Bookclub-in-a-box Discusses The Finkler Question By Howard Jacobson (book Club In A Box: The Complete Package For Readers And Leaders)

In The Finkler Question, Howard Jacobson provocatively puts forward the stereotypical arguments of culture, religion, politics, and anti-Semitism, presenting both the Jewish and non-Jewish sides at once. The story centers on Julian Treslove, a Gentile, so physically non-descript that people have trouble recognizing him. He has been wrongly identified as Brad Pitt and Colin Firth, but never Adam Sandler or Billy Crystal. Non-Jewish Treslove also has no distinct inner identity, so perhaps he can be forgiven for trying to find one as a Jew. It all begins when Treslove is violently mugged in front of a violin shop and believes that he is the victim of an anti-Semitic assault. After all, he had just come from dinner with his two close Jewish friends, Sam Finkler and Libor Sevcik. In some of the novel's funniest scenes, worthy of the humour of Woody Allen and Groucho Marx, Julian Treslove justifies his brush with aggression as an extreme case of mistaken identity. Using his three distinctly different characters, Jacobson considers who is and isn't a Jew and whether or not Jews can be anti-Semitic. More significantly, Jacobson asks who (Jew or non-Jew) has permission to discuss these touchy topics. Jacobson juxtaposes his title, The Finkler Question, against "the Jewish Question," the offensive phrase made famous by Hitler as he put forward his Holocaust's Final Solution. Jacobson lays out the whole conversation to be considered from all sides and perspectives. This novel was rewarded for its courageous outlook by being awarded the prestigious Man-Booker prize, 2010. The Bookclub-in-a-Box guide for Harold Jacobson's book will spark discussion around the following topics: How can a Jew be defined and does one definition fit all? Can religious and cultural intolerance be overcome by Jews and non-Jews alike? Is it possible to discuss the "Jewish" question in a productive and rational manner, without falling victim to raw emotion? Every Bookclub-in-a-Box discussion guide includes complete coverage of the themes and symbols, writing style and interesting background information on the novel and the author. In The Finkler Question, Howard Jacobson provocatively puts forward the stereotypical arguments of culture, religion, politics, and anti-Semitism, presenting both the Jewish and non-Jewish sides at once. The story centers on Julian Treslove, a Gentile, so physically non-descript that people have trouble recognizing him. He has been wrongly identified as Brad Pitt and Colin Firth, but never Adam Sandler or Billy Crystal. Non-Jewish Treslove also has no distinct inner identity, so perhaps he can be forgiven for trying to find one as a Jew. It all begins when Treslove is violently mugged in front of a violin shop and believes that he is the victim of an anti-Semitic assault. After all, he had just come from dinner with his two close Jewish friends, Sam Finkler and Libor Sevcik. In some of the novel s funniest scenes, worthy of the humour of Woody Allen and Groucho Marx, Julian Treslove justifies his brush with aggression as an extreme case of mistaken identity. Using his three distinctly different characters, Jacobson considers who is and isn t a Jew and whether or not Jews can be anti-Semitic. More significantly, Jacobson asks who (Jew or non-Jew) has permission to discuss these touchy topics. Jacobson juxtaposes his title, The Finkler Question, against the Jewish Question, the offensive phrase made famous by Hitler as he put forward his Holocaust s Final Solution. Jacobson lays out the whole conversation to be considered from all sides and perspectives. This novel was rewarded for its courageous outlook by being awarded the prestigious Man-Booker prize, 2010. The Bookclub-in-a-Box guide for Harold Jacobson s book will spark discussion around the following topics: How can a Jew be defined and does one definition fit all? Can religious and cultural intolerance be overcome by Jews and non-Jews alike? Is it possible to discuss the Jewish question in a productive and rational manner, without falling victim to raw emotion? Every Bookclub-in-a-Box discussion guide includes complete coverage of the themes and symbols, writing style and interesting background information on the novel and the author. "Julian Treslove, a professionally unspectacular and disappointed BBC worker, and Sam Finkler, a popular Jewish philosopher, writer and television personality, are old school friends. 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. 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. 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. Better, perhaps, to go through life without knowing happiness at all because that way you had less to mourn? Treslove finds he has tears enough for the unbearable sadness of both his friends' losses. 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. After this, his whole sense of who and what he is will slowly and ineluctably change. The Finkler Question is a scorching story of exclusion and belonging, justice and love, aging, wisdom and humanity. Funny, furious, unflinching, this extraordinary novel shows one of our finest writers at his brilliant best"--Publisher description

Winner of the 2010 Man Booker Prize

Julian Treslove, a professionally unspectacular former BBC radio producer, and Sam Finkler, a popular Jewish philosopher, writer, and television personality, are old school friends. Despite a prickly relationship and very different lives, they've never lost touch with each other, or with their former teacher, Libor Sevcik.

Dining together one night at Sevcik's apartment—the two Jewish widowers and the unmarried Gentile, Treslove—the men share a sweetly painful evening, reminiscing on a time before they had loved and lost, before they had prized anything greatly enough to fear the loss of it. But as Treslove makes his way home, he is attacked and mugged outside a violin dealer's window. Treslove is convinced the crime was a misdirected act of anti-Semitism, and in its aftermath, his whole sense of self will ineluctably change.

The Finkler Question is a funny, furious, unflinching novel of friendship and loss, exclusion and belonging, and the wisdom and humanity of maturity.

Winner of the 2010 Man Booker Prize

Winner of the 2010 Man Booker Prize. Julian Treslove, a professionally unspectacular former BBC radio producer, and Sam Finkler, a popular Jewish philosopher, writer, and television personality, are old school friends. Despite a prickly relationship and very different lives, they've never lost touch with each other, or with their former teacher, Libor Sevcik. Dining together one night at Sevcik's apartment - the two Jewish widowers and the unmarried Gentile, Treslove - the men share a sweetly painful evening, reminiscing on a time before they had loved and lost, before they had prized anything greatly enough to fear the loss of it. But as Treslove makes his way home, he is attacked and mugged outside a violin dealer's window. Treslove is convinced the crime was a misdirected act of anti-Semitism, and in its aftermath, his whole sense of self will ineluctably change. The Finkler Question is a funny, furious, unflinching novel of friendship and loss, exclusion and belonging, and the wisdom and humanity of maturity Julian Treslove, a professionally unspectacular former BBC radio producer, and Sam Finkler, a popular Jewish philosopher, writer, and television personality, are old school friends. Despite a prickly relationship and very different lives, they've never lost touch with each other, or with their former teacher, Libor Sevcik. Dining together one night at Sevcik's apartment—the two Jewish widowers and the unmarried Gentile, Treslove—the men share a sweetly painful evening, reminiscing on a time before they had loved and lost, before they had prized anything greatly enough to fear the loss of it. But as Treslove makes his way home, he is attacked and mugged outside a violin dealer's window. Treslove is convinced the crime was a misdirected act of anti-Semitism, and in its aftermath, his whole sense of self will ineluctably change. The Finkler Question is a funny, furious, unflinching novel of friendship and loss, exclusion and belonging, and the wisdom and humanity of maturity. Winner of the 2010 Man Booker Prize. Julian Treslove, a radio producer, and Samuel Finkler, a Jewish philosopher, have been friends since childhood and, as they enter middle age, they reminisce over their struggles with self-identity, anti-Semitism, women, love, and the past