3 Review(s)

The Finkler Question, by Howard Jacobson, is a soul-stirring comical story of three Jewish friends. The novel won the prestigious Man Booker Prize in the year 2010. Summary of the Book The Finkler Question is an insightful story of three Jewish friends - Julian Treslove, Sam Finkler, and Libor Sevcik. Julian Treslove is a former producer of BBC radio. He believes that he is more Jewish than any other Jew in the world! Sam Finkler is a famous Jewish author. He is an expert in philosophy and a TV celebrity. Libor Sevcik is a Jewish Czech teacher, who also writes a Hollywood gossip column. One night, Julian gets robbed by a woman while he was coming back from the dinner at Libor’s splendid house in the heart of London. After a nostalgic get-together of the best friends, the attack leaves Julian guilty and regretful. The lady, after robbing Julian, had hissed at him, saying “You Ju”. What does it mean? Also, he is in love with Hephzibah, Libor’s niece’s granddaughter, but he keeps having recurring nightmares of his dead wife Tyler. What is Julian scared about? What is he guilty for? Through the main characters of this novel, Howard tries to paint a picture of how Jews in contemporary England struggle to preserve their rich legacy, and how frequently they fall prey to the Modern Anti-Semitism. About Howard Jacobson Howard Jacobson is a prolific author and journalist. Most of his works have strong British Jewish roots. He attended the Stand Grammar School at Whitefield. He later studied English at the Downing College in Cambridge. He served as a professor in the University of Sydney, Wolverhampton Polytechnic and at the Selwyn College in Cambridge. Howard has also hosted shows like Howard Jacobson Takes on the Turner, The South Bank Show, Creation, and My Son the Novelist. Some of his most notable books are The Very Model of a Man, In the Land of Oz, Seriously Funny: From the Ridiculous to the Sublime, Peeping Tom, and Coming from Behind.