Only a few years behind reading the award winners. I actually checked this out because I found it on Overdrive and needed a few things for a trip. I probably should have made a different choice. This just wasn't my kind of book. Julian Treslove is a navel gazing guy who spends time with his two Jewish friends who are more successful than he and I think that is where the problem originates. He leaves a dinner with them and gets mugged...by a woman no less, and it convinced SHE though he was Jewish and that this was an act of antisemitism. This is kind of where the book lost me. Now Julian is convinced that he *is* Jewish and this leads to more self reflection and brooding than should ever be allowed. We learn Julian is a guy who has loved lots of women and many of them end up running away from him. Gee, I wonder if it has something to do with the fact he doesn't seem to see past the tip of his own nose? He has two sons by two different women but admits he hasn't been much of a father. Well who would have time when you are wrestling with the big questions...about yourself? I probably missed all kinds of deep meaning here...after all, it won the Man Booker Prize but all that depth was wasted on me as it would be on Julian, unless we are talking about how much he thinks about himself. But don't let me dissuade you, I'm somewhat of a Philistine.
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