RaveThe Independent (UK)...a thoroughly enjoyable read. For a literature snob and a language obsessive...there is a lot to feast on; but for someone looking for an emotionally honest storyline, the book also delivers. Live a Little is about growing old, but it’s also about gender, race, love and politics, penned in a playful, genuine, sometimes borderline offensive way, that is at times reminiscent of Zadie Smith’s White Teeth or On Beauty ... I found myself caring deeply for the characters, and even shedding a tear on two separate occasions. The book also comes to a surprisingly tender conclusion and delivers some extremely astute home truths. That Jacobson manages all of this while populating his novel with ninety-plus-year-olds feels impressive, though his point seems to be that it shouldn’t be. I found myself convinced.
Kristen Roupenian
RaveIndependentYou Know You Want This is full of surprises ... The collection is bold, bizarre and defiant, like a lot of its central characters ... equal parts Brothers Grimm and The Human Centipede ... If all of this sounds completely insane, it is – but wonderfully, humorously so ... If you’re looking for more \'Cat Person\'-esque commentary on relationships, You Know You Want This has its moments ... stylistic echoes of Sally Rooney’s Conversations with Friends ... Like Netflix’s You, it does a good job of making you secretly root for an obsessive, borderline dangerous loser of a guy you’d never want to admit you were rooting for ... vividly imagined ... a highly accomplished collection. It does also feel like there’s something in there for everyone – but it will inevitably end up being something you never knew you actually wanted.
