Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Opening Sentence: The Finkler Question



He should have seen it coming.

-- The Finkler Question by Howard Jacobson.

If ever there was an opening sentence with infinite possibility, that is it.  I am now half-way through this Booker winner and enjoying every minute of it.  The audio version is particularly entertaining because the reader, Steven Crossley, is excellent.

This is a story about three friends -- two school buddies, now grown, and their former professor.  It is about friendship, rivalry, marriage, love, mourning, and being Jewish in modern-day London.  It is also about misbehaving middle-aged men, which is my favorite fiction genre.  The only thing missing for me is that none of the characters over drink.  Add a touch of dipsomania and it would be an all-time favorite for me.   

This is one of my Booker choices for the 2012 Battle of the Prizes, British Version