The Books of Jacob

The Books of Jacob is written mostly from the perspective of an unnamed third-person, omniscient narrator. Interspersed throughout the text are occasional first-person examples of narration which purport to be primary sources from the time period. Alongside the letters, memories, and documents, Nahman’s writing is the foremost of these first-person interjections. His so-called “scraps” are stories and memories from Nahman’s life which he hopes to one day turn into a hagiography of Jacob. He wants to share his memories with the world so that everyone can come to the same conclusion that he has reached: Jacob is the Messiah. In this respect, Nahman is a true believer. He has absolute faith in Jacob, even when Jacob is abandoning him or castigating him. Nahman’s scraps reveal his utter devotion to Jacob as he is willing to include anecdotes and memories which are deeply embarrassing to him, simply because they show Jacob as a strong leader or a wise man. Nahman prostates himself in prose, showing that he does not believe himself worthy of the man he has deemed to be the Messiah.

At the same time, however, Nahman‘s scraps contain an inherent