written an intriguing, intense, captivating, and thought-provoking historical literary novel. The timeline for this novel is mostly the 1960’s and goes to the past and future when it pertains to the characters and events. This is the time of “free speech” on campus, and Vietnam protests. This is also the time when people who are different are considered outsiders and treated differently. The author describes his characters as complex and complicated. There are betrayals and secrets.

Jacobo is the protagonist in this story and offers the reader a front-row seat to the happenings of the time. Most of the people who meet Jacobo think that he is of Hispanic origin, not realizing that he is Jewish. Nevertheless, Jacobo is considered an outsider. When there are meetings of free speech, he joins a group and is put in charge of documenting everything in a notebook. The Leader of this Free Speech Movement makes a point by doing some illegal and dangerous things. Mostly, Jacobo finds himself accepted by other “outsiders”.

When things go wrong, Jacobo is blamed and accused and finds himself in prison. His choice seems to be prison or going to Vietnam. Jacobo constantly documents many things in Vietnam. The author discusses prejudice and antisemitism. Also mentioned is there ate other”outsiders” that show bravery and courage.

The author discusses the importance of fairness, honesty, family, friends, and hope. I would highly recommend this thought-provoking book.

[Kymm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to the author Mr. David Hirshberg for the Advanced Readers Copy of Jacobo's Rainbow and the opportunity to read it prior to publication. This was a book that really hit me, it was powerful, important and very timely. But it was also a trip down memory lane for me. I was a young girl in the 60's, so not really paying attention to what was going on, but every night as we sat at our dinner table we had a war of our own going on. My lifelong Republican father and my college student liberal, protesting sister were at each others throats every night and neither would give an inch on their beliefs and feelings. My mom and sister would try to ignore it all, but I, even at my young age, was fascinated. I'd never seen anyone go up against my dad like she did and thought it must be something of great importance for her to be so adamant that he hear her. This became my introduction into activism, Funny thing, I now live with this sister whose become a role model for my current activism in everything from women's rights to civil rights and environmental concerns. Thank you Mr. Hirshberg for the memories.

Jacobo's Rainbow can be looked at in several different ways depending on the reader. One can read it as a fictional account of the Free Speech/ Anti Vietnam War Movement in America in the Sixties. Two it can be a metaphor for what's going on now in the United States with similar movements on college campuses and communities around the country, and three a look at an outsider who wants to belong and is susceptible to fall for false leaders. I was able to find relevance in all three while reading the book. It was eye opening and helped to make sense of some of what's happening today.

Jacobo the ultimate outsider who comes from a town that's literally not even on the map decides to attend the nearest university. He is a stranger in a strange land, but decides to make the best of it. He soon falls into a group of what he thinks are well intentioned people who are protesting against the Vietnam War and the silencing of free speech. He's 100% in and a willing participant until he realizes the leader is not who he portrays himself to be. Although by the time he reaches this realization the group has stormed an administration building on campus, taken policemen as hostages, violence has broken out on the streets, people have been hurt and Jacobo's figured out who his friends are and who was in it only for the attention. Along with a friend he's met along the way he's able to escape for a while until the law catches up with him for his participation in the violence and he's arrested. He no longer has the evidence he was responsible for carrying out of the siege the police seek thus leaving him with a tough choice. Either stay in prison or enlist in the Vietnam War. Jacobo decides to enlist where he spends two years in an unimaginable nightmare of death and destruction carried out in the name of the United States.

As I've said this is a powerful and important read. Normally when I finish a Kindle book I delete it from my library to free up space, however this one had such an impact on me and I highlighted so many wonderful quotes, phrases and lines I'll be saving this one for future reference. It truly was that good and more importantly I found it so telling of what were seeing now as the United States struggles with it's many issues and problems going forward after a tumultuous 4 years under a controversial, some say autocratic leader. I look forward to more by Mr. Hirshberg and found his writing to be most impressive and to have come from a body of real life experience with a knowledge of social issues one doesn't find often in fiction. I definitely say read this one folks! It will either bring back old memories or enlighten you to a time in our history that has, until now only been told from the side of those who fought against those crazy kids with long hair who sat around smoking pot while having sex with one another all day! Happy Reading!

[Fran Hawthorne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coming from an isolated town in NM that lacks electricity and paved roads, Jacobo Toledano arrives at the (fictitious) University of Taos in 1963 utterly unprepared for the student protests of the Sixties.

The charismatic student leader, Myles, thinks Jacobo is Navajo. That’s not true, but then again, almost everyone in this novel is hiding his or her identity or motives.

The heart of this novel is its inside look at the student takeover of the university administration building, led by Myles, and the strains that slowly deepen among the protestors. Ultimately, Jacobo will be torn by competing loyalties and identities.

It’s an intriguing plot, but what raises this book above the plot is the portrait of the Sixties – an era with a lot to teach us today.

[Joy Whiteside · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book took me by surprise. I discovered when I started it that I could not put it down. It is an amazing read that will grab you from the beginning and is an incredible story of self discovery during the 60's which was a decade full of challenges for a variety of people.

It moves along at a great pace which made for an easy read. The characters are truly amazing and within a few pages you feel as though you know them. No matter what happens you want to see them succeed in their dreams.

This book is a must read and needs to be on your TBR list, you will not be sorry that you did.

[Erica WhimsicalyMe · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of all take a look at the cover…..it just makes me happy.

In this novel Hirshberg takes on a trip through the ‘60’s and ‘70’s. It was a time of upheaval, the Vietnam War, and the Free Speech movement. Just imagine growing up or being at college during that time. That was the first thing that drew me into Jacobo’s Rainbow, the author seamlessly uses historical facts to create an immersive and realistic story of finding one’s self, a sense of belonging, and identity.

Of course I fell in love with Jacobo, so when every person he encounters assumes that he is hispanc while he is actually Jewish, I wanted to yell at them. Jacobo felt like an outsider in his life. He looked for a place to fit in and thought he found it when he joined the Freedom of Speech Movement. Jacobo was tasked with documenting the meetings. Unfortunately, the leaders of the movement do some very illegal things to bring attention to their cause. Of course, when law enforcement is involved Jacobo is blamed for everything and left with 2 choices prison or Vietnam.

The prominent themes in this story are: honesty, not giving up hope, the importance of family and true friends. I will not forget this story or Jacobo because this book was so thought-provoking and immersive.

I highly reccoment this historical fiction novel. I feel like the messages, the ethnic identity issues, gender, and the ongoing hate crimes and racism issues that continue across the nation are similar in so many ways to themes David Hirshberg addresses in the novel.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you to @figtreebks @otrpr fit my copy of the book to share and review!!

[WeLoveBigBooksAndWeCannotLie · Rating 5 out of 5]

We are so excited to be on the Blog Tour for Jacobo’s Rainbow by David Hirshberg! Thank you so much @otrpr blog tours for including us!
This story is set in the 1960’s and told from the perspective of Jacobo, a small town young man that enters a whole new world of Free Speech and cultural differences when he leaves his tiny New Mexico home bound for college.
The parallels between his 1960’s experiences and what has gone on in this world in the past year are very interesting.

[bohemianrhapsodyreads · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like historical fiction then then you will love this book! If you like the 1960s, the free speech movement, learning about the Vietnam War and soldiers returning from the war, Although this book is set in the 1960s, it mirrors a problem that still exists today, censorship and the suppression of free speech on college campuses and across the world.

I just reviewed Jacobo’s Rainbow by David Hirshberg. #NetGalley

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully written book about the freedom of speech which should hit home for everyone. This book takes place in the 1960s and you can feel everything these characters are dealing with in each page. Definitely emotional reading about the Vietnam War and those who served coming home or sadly not making it. This was extremely informative and I appreciate the authors attention to historical facts. While we may never agree with everyone or think the same way we should remember those who stood up for our freedom of speech and those who have and do serve in our military. This movement was a part of history we should never forget. I look forward to reading more books by this author.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

It always surprises me to see a book about the 1960s listed as historical fiction. In some ways, it doesn't seem that long ago -- those were the years that I grew up - from 12 to 21! Jacobo's Rainbow looks at those years - at the free-speech movement, the Vietnam protests and the anger that the college students had against the government. It also shows the racism and sexism that existed even among the same college students who wanted free speech. Unfortunately we still see a lot of this in America today.

Jacobo grew up in a small town and went to college at University of Taos in 1963. The students on campus believed that he was Indian because of his name and where he grew up. He was quickly caught up in the free speech movement on campus led by a charismatic man who seemed to have all the answers. Instead of being a real part of the action when the group takes over an administration building, he is handed a notebook and told to keep track of everything that is said during the protest because he's still considered an outsider. When things go terribly wrong with the building takeover, Jacobo is blamed and he sneaks out of town and heads home. When he's arrested he's given two choices - either jail or joining the military and going to Vietnam. He continues to chronicle his life and fifteen years after the original free speech protest, he looks back on his life and all of the changes that he's been through.

This book is about the protests of the 60s but, to me, more importantly it's about prejudice - against Jewish people, against women and against everyone who thinks differently than the leadership of the protest. This was a well written introspective book about what was going on in the 60s and how we see some of the same attitudes today. It gives the reader a lot to think about. I look forward to reading future books from this author.

Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.

[Mandy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This wasn’t a bad book by any means but much of it I found repetitive and too detailed, and my attention flagged on occasion. The protagonist is Jacobo, a young man from a remote community who arrives at the (fictional) University of Taos in 1963 where he is immediately swept up in the Free Speech Movement and the campus student protests, emblematic of so many turbulent student protests during that era. We learn early on that his involvement results in him being arrested and jailed, but he is released on the condition that he is drafted to Vietnam. It’s a coming-of-age story with some power to it, not least because Jacobo is very much an outsider and has to come to terms with all the new experiences he is presented with. It’s an interesting enough story but it didn’t really grip me as it didn’t seem to offer any new insights, and overall both style and content felt pretty bland and occasionally tedious.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an advanced copy of this book through goodreads. What a story! I loved it!

[Adrion Kusant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enlightening

The story line is interesting and enjoyable as well as informative. I learned a lot about the inside of a movement that I lived. I was a college student 1965-1968.

[Joshua A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed Hirshberg's narrtive and writing style, it's clear and articulate.
I also found his explication of the student uprising movements of the 1960s gave me insights into the student side of the confrontation that I had not previously understood. I graduated college in the 1950s and had little sympathy for the college protests, both anti-war and other issues. Those demonstrations had nothing in common with the ones with which I was familiar: spring feavor Pogo riots at Harvard, Ice Cream riots at Yale and Panty raids around the country. I believed that the protests were in reality a putsch for power, but now I understand it was also a vehicle for getting attention to the students views on moral issues of the day.
I down graded my rating of the book because the story had too many coincidences to be believable, a rquirement for historical ficiton. All but one of the main protaganists are revealed to be Sepahdic Jews from unlikely places. Early in the book Hirshberg gives us heavy handed hints of this plot "twist." Hertzel, the only Ashkenzi Jewish character, is a modern day Golem. Too transparent.
I also found the transition of focus of the book from the 1967 protests to the campus anti-semitism and hate speach of the late 1970s both an anchronism (BDS originated in 2005) and a forced transition.

[Heidi Slowinski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set against the backdrop of the Civil Rights movement and the war in Vietnam, Jacobo leaves his home in New Mexico for college where he joins efforts to register Black Americans to vote. But when his work lands him in jail, Jacobo is faced with a choice to be released on condition of being drafted. After intense fighting in Vietnam, Jacobo returns to the United States to resume his work documenting a country in the growing pains of social change.

Hirshberg covers a number of important themes in this work, including racism, free speech, and antisemitism. The story is told through the eyes of Jacobo, from a small town in New Mexico, who goes from an insulated, sheltered existence to an eye-opening world. The supporting characters are an interesting mix of personalities. Everyone in the group has a story and everyone seems to be trying to hide it.

The story is packed with a lot of action, setting a fast pace. Hirshberg uses vivid language, painting a realistic picture of history. The themes in this story are very timely with a number of parallels with the present. This was a very interesting read.

I’d like to thank the author for the free copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

[Jacquie Herz · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Jacobo’s Rainbow, a superb historical novel by David Hirshberg (https://amzn.to/2WjcJBu), we relive the beginnings of the 1960s revolution through the eyes of Jacobo Toledano, a student entering his freshman year at a fictitious university. Having been sheltered all his life in remote Arroyo Grande in New Mexico—a village that doesn’t exist— Jacobo becomes involved with the organizers of the freedom of speech movement on campus. Myles, the rally’s major spokesperson, has given Jacobo the task of recording in a notebook all the details of the protest. At first it is a peaceful demonstration. As the peaceful becomes violent and out of control, Jacobo realizes it’s Myles who is not only encouraging this turn of events, but also that his passions are self-motivated, and not aligned with the best of everyone else’s intentions.

Through Hirshberg’s attention to the historic details of that time, his description of the story’s actions, and to his characters, who I grew to appreciate and root for, this book is a must read. A must read because—in finding so much of this history repeating today—Jacobo’s Rainbow is also a warning flag for our future.

[Arnie]

Jacobo's Rainbow is by far and away the best book I've read in 2021. David Hirshberg may be a relatively unknown author, but his dazzling prose and illumination of the American Jewish experience suggests that Hirshberg should have the sort of reputation accorded to Philip Roth or Michael Chabon.

The beautiful language, fascinating characters, riveting narrative and surprising reveals make Jacobo's Rainbow a real page-turner. Like Roth, Hirshberg's male characters are rendered more completely than his female characters. But this is an inconsequential criticism for a book that I enjoyed immensely - and which continues to occupy my thoughts many days after reading it. The next time it's my turn to make a selection for book group, we'll be reading Jacobo's Rainbow.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first, David Hirshberg’s “Jacobo’s Rainbow” (Fig Tree Books) doesn’t seem to have a great deal of Jewish content. However, readers may note some important clues the author places early in the novel when narrator Jacobo Toledano speaks of certain customs that his family and others in their small village in New Mexico follow.
See the rest of my review at https://www.thereportergroup.org/past....

[Dawn Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mixed feelings

This was a Goodreads win for me. I enjoyed the story. The main problem I had with this book was that it seemed to fast forward and skip over parts. If this was a memoir then it might kind of make sense but as a work of fiction I feel like the author left me hanging on certain things.

[Alexander Jay · Rating 5 out of 5]

A deep and penetrating look at the '60's in America by an elegant and skilled novelist. Read this delightful novel in two sittings as the suspense kept me turning page after page. A great and insightful read.

[Jennifer M. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall, I felt kinda meh about this book. Not necessarily bad, but not particularly memorable either. Giving it 2.5/5 Stars.

[Esther Amini · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eloquently written and so relevant to today's turbulent culture. Esther Amini