The Exiled Times of a Tibetan Jew (Polygon, 2005)

An Independent on Sunday Book of the Year

“Mo is the son of Tibetan Jews, an eccentric community presided over by the charismatic Rabbi Chod, pet-shop owner and self-professed reincarnation of Moses. From the moment of his birth Mo possesses a fully formed adult consciousness and is able to work out not only that his father is already dead, but that his mother is severely ill; daily he watches her consume large quantities of pills: “Retovir, AZT nucleoside” and “Epivir, 3TC nucleoside”. Before long she too succumbs to the Aids virus that killed her husband. Feeling betrayed by life, Mo longs “to escape its pulse… I wanted everything and nothing, existence and non-existence, forwards and backwards”; and his wish is granted. This novel sees Mo live life in reverse, watching his parents grow younger, seeing the moment when his father contracted HIV but being helpless to prevent it; and, in a grotesque twist, completing the cycle which leads to his own death.

If this sounds at all implausible or maudlin, fear not. Simons’ reverse narrative isn’t an intellectual game; it makes the plight of Mo and his family all the more poignant, and he can be extremely funny. An early scene has Chod trying to persuade an official that Mo’s father should be allowed a sky-burial (where the body is dismembered and left exposed for 49 days to be picked clean by vultures) on Hampstead Heath: “He’d be polished off in no time.” Simons has to be the most exciting new writer to appear this year.”

- Independent on Sunday

“Here is a new young voice in British fiction – entertaining, provocative and original. Jake Wallis Simons will surely prove a name to remember.”

- Beryl Bainbridge

“Oh what a corker! A surreal and innovative novel, asking more questions than I could ever have asked of it; and for its originality and humour I recommend this to all those who want to read something really different.”

- New Books Magazine

“A circular fable that stats with the birth of Mo, who grows up as everyone around him gets younger. Each day procedes in normal time, but when he wakes up the next day, it is the day before yesterday. Get your head round that, and the creation of the Tibetan Jewish religion, and relax. This is great fun.”

- Palimpsest

“Funny and enjoyable, this novel takes the shape of a circular fable. We begin with the birth of Mo, born to a poor immigrant Tibetan couple living in London, but as Mo grows up, everyone around him gets younger. Each individual day proceeds in normal time, but when he wakes up the next day, it is the day before yesterday. This means that Mo experiences the end of every relationship before it begins or he meets people who know all about his “future” which has actually taken place in the past. Needless to say, this makes things difficult for him, especially with girls. The novel ends ingeniously, with a death and a rebirth, where, promisingly, time seems to be going forward for Mo at last.

Life is complicated enough but Mo also has to bear with his insufferable cousin Rabbi Chod, who has created the Tibetan Jewish religion. The real Jewish establishment will have nothing to do with him, but Chod is happy enough with his tiny inner London congregation, holding services in his pet shop and pronouncing, for a fee, on which Jewish figure of history his motley supplicants are descended from.

Although this humour is the mainstay of the novel, there is some poignancy as poor Mo learns to accept strange occurrences and recognise them as endings rather than beginnings. The time frame is cleverly sustained throughout and the writing is true to the extraordinary logic of the story. Perhaps this is not quite in the top echelons of fabular contemporary literature (Life of Pi, for instance, is a deeper and more enthralling fable), but it is great fun.”

- Amazon.co.uk