Tournament of Books: Matchup Three

The third matchup of the Morning News Tournament of Books features a book I'm currently reading: The Finkler Question. Will this make me any more qualified to judge the outcome? Read to find out...

Savages, by Don Winslow vs The Finkler Question, by Howard Jacobson

Judge: Rosencrans Baldwin

Combatant One: Savages, by Don Winslow
This novel follows two small-time marijuana dealers in L.A., who try to stand up to a Mexican cartel that wants to take over their operation. When their mutual girlfriend Ophelia is kidnapped, they spring a plan to rescue her. Winslow is an Edgar award winning author; the prose I sampled is confident and quirky, with a staccato rhythm and a wry, subtle wit. But is that enough to get out of round one?

Combatant Two: The Finkler Question, by Howard Jacobson
I'm currently reading the Finkler Question, which won the Booker Prize, which is the most prestigious literary award of the United Kingdom. As you might expect of the Booker Prize winner, it's a bit of a chore, and couldn't be more different than Savages. The plot is about a sad-sack man who starts to think he should be Jewish, and the comedic romp that follows. Jaconbson's prose seems engineered to produce a chuckle every few lines, whether what's happening on the page is funny or not. This can get quite annoying if you're not into it. I think in general Jacobson labors a bit hard to produce laughs when he should be moving an actual plot along, though he's pretty respected and has a large, dedicated following, and his themes of Jewish identity can't be ignored or dismissed lightly.

Judge Rosencrans Baldwin is one of the founders of The Morning News, sponsor of the Tournament of Books. His own novel, You Lost me There, is a study in memory and loss, and was called "the perfect sophisticated summer read." I don't have any idea what kind of books he likes, but he's answered my emails in the past so I get the idea he's a nice guy overall.

Summary: These are two quite different books, in quite different voices, on completely different themes. Both writers are mature and confident in their voices. The Finkler Question deals with Jewish Identity, Savages with the underbelly of the American war on Drugs, two of the larger themes in literature and culture. Both novels have received mixed reviews on Amazon.

I think if I were on a bus with a stranger who doesn't read a lot of books, I'd recommend Savages over the Finkler Question, because it's probably just more fun. But in the end, Jacobson's choice of theme, density of prose, and seriousness of intent will lift it over the lighter, more genre oriented Savages.

Winner: The Finkler Question.