Gentlemen of the Road

#394
Title: Gentlemen of the Road
Author: Michael Chabon
Illustrator: Gary Gianni
Publisher: Del Ray/Ballantine
Year: 2007
233 pages

First published serially in The New York Times, this short, picaresque novel follows an unlikely pair of Jewish mercenaries as they become embroiled in the power struggles of the Khazar. Readers from Christian backgrounds may not appreciate how refreshing it is to read a story in which all the main characters are Jewish and are doing something beyond, well, being Jewish. To have the assumption of characters' Christianity replaced by the assumption of their Judaism is a pleasure, and possibly more delightful than the narrative, which is delightful enough. The literary style is young men's adventure plus GRE-level vocabulary.

The book features illustrations in the style of the classical youth adventure tale; a pleasing type style; red headers, numbers, and decorative edging on the first page of each chapter; and a lovely map of the region.

from:
date: Jan. 5th, 2010 06:15 am (UTC)

This was also the joy of living in Israel; being Jewish was just ordinary, normal.

(no subject)

from:
date: Jan. 5th, 2010 03:33 pm (UTC)

Indeed. I remember the first week in Israel--Jewish cops! Jewish bus drivers! And later, even the thrill of Jewish prostitutes! Jewish pickpockets! It was marvelous to be in a community with an assumption of Jewishness. (Which is not to say there were no non-Jews there, or that the treatment of Palestinians is not an issue.)