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Gentlemen of the Road: A Tale of Adventure | 
 enlarge | Author: Michael Chabon
Publisher: Del Rey
Category: Book
List Price: $21.95
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Rating:  96 reviews
Sales Rank: 78284
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Pages: 224
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.5 x 1.1
ISBN: 0345501748
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780345501745
ASIN: 0345501748
Publication Date: October 30, 2007
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Product Description
Michael Chabon’s Pulitzer Prize-winning bestseller, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, sprang from an early passion for the derring-do and larger-than-life heroes of classic comic books. Now, once more mining the rich past, Chabon summons the rollicking spirit of legendary adventures–from The Arabian Nights to Alexandre Dumas to Fritz Leiber’s Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stories–in a wonderful new novel brimming with breathless action, raucous humor, cliff-hanging suspense, and a cast of colorful characters worthy of Scheherazade’s most tantalizing tales.
They’re an odd pair, to be sure: pale, rail-thin, black-clad Zelikman, a moody, itinerant physician fond of jaunty headgear, and ex-soldier Amram, a gray-haired giant of a man as quick with a razor-tongued witticism as he is with a sharpened battle-ax. Brothers under the skin, comrades in arms, they make their rootless way through the Caucasus Mountains, circa A.D. 950, living as they please and surviving however they can–as blades and thieves for hire and as practiced bamboozlers, cheerfully separating the gullible from their money. No strangers to tight scrapes and close shaves, they’ve left many a fist shaking in their dust, tasted their share of enemy steel, and made good any number of hasty exits under hostile circumstances.
None of which has necessarily prepared them to be dragooned into service as escorts and defenders to a prince of the Khazar Empire. Usurped by his brutal uncle, the callow and decidedly ill-tempered young royal burns to reclaim his rightful throne. But doing so will demand wicked cunning, outrageous daring, and foolhardy bravado . . . not to mention an army. Zelikman and Amram can at least supply the former. But are these gentlemen of the road prepared to become generals in a full-scale revolution? The only certainty is that getting there–along a path paved with warriors and whores, evil emperors and extraordinary elephants, secrets, swordplay, and such stuff as the grandest adventures are made of–will be much more than half the fun.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 91 more reviews...
 From Here to Khazaria (3.5 stars) August 28, 2007
Leonard Fleisig (Washington, D.C.)
39 out of 43 found this review helpful
The story of the Jewish kingdom of the Khazars is a fascinating piece of history. The Khazars were a collection of semi-nomadic tribes that wandered through the Caucasus region of what is now Russia. Khazaria, loosely thought of as the isthmus-like land mass located between the Black and Caspian Seas, was an ideal site for merchants and wandering traders. Khazaria was buffeted on three sides by the Caliphate's Islamic forces to the south, Byzantium's Greek Christian forces to the southwest, and the barbarian Kievan Rus forces to the north. In an act of geopolitical realpolitik the Khagan, leader of the Khazars, converted to Judaism at some point in the seventh century in order to maintain a neutral balance of power in the region. The Jewish Khazars maintained dominance in the region from around the latter part of the 8th century until the early part of the 11thcentury at which point the Kievan Russians, who had converted to Christianity and aligned themselves with the Byzantines, overturned the Khazar's rule. The story of the ancient Khazars is an intriguing one that makes for a fascinating historical study. They were the sole independent Jewish state ever to exist outside of contemporary Israel. There have been some good books, both fiction and non-fiction, about the Khazars including: The Jews of Khazaria, Dictionary of the Khazars (M), and The Wind of the Khazarsthat provide a wealth of information on this little known piece of history.
Michael Chabon's "Gentlemen of the Road" is set in and around Khazaria during this time period. It is a good adventure; well-told and fast paced. The two gentlemen of the road are Zelikman and Amram. Zelikman, is young, thin, and pale. Originally from Regensburg in what is now Bavaria, Germany, Zelikman has broken with his family and wanders the trade routes of the Middle Ages looking for adventure. Amram is older and bigger. Originally from Africa, Amram wanders the trade routes looking for his daughter who was stolen from his village. They are traveling companions and occasional con-artists living off their wits and their fighting skills. Soon after the story opens, Zelikman and Amram unwittingly find themselves in the midst of a struggle for control of the Khazar Empire. They take custody of a young prince, Filaq, skinny and too young (apparently) to shave, but strong-headed and feisty. Filaq wants nothing more than to avenge the death of his father, the deposed ruler and restore his family to the throne. Amram and Zelikman, bickering all the way face one crisis after another as they travel closer to the capital of the Khazars where they and Filaq will meet their fate.
"Gentlemen of the Road" is a good adventure story. Originally serialized in the Sunday New York Times Magazine (in fifteen installments) each chapter ends with something of a cliff-hanger. Chabon does a nice job keeping the pot boiling and he also does a nice job of developing the back-story of Zelikman, Amram, and the other major characters. The story's biggest flaw, in my opinion, is the absence of any background information about the Kingdom of the Khazars. Any reader unfamiliar with the history of the Khazars is likely to be either surprised or puzzled at the various references to Jewish rulers (Khagans and Beks), expressions and practices that appear throughout the story. In an afterword to the book Chabon mentions that the original working title for "Gentlemen of the Road" was "Jews with Swords" but noted that it only seemed to make people laugh at the seeming incongruity of the title. While I understand Chabon's point in this regard I think the reaction he received to his working title underscores that importance of putting his adventure in some context, even if in an introduction or preface.
That said, "Gentlemen and the Road" is still a good story, written with style by someone in command of his craft. It is well worth reading at a solid 3.5 stars. L. Fleisig
 Not my cup of mead August 19, 2007
Sebastian Fernandez (Tampa, Florida United States)
28 out of 48 found this review helpful
This is my first exposure to Michael Chabon and I understand that this novel is considerably different from his usual writings in terms of its topic and setting. My reasons for reading it were that "The Yiddish Policemen's Union" has received accolades from press and readers alike and that the book is dedicated to Michael Moorcock. I thought that if the author incorporated Moorcock's style in his writing, this could not be half bad.
The experience was not completely satisfactory though. I found the story to be interesting and liked the idea of incorporating illustrations throughout the chapters, but the literary aspects threw me off. I definitely detect the author's ability in the use of language and his impeccable writing style. Nevertheless, I found that there were far too many words that I did not recognize, and this detracted considerably from my enjoyment of his work. One example of the use of words that are not going to be understandable by most people is the reference to shatranj. Since I am an avid chess player I know that this is an old form of chess, but I wonder how many readers will know this.
The novel was originally published in fifteen separate installments in The New York Times Magazine, and this is the first time it is published in its entirety. The plot revolves around the adventures of Zelikman, a Jew, and Amram, an African, who travel around performing cons and thieving until they run into a dethroned prince of the Khazars. This is when the "real" adventure begins with swashbuckling scenes reminiscent of Arturo Perez-Reverte.
I can appreciate the fact that this author is an excellent writer and that he has an exquisite command of language. Also, I should mention that there are several examples of finely-tuned humor. If you have read his work in the past and enjoyed it, you will probably like this novel. But if you are like me and this is your first time, you should be aware of what you are getting into.
Pleasant Read but Nothing Special September 20, 2007
C. Baker (Washington, DC)
17 out of 20 found this review helpful
Michael Chabon is an excellent writer and storyteller. His The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay justly deserved the Pulitzer Prize. In this short, fast paced adventure novel Chabon takes us back in time to a little known era where we meet two wanderers and adventurers, Zelikman and Amram. Indeed, they are unlikely companions with the melancholy, eccentric, thin German Zelikman, and the huge African Amran wandering the roads and living by their wits. Very quickly in the book they run across another unlikely character, Filaq, progeny of a deposed ruler who seeks to avenge a father's death and restore the throne to its rightful owner. The two friends, not always enthusiastically, attach their fate to Filaq's, and thus the adventure unfolds.
Chabon, as noted, is an excellent writer and the characters in this novel are extremely well drawn and enjoyable to follow. The action, pace, and writing of the novel is quick, witty, and engaging. Frankly, in this case, Chabon takes a flawed novel and makes it enjoyable anyway with his characterization and pleasing prose style.
There are two flaws with this novel, however, that make it less than what it could have been. First, the story is set in an era that this reader knows little about so it was sometimes difficult to grasp the big picture of what was going on politically or geographically without some background information. The second, more serious flaw, is that the linkage between chapters or scenes were either missing or obscure, giving the flow of the book, especially in the later chapters, a disjointed feel. It almost read like a comic strip with stand alone chapters that didn't always make clear linkages to what went on before. Of course it all comes together eventually, but made the novel less enjoyable.
Overall, this was a pleasant novel to read, but somewhat disappointing at the same time.
Adventurous Jews, with Vocabulary August 28, 2007
Sir Charles Panther (Alexandria, Virginny, USandA)
10 out of 13 found this review helpful
This was my first encounter with Chabon, so I came to this book "clean," no previous exposure. It's a fun ride, a definite diversion from my usual reading. Once I got used to the syntax and vocabulary, it was to my reading a fun albeit predictable and formulaic story, with characters not developed to their full potential. I still recommend it as a quick diversion, and lexicological workout.
The book is a challenging exercise in vocabulary, both English and foreign. I note the application of italics to introduce foreign terms is inconsistent, and I urge Del Rey to review this before you go final with your publishing. The writing style also is, ah, non-traditional. This is not Nabokov's verbal gymnastics, but here's the title of Chapter Nine: "On Anxieties Arising from the Impermissibility, However Unquestionable, of an Elephant's Rounding out a Prayer Quorum." On the vocab: I like learning a new word or two, but not dozens in the opening pages. At first it was distracting, then plain annoying. Early on it seemed to me the book would slip into the trite and ridiculous verbiage of the romance novel. That was my greatest fear as I slogged through the first 25 pages. Happily, this was not the case.
Once I got into it and grew accustomed to the writing style, by page 40 or so, it read quickly and I was done with it in a few hours.
The setting is different and interesting, somewhere around 1000 A.D., somewhere between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, down Azerbaijan way. That's a great setting for the mishmash of peoples, language and cultures in the story, and it works.
I was surprised to be reminded of the movie The Outlaw Josey Wales. Both of the protagonists are hardened men, once good guys who've descended into less reputable existence after suffering tragedy, loss, injustice, etc. They're basic decency comes through as the story matures, colored with the tragedy and cruelty that led them to where they are now. Just as Josey did, they pick up flawed yet lovable stragglers and mutts along the way, and the merry group matures and coalesces as their mutual adventure unfolds.
Character development is where this book falls short. We get the required background on the two gentlemen, but not enough. They take action which to me was out of character, not explained adequately by the depth of character offered in the novel. The novel is short at 196 pages, and for Chabon to have devoted another 30-40 pages to develop these two men--and the prince (who plays an increasingly important role)--would have been the best service to the reader, and would not have bogged down the story.
There's violence in the book, but it's not that bad. There's none of the up-close, detailed, extended gore and excess a la Bret Easton Ellis or Chuck Pahlaniuk. There are descriptions of blood and gore, murdered matrons with dead babies in their arms, dead military men lined up, the stench of burning flesh, etc., the grisly and real stuff of Middle Ages warfare. There is precious little sex, with it coming right at the end of the tale, and it is neither graphic nor lurid; "workmanlike" would be the best description of how it comes across.
I'd say this book is appropriate for the 15+ age range for content and story, but I think the syntax and vocabulary challenges would be immediate turn-offs; advanced readers only. For educators, this would be a good assignment for creative writing classes, and for Honors English. Its vocab would be a great challenge, and the book a good showcase for alternative writing styles.
And the illustrations. Overall, my reaction is flat; I can take them or leave them. They didn't add to my enjoyment of the story, nor did they tarnish it; they are not essential to the story. The illustrations harken back to a time when "grown-up" books still had pictures in them, and I like this approach. But, if the addition of the illustrations has increased the cost of the book by any more than a dollar, then they need to stay out. I liked the page borders at the opening of each chapter--nice touch.
Yes, this copy is an advance uncorrected proof, but still the professional editor in me screamed every time I saw the word "stripling," dozens of times, unforgivably repetitive whenever the prince was described. At one point the word was used 14 times within 8 pages. Sure, this is what Chabon has written, but this kind of distractive repetition--although the word does take on a much deeper meaning later in the book--became annoying. The editor(s) has let this happen, and Del Rey needs to scrub the book for variations in word choice for this one, and others. Del Rey: gimme a call sometime, and we'll talk editing.
Strangely enough, I found the afterword to be more compelling than the novel. I see three elements. First, it's Chabon's musing on the sorry nature of the Jew in current literature/fiction, with this book his personal attempt to rehabilitate modern Jewish action-hero-ness. The afterword also struck me as a needless apology to readers who would be angry and turned-off by fiction apparently so divergent from his previous work. This implied apology came off as weak and fawning. And lastly, the afterword was Chabon's explanation of why he's gone so far off his beaten path: in search of literary adventure and the challenge of the new. The placement of this short essay as an afterword is more or less the right choice, as using it as a foreword would sully the novel to come. Despite its intellectual stimulation, I think none of this was needed. If Chabon needs to explain himself so deeply, post it to the blog, write an article about it, or give an interview; there's no need to cloud your novel with this content.
Bottom line: once you settle into the syntax and vocab, it's an easy story that moves fast. It's entertaining, and I recommend it.
 A Grand Adventure September 26, 2007
Amos Lassen (Little Rock, Arkansas)
10 out of 12 found this review helpful
Chabon, Michael. "Gentlemen of the Road: A Tale of Adventure", Del Rey, 2007.
A Grand Adventure
Amos Lassen
Michael Chabon is an amazing writer and I relish every book he writes. "Gentlemen of the Road' is quite different than anything else he has written yet it shows Chabon's wonderful style of writing. He writes well and manages to incorporate many elements into his prose which enables the plot to move along at a great pace. I realize that the story of the two gentlemen, Zelikman and Amram had their story originally published in the New York Tines in 2007 in serial form and I began to follow them then and I was glad to get their whole story in novel form so I could relax and read the whole megillah without waiting for an installment. Here is a thoughtful, thought provoking story of two wandering adventurers, two men who under ordinary circumstances would not be friends, making a journey they would probably not make, and encountering all kinds of fascinating experiences. Filled with wonderful illustrators and thoroughly enjoyed the tale of two mis-matched journeymen.
Zelikman, a Jew and an Amram, an African are con men and thieves who travel around using their techniques to rope innocent people into their schemes. That is until they meet up with a dethroned prince of the Khazars.
It is here that the adventure truly begins with some of the greatest swashbuckling scenes since the days of Errol Flynn movies. I realized that this is not a story to be taken very seriously and is not the adventure story I thought it was going to be. What amazes is how Michael Chabon can reinvent himself with each book that he writes; he always seems to attempt to try something new and different in each book that he writes. Here we have a story in the true pulp style with the tone and atmosphere of classic adventure tales. There is a lot of humor and a tribute to the adventures of old. Chabon's writing is stylish and graceful and he obviously had a grand time writing this book. He has the ability to use the English language as if it is really something special and it is beautiful to read.
The meeting and merging of the swashbucklers and the history of the Khazars is masterfully handled and it is just plain fun. The Jewish kingdom of the Khazars is fascinating and Chabon's spin on it makes it that much more so. What is missing, however, is some of the history of the region but that does not detract from the author's storytelling ability. The purpose and tone of adventure is felt throughout the book and Chabon's does not imitate, he pays homage.
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