Howard Jacobson Analyzed by Book Critics After Booker Win

By Jason Boog 

Yesterday critics from around the Internet weighed in on author Howard Jacobson (pictured) and his Man Booker Prize win. This GalleyCat Reviews editor actually predicted another winner–so we spent the evening reading reviews of Jacobson’s Booker-winning novel, The Finkler Question..

Ron Charles, the Washington Post‘s fiction editor, wrote:  “The Finkler Question is really a series of tragicomic meditations on one of humanity’s most tenacious expressions of malice, which I realize sounds about as much fun as sitting shiva, but Jacobson’s unpredictable wit is more likely to clobber you than his pathos.”

Laura Miller, the book critic at Salon, tweeted: “Confession: I bailed on The Finkler Question due to boredom (and cuteness). Take my hat off to @roncharles for his perseverance.”

Alex Balk from The Awl wrote “Howard Jacobson’s new novel, The Finkler Question, is getting some of the best reviews that this underappreciated author has received in his career. If it’s even half as good as The Mighty Walzer—a personal favorite—I’m sold. If you’ve never heard of him and are curious, start with this profile. He also writes a very good column for the Independent.

Carolyn Kellogg from Jacket Copy tweeted: “All due respect to Jacobson, I would have been happy to see Tom McCarthy take the Booker. And with all that betting? I’m not alone.”