The Finkler Question, this year's winner of the Man Booker Prize, is an unusual book in that it uses fiction to tackle the large questions of Israel, Jewish identity, and anti-Semitism.

The novel's main character is Julian Treslove, a melancholy fellow with a string of unsuccessful relationships behind him. His idea of love is based on opera. Treslove is a lost soul whose experience with a mugger is transformed into a spiritual awakening: he now believes he is Jewish.

There are two other principle characters: Sam Finkler, an arrogant philosopher and author of The Socratic Flirt: How to Reason Your Way into a Better Sex Life, and Libor Sevcik, a Czech Jew, Zionist, and former teacher of Finkler and Treslove. The debates between Sam and Libor are spirited and represent polar opposites of the "Jewish (Finkler) question"--namely, the moral responsibilities of the Jews in the modern world.

Although they do not agree politically, Sam and Libor are united in grief: each has lost his wife to death. Sam's feelings toward his converted and practicing Jewish wife are complicated; Libor's love and loss is total and without reservations.

Freedom, the long-awaited book by Jonathan Franzen, has met great critical acclaim. It is, at once, a portrait of an unhappy and dysfunctional family, as well as a commentary of our times.

Patty and Walter Berglund married young, moved into an (as-yet) "unyuppyish" neighborhood in St. Paul, and proceeded to have a family. Patty was an all-star athlete, whose career was benched by a knee injury. Her family, upper-class and artistic, was critical of her athletic interests. Her mother never attended any of her basketball games, and was emotionally remote and disapproving. Patty, in turn, becomes a competitive and needy parent and mother, showering her son, Joey, with the love she does not feel for her husband. Meanwhile, Jessica, her bright and responsible daughter, is ignored.

By contrast, Walter is the son of an alcoholic father and a frail, dependent mother. All the dreams of the mother are centered on her bright son. Walter, a nice guy who initially works for an environmental organization, is full of repressed anger. In college, he becomes a close friend and competitor to the musically gifted, rebellious, and misogynistic Richard. Richard feels like a brother to the straight-laced Walter. He even refuses a relationship with Patty to protect his friend from hurt.

Physically attracted to Richard, Patty marries Walter only because it is practical. By contrast, Walter is very much in love with her. Bring forth two children, the boy completely spoiled and the girl overlooked, give the marriage 15 years, and the stage is set for unhappiness, adultery, and strife.

George Armstrong Custer is one of those Americans whose name has become legend, and as a big fan of Nathaniel Philbrick's Mayflower I was eager to see the author take on Custer's myth in The Last Stand.  The Last Stand tells the story of Custer, Sitting Bull and Little Bighorn, and I found it to be a refreshing take on what would prove to be the last great battle of the American frontier.

Set in modern-day Kenya, A Guide to the Birds of East Africa is a sweet novel, comparable to The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series. Mr. Malik, an avid birder, has been in love with a Scottish widow, Rose Mbikwa, for many years. He attends her Tuesday morning bird walks faithfully. But he does not have the courage to ask her out on a date. Finally, he decides to ask her to his country club's ball. Unfortunately, his childhood nemesis, Harry Khan, moves back. He, too, falls for Mrs. Mbikwa.

The competition to take Rose Mbikwa to the Hunt Club Ball takes the form of a bird identification contest around Kenya. Here, the reader is treated to wonderful descriptions of the surrounding wildlife. Myriad adventures ensue.

The writing in A Guide to the Birds of East Africa is a bit choppy. Still, its characters are endearing and the descriptions of small town life are quaint. If you enjoyed The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, as well as Major Pettigrew's Last Stand (Helen Simonson), you will find this book a quick and entertaining read.

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