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johnald1266's review against another edition
4.0
A fun read. What is, perhaps, most appealing is Chabon's general thesis of the work rather than the novel itself. I am, like Chabon, a staunch critic of the notion that "Literature" and "plot" (even-gasp-*adventure*) are mutually exclusive. This foray into adventure I see as a salvo in his literary campaign and for that I applaud it. As someone who cut my readerly teeth on the swords and sorcery genre (Gentlemen of the Road is dedicated to Michael Moorcock) I particularly enjoyed the familiar action and witty repartee among buddy warriors fused with Chabon's elegant prose. While I was not particularly transfixed by the characters or the plot I can see Chabon working toward something great; I'm now even more eager to read "The Yiddish Policeman's Union" which is Chabon's endeavor into the detective genre. Chabon is ballsy to start laying into the norms of the literati so soon after being lauded as one of their (here it comes) wonder boys and even if I didn't agree with him I'd probably respect him just for that.
charliezegers's review against another edition
5.0
Hope he writes more adventure stories like this... otherwise cheesy fantasy epic is far more interesting coming from a writer as good as he is.
ceelabee's review against another edition
3.0
I liked the idea of the book better than the book itself. It's something for the 15 year old geeky guy in all of us, but I think I would have liked it better if I actually WERE that person. Nonetheless, an interesting style experiment for Chabon and lots of details about life in 950 CE Asia. He definitely should have kept the original title - Jews with Swords - much catchier!
gjmaupin's review against another edition
5.0
Michael Chabon's recent genre phase. Historical swashbuckling adventure. Jews With Swords (the working title apparently).
Written just for me, obviously, so I can't guarantee everyone would 5-star this one. But I do. I'm not a big rereader of individual sentences, but with Chabon...ahhh.
Written just for me, obviously, so I can't guarantee everyone would 5-star this one. But I do. I'm not a big rereader of individual sentences, but with Chabon...ahhh.
micku2024's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
hcgambrell's review against another edition
3.0
I picked this book because of the title--It's a lovely phrase, and also, Mumford & Sons have called their tours, on occasion, "Gentlemen of the Road." :)
This was a book I wanted to like more than I did. I spent most of the book just convincing myself to finish so I can move on to something else. I liked Zelikman and Amram, for the most part, and I liked how they got drawn into this adventure because of being swindlers, but the pacing seemed off, and there were too many groups of people to have to keep track of, and I found a lot of the action predictable.
I liked the elephants, though. Books should have more elephants.
This was a book I wanted to like more than I did. I spent most of the book just convincing myself to finish so I can move on to something else. I liked Zelikman and Amram, for the most part, and I liked how they got drawn into this adventure because of being swindlers, but the pacing seemed off, and there were too many groups of people to have to keep track of, and I found a lot of the action predictable.
I liked the elephants, though. Books should have more elephants.
halfpastsix's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I didn't love the novel itself. But the afterword is a masterpiece!
renee_listens's review against another edition
4.0
This was a fun adventure, with really likable characters, witty banter, a great plot and some unexpected twists. This was my first Michael Chabon book, and he has a unique style that intimidated me a bit early on, but as the chapters progressed the story made more sense. I also loved the drawings throughout the book…I usually listen to audiobooks and it made me wonder how many drawings I’ve missed in the 100+ books I’ve listed to.
I don’t say this about every book, but I would like to see this as a movie. The characters, the landscapes, the elephants! It could be pretty great.
I don’t say this about every book, but I would like to see this as a movie. The characters, the landscapes, the elephants! It could be pretty great.
willkay's review against another edition
4.0
I love Michael Chabon. He makes me feel cleverer just from reading his books. It is as if the words seep off the pages, up your fingers and into the brain, as well as getting there via the eyes. In this case you also get to hear the words. Nope, this wasn't the audio version of the book, but it became the audio version.
You know that moment when you arrive at the end of a sentence and you can't remember where it started and you have to go back to the beginning and it read it all again but sometimes that doesn't work so that you are left with reading the thing out loud. word. by single. word. Don't panic if it happens to you, it happens to everyone. It is an accepted learning technique (the concrete stage as opposed to the iconic and symbolic stage).
Theproblem wonderful thing with this book is that it is full of sentences that need to read out loud to grasp their full meaning. Time and time again I had to return to the start of a sentence, mainly because I got lost on the journey to the end. This could have something to do with the fact that Chabon is at his most purple throughout this book.
And at this point I realise that I haven't said anything about the story. It is set in (approximately) 950 A.D.. It is about two totally different people, who are the best of friends. It is the jolly japes that they get into on their journey along the road.
It is fun, fun, fun. Just full of very long sentences. But at the end you'll feel a lot cleverer, I promise you.
You know that moment when you arrive at the end of a sentence and you can't remember where it started and you have to go back to the beginning and it read it all again but sometimes that doesn't work so that you are left with reading the thing out loud. word. by single. word. Don't panic if it happens to you, it happens to everyone. It is an accepted learning technique (the concrete stage as opposed to the iconic and symbolic stage).
The
And at this point I realise that I haven't said anything about the story. It is set in (approximately) 950 A.D.. It is about two totally different people, who are the best of friends. It is the jolly japes that they get into on their journey along the road.
It is fun, fun, fun. Just full of very long sentences. But at the end you'll feel a lot cleverer, I promise you.
concealed_journeys's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Transphobia, Rape, and Slavery