A Monk Jumped Over a Wall
by Jay Nussbaum
Published by Toby Press
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Reviewed by Julie Failla Earhart
J.J. Spencer is on top of his game. He’s not all that happy, but he has a good job, and in Manhattan, that means a lot. He is nearing the end of his first year as a lawyer at Greer, Babcock and Drew. The firm buys bad home loans for pennies-on-the-dollar, then forecloses, flips the house, and makes a bundle of money.
But something happens to J.J. on this day. The couple that sat across the conference room table got to J.J. While out for lunch, he stops by their table and gives them the one small piece of advice that could save their home. What he doesn’t suspect is that the couple will send him flowers as a thank you with a not-so-cleverly-disguised word choice that gives the big shots at the firm reason to fire him and have him disbarred.
And so begins Jay Nussbaum’s second novel, A Monk Jumped Over A Wall. It’s during his disbarment hearings that he begins to question why he even became a lawyer. He’s not really fond of it, doesn’t have the passion for it that his ex-teacher and now close friend does–and basically feels like he doesn’t belong.
Told in first person and alternating between the present day and J.J.’s years in law school, Nussbaum manages to pull off an extraordinary tale, rooted in of all things a soup. “A Monk Jumped Over a Wall” is a famous soup, served in few places, and extremely expensive. The myth attached to it is that a monk smelled the soup cooking, jumped over a wall to have a taste, and was changed forever. Because the monk broke the laws of the order, he couldn’t go back to the monastery so he went on to live the life he was meant to live. A passionate life.
While it’s obvious to the reader what J.J. is going to learn and the ultimate question behind A Monk Jumped Over A Wall, it’s a rarity that a reader can sit back and enjoy watching the protagonist figure it out.
Armchair Interviews says: An excellent book just waiting for you to pick it up.