[In Jacob Have I Loved] Paterson weaves her background into a colorful but overly detailed canvas, sensitively picturing Louise as a strong-willed, strident, haunting characters. The first-person narrative, strongest in Louise's early years, loses some of its momentum during her gradual evolution into adulthood, which happens without benefit of confrontation. More a portrait than a full-bodied novel, this nevertheless stirs the blood. (pp. 255-56)

Barbara Elleman, in a review of "Jacob Have I Loved," in Booklist, Vol. 77, No. 3, October 1, 1980, pp. 255-56.