Type of bind: Hardcover
Format: Bargain Price
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 131
Printing Date: October 31, 2004
Sale Popularity Level: 785578
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In the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and 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 reimagines the classic nineteenth-century detective story.
In deep retirement in the English country-side, an eighty-nine-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 gray 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, which won the 2004 Aga Khan Prize for fiction, is the work of a master storyteller at the height of his powers.
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Rated by buyers 
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Rural England during WWII; an old, old man who keeps bees; a mute nine-year-old Jewish orphan with an African Grey parrot that spouts strings of numbers. The old man meets the pair on the railroad tracks and finds them intriguing. Author Michael Chabon takes these elements and mixes up a short tale that's more than meets the eye.
The boy, Linus, is in the care of the Reverend and Mrs. Panicker. A lodger in their home is killed and the bird disappears; the boy is bereft. The old man (who is not named in the story) is revealed to be a long-retired detective, and becomes involved in the investigation; though his body is decrepit, his deductive powers are intact and the murderer is discovered, the bird returned to the boy. Along the way the "mad old beekeeper" wrestles with his fear of dying in an embarrassing fashion; his point of view on life at the age of 89 is one of the little treasures of the story.
This novella is Chabon's homage to the Sherlock Holmes canon -- for the old beekeeper is indeed Holmes. The title "The Final Solution" plays on the Conan Doyle title "The Final Problem". The language, though, is pure Chabon, with his complex ironical style. The mystery's not much, the story's too short, and the connection with the Holmes canon is only lightly drawn. But if you enjoy Chabon's style, then this little book will delight you; five stars for the prose but I am taking a star off for the thinness of the plotting.
I listened to the Audiobook CD edition, read by Michael York with the perfect wry emphasis. This presentation is indexed at long intervals which is a nuisance for listeners wanting to savor a passage again; and there are, I hear, illustrations in the print version that the listener does not have. It was still a highly enjoyable listening experience.
Linda Bulger, 2008
Rated by buyers 
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A diversion and that's about it. There are many of these Conan Doyle imitations, and this one is okay, especially for real fans of Doyle (and Chabon). Not Chabon's best.
Rated by buyers -
I thought I'd died and gone to heaven when I spotted this book. It not only revolves around an African grey parrot, but it is about the "world's very first consulting detective" - none other than Sherlock Holmes (I love stories about Holmes almost as much as I love my African greys - and the books almost never bite me!) It takes place during the latter years of World War II, when Holmes, now a retired beekeeper in the English countryside (never mentioned by name in the book), meets a young boy wandering about the countryside with an African grey parrot. No one knows where they come from, and communication is difficult as the boy only speaks German.
The bird disappears, and the great detective comes out of retirement to find it. There are hints that this bird perhaps holds the key to a German code, and Holmes finds himself matching wits with British army intelligence, which apparently wants the bird, also.
Chabon uses an interesting technique in the next-to-last chapter of the book: he tells that chapter from the perspective of the parrot. One thing I'm not certain about is the accuracy in describing the parrot's sense of smell. There seems to be some debate as to whether parrots have a well-developed sense of smell, and the bird in this story does seem to have a keen olfactory sense.
I also felt a little irritated by the spelling of African grey as "gray" in the book. Technically, the use of an "a" is correct American spelling for the word "gray" when referring to a color, but using "e" when referring to Psittacus erithacus by its common name is standard practice in the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom, a detail obviously overlooked by the author. I won't tell you how it ends of course, but if you like mysteries - especially Holmes mysteries - you'll probably enjoy this story, despite some of its flaws in the details regarding grey parrots.
Rated by buyers -
Chabon's novella is a tender evocation of Arthur Conan Doyle, with its aged amateur detective, sincere but stolid professional policemen, quiet English village, and modest but muddled murder mystery.
The search is for a parrot, who recites numbers in German, and the parrot's theft from a mute Jewish boy. The setting of the story in 1944 gives the story a sinister twist, as spies and clandestine deciphering agencies come into play. In the end, though, the final solution is both more mundane, and far more poignant than any spy tale.
Not a world-changing masterpiece, but a small, exquisitely-crafted piece of art.
Rated by buyers -
In Chabon's tribute to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle he creates a puzzle with language for readers that make a reader work. As always his characterization and carefully crafted language support an intriguing plot that features multiple timelines and historical references. Not my favorite Chabon novel but well worth reading... even though it's light you should take it slow because this novel is packed with a surprise at every turn with one big one at the end. Read carefully and enjoy.
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