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The Final Solution [Paperback]

Michael Chabon
3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
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Book Description

3 Mar 2008

A brilliant reworking of the detective story by the much-acclaimed Michael Chabon, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF KAVALIER & KLAY.

In THE FINAL SOLUTION, Michael Chabon has crafted a short, suspenseful tale of compassion and wit that reimagines the classic 19th-century detective story.

In deep retirement in the English countryside, an 89-year-old man, vaguely remembered by locals as a once-famous detective, is more concerned with his beekeeping than with other people. Into his life wanders Linus Steinman, nine years old and mute, who has escaped from Nazi Germany with his sole companion: an African grey parrot. What is the meaning of the mysterious strings of German numbers the bird spews out? A top-secret SS code? The keys to a series of Swiss bank accounts perhaps? Or something more sinister?

Is the solution to this last case – the real explanation of the mysterious boy and his parrot – beyond even the reach of the once-famed sleuth? Subtle revelations lead the reader to a wrenching resolution. This brilliant homage is the work of a master storyteller at the height of his powers.


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The Final Solution + The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay + The Yiddish Policemen's Union
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Product details

  • Paperback: 128 pages
  • Publisher: Harper Perennial (3 Mar 2008)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0007196032
  • ISBN-13: 978-0007196036
  • Product Dimensions: 12.9 x 19.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 87,867 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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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

From the Back Cover

In the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, prose magician Michael Chabon conjured up the golden age of comic books; intertwining history, legend, and storytelling verve. In The Final Solution, he has condensed his boundless vision to craft a short, suspenseful tale of compassion and wit that re-imagines the classic 19th-century detective story.

In deep retirement in the English countryside, an 89-year-old man, vaguely recollected by locals as a once-famous detective, is more concerned with his beekeeping than with his fellow man. Into his life wanders Linus Steinman, nine years old and mute, who has escaped from Nazi Germany with his sole companion: an African grey parrot. What is the meaning of the mysterious strings of German numbers the bird spews out - a top-secret SS code? The keys to a series of Swiss bank accounts, perhaps? Or something more sinister?

Is the solution to this last case - the real explanation of the mysterious boy and his parrot - beyond even the reach of the once-famed sleuth?

Subtle revelations lead the reader to a wrenching resolution. This brilliant homage is the work of a master storyteller at the height of his powers.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars excellent Holmesian pastiche 3 Mar 2006
By A. Craig HALL OF FAME
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.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully written 3 Feb 2006
By Misty
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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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Not a novel, not a short story. 19 Jun 2006
By DubaiReader TOP 1000 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE
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.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Michael Chabon's singular conjuration
Michael Chabon has formulated a singular conjuration of Mr Holmes...and it is interesting that those who have not read it, have advanced outlandish claims that, nowhere in the... Read more
Published 20 days ago by Stephan Pickering
3.0 out of 5 stars Short and sweet
This is an entertaining novella about the appearance of a young boy who doesn't speak and his parrot (who does), in a sleepy English village. Read more
Published 11 months ago by neverendings
5.0 out of 5 stars 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 23 months ago by S. E. Walsh
1.0 out of 5 stars 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 24 months ago by Rotgut
5.0 out of 5 stars 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 on 21 May 2011 by Kiwifunlad
2.0 out of 5 stars Fluff
I must admit that I was expecting something a little different from a book called 'The Final Solution'. Read more
Published on 22 April 2011 by Mr. M. Read
5.0 out of 5 stars 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 on 10 Mar 2011 by Frank The G
5.0 out of 5 stars 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
4.0 out of 5 stars 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
4.0 out of 5 stars 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
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