Book Review: THE FINAL SOLUTION

Another delightful Literary Yarn from Michael Chabon (although technically this is the first Literary Yarn, since GENTLEMEN OF THE ROAD was published later). Set in England in 1944, the novel centers around a stolen parrot, a mute Jewish refugee, and a world-renowned detective who comes out of retirement to reunite the two. It's a fast, fun read, and I love the fact that the famous detective is never actually named throughout the entire book.

As you may have noticed, I am on a Michael Chabon kick right now, and the thing that strikes me most about his writing is the manner in which he suits his language to the subject matter. In GENTLEMEN OF THE ROAD, the writing is eloquent and the language elaborate, giving the novel a sense of antiquity which befits a tale set hundreds of years ago. In WONDER BOYS, the style is contemporary and the syntax laid-back, just as one would expect from a story set in Pittsburgh in the mid-90's. And here in THE FINAL SOLUTION, Chabon writes in a manner which is exceedingly, well, British, for lack of a better description. It's not just that he uses British terminology--anyone could do that--it's that he adopts the polite distance so prevalent in British novels (or in Britain itself, for that matter). This guy is an amazing writer; I can't wait to start the next book.