The Finkler Question

This extraordinary, funny, and relentless novel showcases one of the finest contemporary writers in all his genius. When it was released, many critics considered Jacobson's story disrespectful to Jewish culture and his writing shoddy. On the other hand, most considered the book a masterpiece, brimming with irony and sarcasm, and that the author had enormous success in making Jews laugh at themselves. Former BBC radio producer and depressed Julian Treslove and Sam Finkler, a philosopher, writer, and television personality, are old friends. Sam is Jewish; Julian is not. Despite their up-and-down relationship and very different lifestyles, they never lost touch with each other—nor with former professor Libor Sevcik, a Czech Jew always more concerned with what's happening in the world than with test scores. One day, after dinner, Treslove is mugged in an unusual situation. After that, his entire sense of who and what he is will undergo a slow and inescapable change. The Finkler Question is a compelling story of friendship and loss, exclusion and belonging, and of wisdom, humanity, and maturity.