First published in 1966 by Margaret Laurence, a Canadian author, A Jest of God tells of a 34-year-old schoolteacher named Rachel Cameron who lives with her mother.
Rachel feels trapped in the deceit and pettiness of her small town that includes both her own and others’ wrongdoings. She wants to meet someone else who is rebellious as she is, and when she confronts love and death through a summer affair, Rachel finally earns the freedom she desperately wants and feels that she needs.
Even though Rachel is in her 30s, A Jest of God is the narrative of her second coming to age as she has to truly become an adult to take care of her aging mother.
A Jest of God is a winner of the Governor General's Literary Award and is also the basis of the movie Rachel, Rachel.
