On a far more pleasant note. I've just finished Michael Chabon's "Gentlemen of the Road", and it was FANTASTIC! It's the story of two very unlikely adventurers who find themselves at the crux of an adventure not of their choosing, but impossible to leave unprosecuted. Chabon does a couple of things that make this little novel especially delightful. He recreates the world of 10th century Khazaria, a nearly mythical kingdom of a forgotten strain of red haired, fair skinned Jews which thrived along the northern edges of the Caspian Sea. His rich and varied vocabulary turns every page into a gold mine of linguistic gems. I often found myself rereading entire paragraphs just to savory the words in my mind. And it's this skill as a writer that accomplishes the second feat.Time and again he takes the well worn, tried and true conventions of the classic swashbuckler's tale and makes them feel fresh and new. Even when I could see well ahead where some element of the plot was going and the subterfuge was being perpetrated upon the reader, I didn't care. The journey as it unfolded was far more important than the mere unfurling of the plot. Michael Chabon is one of the finest writers we have in our midst today. This is one that I know I will return to at some point in the future to savor all over again.
It's excellent to see "Gentlemen of the Road" is getting new readers all the time.
ReplyDeleteI had a lot of fun summarizing the stories about "the Red Jews" of Caspia in chapter 1 of my book "The Jews of Khazaria", which Chabon read when writing his novel. Then I showed in chapter 6 how this legend is based on very real circumstances.
I wish more people knew of the Khazars. As an elementary school teacher you may know that the Khazars aren't mentioned in most history textbooks for primary and secondary school students. The entire region of Central Eurasia is usually neglected.
Kevin, It's one of the best books I've ever read! I'm telling everyone about it.
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