First Glance at Chabon

Chabon's writing is vivid, fluid and immediately draws the reader in. The first chapter of the final solution functions perfectly to catch the readers attention. Chabon beautifully describes a random encounter between an old man and a young silent boy. The chapter leads the reader to wonder who the old man is, who the boy is, why he doesn't speak and the meaning of the parrot's random German numbers. A perfect beginning to "a story of detection", involving the reader from the very beginning. It is clear from the start that this is a book of clues. The title is a blatant response to "The Final Problem" in the Holmes collection while the main character happens to be an ex detective from London. The title also references the holocaust and the attempt to eradicate all Jews. The book cover creatively draws attention to the unknown significance of the German numbers the parrot utters. The epigraph even offers a clue of why this book is relevant in a class of truth and lies, describing a fine line between detection and invention. Chabon seems to be walking the reader through a mystery riddled with clues, commentary and nuances of which we must pick up on on our own. The novella seems more than mere mystery and clues, however, as Chabon uses pithy language to comment on historical and social themes. Apologies for the late post... Had half of it when I spilled propel on my computer which then crashed :(