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Review
‘It takes a steady hand to appropriate the world's most famous detective, but Chabon has chutzpah to spare.' Independent
‘Chabon gives the reader a tantalising taste of what he's capable of.' Andrew Roberts, New Statesman
‘Chabon’s gift as a writer is the fatal facility to make anything pleasant in the telling, and “The Final Solution” is further evidence of that talent.’ Daily Telegraph
‘His thoughtful, intricate prose pays handsome tribute to all those ‘tec stories and sleuth yarns…“The Final Solution” is an evocation of the addictive properties of detection and an elegy for its glory days.’ Word Magazine
‘On par with the best, most tightly written sections of Chabon's last novel, the marvelous “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay”…exceptional.’ New York Times Book Review
‘One of the best-written American novels published this fall… an experiment by a master.’ The New York Sun
Daily Telegraph
'...this lyrical and soulful novella sees Chabon revisit the subject of wartime refugees...[of] his Pulitzer Prize winning work...'
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First Sentence
A boy with a parrot on his shoulder was walking along the railway tracks. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
A boy with a parrot on his shoulder was walking along the railway tracks. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Although highly recommended by a friend, this book didn't quite hit the mark for me. It seemed to lack purpose and the ending was kind of cute, but not satisfying.
The story revolves around Linus,a young Jewish refugee and his close companion, a grey parrot. When the parrot is stolen, the plight of the lonely young boy touches a spot in an old, retired, detective's heart, and he agrees to search for the bird.
I loved the idea of the parrot who spouted endless lists of apparently random numbers and the old man, an ageing Sherlock Holmes in his retirement cottage. But there didn't seem to be a lot else.
It was an easy read, but would have benefitted from being longer so we could really get involved with the characters.
The story revolves around Linus,a young Jewish refugee and his close companion, a grey parrot. When the parrot is stolen, the plight of the lonely young boy touches a spot in an old, retired, detective's heart, and he agrees to search for the bird.
I loved the idea of the parrot who spouted endless lists of apparently random numbers and the old man, an ageing Sherlock Holmes in his retirement cottage. But there didn't seem to be a lot else.
It was an easy read, but would have benefitted from being longer so we could really get involved with the characters.
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
It's clever to combine the flourishing sub-genre of Holmesiamn pastiche with the Holocaust, and Chabon makes a good fist of it. The retired beekeeeper is now utterly forgotten and painfully ancient (Chabon describes the ravages of time wonderfully) but the mystery about the parrot who speaks long sequences of numbers is less satisfying. More a long short story or novella, it will leave some readers frustrated. Having said which, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Every sentance in this short book has been lovingly crafted - it is short but a joy to read and very clever. The references to the great detective are affectionate and in keeping with the man himself as you might imagine him to be.
If your average formulaic detective story is junk food, this deserves a couple of Michelin stars. Don't read it if you just want another vapid potboiler!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
An intriguing read
Previous reviwers have said a lot about the plot, so I'll confine myself to saying that it was an intriguing, well-written story, which I read in one sitting and really enjoyed. Read more
Published 11 months ago by S. E. Walsh
Taking the Michael
The iconic figure of Sherlock Holmes has endured countless adaptions, surely long ago "continuations" of his adventures by later authors have outnumbered Conan Doyle's original... Read more
Published 12 months ago by Rotgut
Engrossing mystery with a poignant touch
Although I have not read any of the other reviews I presume the plot details have been covered in depth already. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Kiwifunlad
Fluff
I must admit that I was expecting something a little different from a book called 'The Final Solution'. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Mr. M. Read
Ingenious and deceiving novella
Anybody who knows Michael Chabon's work will be familiar with his love of genre and, in particular, the early forms of the detective story. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Frank The G
A haunting and ingenious novella
We are in London, 1944, and a mixed-race C of E Minister and his wife have taken in a child sent by his family on the Kindertransport that shipped Jewish children out of Germany... Read more
Published on 2 Oct 2009 by Eileen Shaw
One complaint only - It's too short
Chabon's style is eclectic to say the least, and yet this has his voice stamped all over it. It's quirky, imaginative, and despite a fragile sadness which permeates the book, still... Read more
Published on 6 May 2008 by Mrs. K. A. Wheatley
Finale
It takes an immense amount of either skill or arrogance to attempt a Sherlock Holmes "final case." And of the two, it seems that Pulitzer-winning Michael Chabon has the former. Read more
Published on 16 Jan 2006 by E. A Solinas
Well-written, but a little disappointing.
This is an appealing idea, and an intriguing mystery at first, but it suffers from an unconvincing resolution: the solution comes too quickly, and too simply, making it... Read more
Published on 10 Jan 2006
Bittersweet "final"
It takes an immense amount of either skill or arrogance to attempt a Sherlock Holmes "final case. Read more
Published on 31 Dec 2005 by E. A Solinas
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