The Finkler Question is one of six novels shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize for Fiction. According to the reviews on the back cover. Better, perhaps, to go through life without knowing happiness at all because that way you had less to mourn? The novel won the Man Booker Prize. Would n. I don't even have much to say about this book. Jacobson was the oldest winner since William Golding who won the prize in 1980, aged 69, for Rites of Passage. To be honest, it was downright obsessive. When I started the Finkler Question, I had images of Saul Bellow, Philip Roth, Mel Brooks and Woody Allen floating in my head. Achetez et téléchargez ebook The Finkler Question (English Edition): Boutique Kindle - Genre Fiction : Amazon.fr The Finkler Question (English Edition) eBook: Jacobson, Howard: Amazon.fr Passer au … Published by Bloomsbury 'He should have seen it coming. Now, both Libor and Finkler are recently widowed, and with Treslove, his chequered and unsuccessful record with women rendering him an honorary third widower, they dine at Libor's grand, central London apartment. This is a novel that deserved to. by Bloomsbury. Maybe this is meant to be read by a certain sector of people (i.e. How do you survive a single hour, a single minute, a single second of that knowledge? The Finkler Question is a scorching story of exclusion and belonging, justice and love, ageing, wisdom and humanity. The Finkler Question is about three friends. FQ was still funny, but the characters toward the end seemed a tad too cut-out and caricatured, too formula-driven, and too tired. What to make of this? Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. my 2nd booker prize winner (2010) in about as many days. Howard Jacobson was born in Manchester, England, and educated at Cambridge. Now, mind you, this isn't because I'm an anti-Semite. I kept wanting to quit this unlikeable cramped book, but I didn't, because I kept waiting to see what the Booker Prize committee saw in it. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of, Published Things that seemed like they might be there to be funny, I found depressing and over-o. It's very different but very interesting. which seems like a rational American take on this very British book. It covers a lot of area and is essentially a comic novel with deeper meaning and tinged with sadness. Jewish readers: did you relate and like this book? "[1], The novel won the Man Booker Prize in 2010[1] and was the first comic novel to win the prize since Kingsley Amis's The Old Devils in 1986. The characters in this book reminded me of the Ricky Gervais version of The Office--highly exaggerated circumstances, painfully flawed people, and the joke goes on and on and on, to ludicrous, nearly unbearable lengths...and all of it really, really funny, once you stop being offended. But I liked it well enough, despite its relentlessness. At 11:30 pm that night, Treslove is attacked while walking home. Yes, my thoughts exactly. Need another excuse to treat yourself to a new book this week? The Finkler Question was funny, clever, absurd and seemed like it might just belong on the shelf of great Jewish novels. The author began by making a very big deal about the pain of being a Jew in the modern world and ended the book with an impassioned plea to see Jews for what they really are, half right and half wronged, like the rest of us. Treslove gets into a relationship with Hephzibah, the great-grandniece of Libor, and is haunted by his adulterous affair with Tyler, Finkler's deceased wife. Despite a prickly relationship and very different lives, they've never quite lost touch with each other - or with their former teacher, Libor Sevcik, a Czechoslovakian always more concerned with the wider world than with exam results. What issues are resolved, and what remains unresolved? This is perhaps the funniest book I've ever read; it's also seriously brilliant. The parameters were too constrained to comfortably contain Julian, the main character's obsession with Jews and his wishful wondering if, by any quirk of fate, he could have something in his ancestry that would allow him to lay claim to being partly Jewish. In the meantime, Finkler joins an "ASHamed" organization which favours the Palestinians over the Israelis over their land disputes. Way too contrived for me. His many novels include, “How do you go on knowing that you will never again - not ever, ever - see the person you have loved? In my culture, anti-Semitism is merely something other people do to other people, or nothing at all. Was it meant to be satirical? It was even Jewish in the title, though you won’t appreciate the reference until you’re a bit of the way into it. I picked it up because I hold Wodehouse in such esteem for his comedic novels (not that I was expecting Wodehouse here, he just introduced me to this category of writing). Hey guys! Good that you got it's sense of humour, most of it at the main characters. Let there be nary a doubt, this book is first, foremost, and damn near exclusively about being Jewish. Julian Treslove is a 49 year old Gentile living in present day London whose life has been a series of disappointments: he has movie star good looks but can't seem to sustain a relationship with a woman for more than a few months; he was let go from his production job at the BBC for his overly morbid programs on Radio 3, a station known for its solemnity; and he has fathered two boys, who ridicule and despise him. What I don't appreciate is being bombarded with the words 'Jew', 'Ju', 'Julian' with freakish consistency on every page. Reviews “'A real giant. touching and funny. Overall just baffled that this won the Man Booker Prize. Because I'm not. The New Yorker gave this book an extremely cranky review that might be summarized something like "but this never would happen in real life!" I have just started reading this book - read about 20 pages. So he should have been prepared for this one…’ Julian Treslove, a professionally unspectacular former BBC radio producer, and Sam Finkler, a popular Jewish philosopher, writer and television personality, are old school friends. Several people have used the word wise, and that's a good word. Despite a prickly relationship and very different lives, they've never quite lost touch with each other - or with their former teacher, Libor Sevcik, a Czechoslovakian always more concerned wi. We've got you covered with the buzziest new releases of the day. Why didn't I like it: there was a lack of story; the characters were unappealing and two-dimensional - do people like this really exist and if so, why write about them? The Finkler Question Howard Jacobson, 2010 Bloomsbury Group 307 pp. It seems he is mugged by a woman who hisses the phrase "You Ju" at him. The Finkler Question is a scorching story of friendship and loss, exclusion and belonging, and of the wisdom and humanity of maturity. Bec. Mind numbingly boring, self indulgent navel gazing, attempted intellectualisation of mid life crisis wankery. Such a sea of female misery.”, Jewish Quarterly-Wingate Prize Nominee (2011), International Dublin Literary Award Nominee (2012). Sometimes bitter coffee secretes more flavor on palate especially if we cling to trite routine of sweet one's. A momentary pause to search it up on Google might help the more curious and interested mind. empowered me with a nuanced perspective and vocabulary with which to challenge prevailing or simplistic notions of the Jewish identity. Why didn't I like it: there was a lack of story; the characters were unappealing and two-dimensional - do people like this really exist and if so, why write about them? Our of 5 members of our book club, only two finished and one ( anew member) said that she had thought to herself that if this was the type of book we read, she would quit! Even worse, he compares poorly to his friend, rival, and former school classmate Sa. The Finkler Question was funny, clever, absurd and seemed like it might just belong on the shelf of great Jewish novels. 1 star seems harsh but honestly there wasn't really anything I liked about this book other than the writing, sometimes. And I found it to be funny. presents a difficult topic in a hitting and fearless fashion. The reviews said it was extremely funny, but I didn't laugh or smile once. The New Yorker gave this book an extremely cranky review that might be summarized something like "but this never would happen in real life!" Amazon Exclusive: A Q&A with Author Howard Jacobson I'm just kind of confused by it? Why didn't I get it? I appreciate that unambiguously. What is the tone at the end of the novel? He should have seen it coming. What I don't appreciate is being bombarded with the words 'Jew', 'Ju', 'Julian' with freakish consistency on every page. Even worse, he compares poorly to his friend, rival, and former school classmate Sam Finkler, a pop philosopher, radio and television personality, and author of best selling books such as The Existentialist in the Kitchen and John Duns Scotus and Self Esteem: A Manual for the Menstruating, which have made him wealthy and respected, with a beautiful wife and three successful children. The characters were very weird and gross and their negative traits didn't seem like they existed to make a point. They dine together at Libor's grand apartment in central London: it is a sweetly painful evening of reminiscences. We have other people to hate. I found this book laborious and slow moving. I tried really hard to read it until I realized that I had not got one minute of enjoyment out of it. I had no clue what I was signing up for when I began reading this. The Finkler Question is a funny, furious, unflinching novel of friendship and loss, exclusion and belonging, and the wisdom and humanity of maturity. I never did. “The Finkler Question is characterized by [Jacobson's] structuring skill and unsimplifying intelligence--this time picking through the connections and differences, hardly unremarked but given fresh treatment here, between vicariousness and parasitism, and between Jewishness, Judaism and Zionism.” His life had been one mishap after another. those on book prize committees) of which I am not a member. the finkler question by Howard Jacobson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 12, 2010 Elegiac—but also humorous—meditation on life’s big questions: life, death, the nature of … The Finkler Question (longlisted for this year's Man Booker prize) is full of wit, warmth, intelligence, human feeling and understanding. His life had been one mishap after another. Treslove finds he has tears enough for the unbearable sadness of both his friends' losses. Why did this book win a prize? It was looking for Herzog, but in the end found a book that could have been written by Jonathan Safran Foer (not a high compliment). The novel coalesces into an ending that brings together the disparate narrative strands amongst the three central male characters. What was the point of that? It is much cleverer and more complicated and about much more difficult things than it immediately lets you know. Happy Reading! To see what your friends thought of this book. 29 quotes from The Finkler Question: ‘How do you go on knowing that you will never again - not ever, ever - see the person you have loved? His life had been one mishap after another. Despite a prickly relationship and very different lives, they remain good friends, keeping contact with their former teacher Libor Sevcik, a Czech Jew nearing ninety who once tutored in Czech history and worked part-time as a Hollywood gossip columnist. Jacobson, 68, who remains far better known in his native England than in this country, has been a prolific writer of comic novels, mostly about Jews and Jewish identity, since 1983. There are three main protagonists; Sam Finkler (a journalist and TV pundit), Julian Treslove, an old school friend and former BBC employee (now Brad Pitt lookalike) and Libor Sevcik; a former teacher and friend. So why read it? Good that you got it's sense of humour, most of it at the main characters. After much cogitation, Treslove believes what the assailant meant was "You, Jew", sparking a long-running obsession with all things and people Jewish – which he refers to as "Finkler". ISBN-13: 9781608196111. I had to read something more contemporary and since this won the booker prize I just bought it. Praise for The Finkler Question ‘Like all of [Jacobson’s] work, The Finkler Question has a kind of energy that you have to look at through your fingers, like an eclipse. every time I put it down I had a strange yearning to call my grandmother, to remember and to be close. The author began by making a very big deal about the pain of being a Jew in the modern world and ended the book with an impassioned plea to see Jews for what they really are, half right and half wronged, like the rest of us. I don't like the idea that literature is written "for" or "not for" any people. It was looking for Herzog, but in the end found a book that could have been. Julian Treslove, a professionally unspectacular and disappointed BBC worker, and Sam Finkler, a popular Jewish philosopher, writer and television personality, are old school friends. Howard Jacobson's comedy about anti-Semitism, "The Finkler Question," won the $79,000 Man Booker Prize for Fiction in London Tuesday, beating "Parrot & Olivier in America," by two-time winner Peter Carey, and Emma Donoghue's popular "Room." Things that seemed like they might be there to be funny, I found depressing and over-obvious. I had no clue what I was signing up for when I began reading this. The Finkler Question is a scorching story of friendship and loss, exclusion and belonging, and of the wisdom and humanity of maturity. As a Nobel Prize lite it tends to award writers for what they mean rather than what they write. The Finkler Question (Book) : Jacobson, Howard : Julian Treslove, a professionally unspectacular and disappointed BBC worker, and Sam Finkler, a popular Jewish philosopher, writer and television personality, are old school friends. Funny, furious, unflinching, this extraordinary novel shows one … Unfortunately, this momentum didn't continue. Yet, simultaneously, the mugging, which is mentioned repetitively never gets fully developed or explained or even suggested for explanation. I never reviewed this book after I read it --- (read it ways back when it first came out) --but another GR's friend just brought this book to my attention. Let there be nary a doubt, this book is first, foremost, and damn near exclusively about being Jewish. See all 8 questions about The Finkler Question…. Two are Jewish, one is a gentile who is obsessed with Jewishness / convinced of his Jewishness / attempting to transcend Jewishness and become some sort of uber-Jew. August 2nd 2010 I appreciate that unambiguously. It's a sweetly painful evening of reminiscence in which all three remove themselves to a time before they had loved and lost; a time before they had fathered children, before the devastation of separations, before they had prized anything greatly enough to fear the loss of it. Don't let the philistines of this pitiful site ruin it for you. Everyday low prices on a huge range of new releases and classic fiction. Nobody should be singled out for persecution, I agree. A good book, just not a great novel. I've always been suspicious of the Booker Prize: a solid, stick-in-the-mud reward to literary doggedness and middlebrow worthiness that guarantees reading matter for the leafy home counties if nothing else. Finkler Question humour indeed fulfi ls this redeeming function and allows Jacobson to tackle the dark forces of anti-Semitism. Now, both Libor and Finkler are recently widowed, and Treslove's chequered and unsuccessful record with women qualify him as an honorary third widower. The novel won the Man Booker Prize. The Finkler Question is a scorching story of exclusion and belonging, justice and love, ageing, wisdom and humanity. I can vibe with an unlikeable character if it serves a purpose but none of these characters were people I would root for. The reviews said it was extremely funny, but I didn't laugh or smile once. Devoid of any cultural prejudice, I think I am the kind of reader the author would have liked to woo. Two are recently widowed, the other aspires to … Overall just baffled that this won the Man Booker Prize. The characters were very weird and gross and their negative traits didn't seem like they existed to make a point. Funny, furious, unflinching, this extraordinary novel shows one … Unfortunately, this momentum didn't continue. Start by marking “The Finkler Question” as Want to Read: Error rating book. Would not recommend. I'm just kind of confused by it? So he should have been prepared for this one... Julian Treslove, a professionally unspectacular former BBC radio producer, and Sam Finkler, a popular Jewish philosopher, writer and television personality, are … It was a Booker winner in 2010. It was then, thinking of his friend Sam Finkler, that he adopted Finkler’s name for his own silent euphemism: “It took away the stigma, he thought. Did he succeed? To create our... Julian Treslove, a professionally unspectacular and disappointed BBC worker, and Sam Finkler, a popular Jewish philosopher, writer and television personality, are old school friends. (307) Why does this humorous novel end on a note of mourning? And it's that very evening, at exactly 11:30pm, as Treslove hesitates a moment outside the window of the oldest violin dealer in the country as he walks home, that he is attacked. Treslove thinks of all Jews as Finklers, hence the title. Download The Finkler Question Study Guide Subscribe Now Introduced as a dreamer whose dreams are largely dramatic, romantic, and rather fatal, Julian Treslove is on the brink of change. Cultural prejudice, I found depressing and over-obvious be read by a sector... 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Palestinians over the Israelis over their land disputes female misery. ”, Jewish Quarterly-Wingate Prize Nominee 2012! Philistines of this pitiful site ruin it for you I did n't laugh or smile once mourning! N'T it seem as if Jacobson is trying too hard to be funny furious! '' any people take on this very British book I can vibe with an unlikeable character if serves... Minute of enjoyment out of it whole sense of humour, most of.!, “ so many unhappy women out there does not have any idea about Jews etc book 've! Had no clue what I was signing up for when I began reading this book - read about 20.... Seem like they existed to make a point one of our finest writers at his brilliant best helps keep..., furious, unflinching, this extraordinary novel shows one of six novels shortlisted for the sadness! Do you survive a single second of that knowledge but none of these characters were people I would root.. Than it immediately lets you know 1980, aged 69, for Rites of Passage August 2nd by! Existed to make a point: did you relate and like this book is first, foremost, damn. Transcendence ; anti-Semitism ; anti-Zionism.. through this one single hour, a single minute, a single,! It for you of friendship and loss, exclusion and belonging, and what he is slowly. On palate especially if we cling to trite routine of sweet one.. Prejudice, I agree Question ” as want to read it until I realized that had. On spring break, ageing, wisdom and humanity Dublin Literary award Nominee ( 2011,! Hard to read to search it up on Google might help the more curious and interested mind found book.

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