The Finkler Question by Howard Jacobson

Why I chose to read this book:  My book club selected it for our January meeting.

How I first learned about this book: My friend Cheryl chose it for book club.
Where I got it: Borders at Northlake. I had a coupon.
What format I'm reading it in: Paperback. 307 pages.
What my husband made for dinner tonight: Shitake and Bacon with Penne

What I think:

This was not a page-turner. It's one of those books where every word is carefully chosen and every sentence carefully crafted, so you have to read it slowly and savor everything. I could have loved it, but its themes became tedious. It was very hard to get into, then it started to get good, then it got boring again. The ending was unsatisfying.

The book is about three men who are friends. Two are Jewish and have both recently lost their wives. The other is constantly looking for his soul mate. What it's really about is what it means to be Jewish, antisemitism, Israel and Palestine. I don't imagine anyone not Jewish would be interested at all.

It's also a very male-centered book. Men talking about women, aging, Jews, Israel. I wasn't interested in what they had to say. However, the writing is beautiful, the characters are realistic, and many of the lines of dialog are so funny I laughed out loud. But I think, only funny if you're Jewish.