The Final Solution

  

The Final Solution by Michael Chabon

This slender mystery is set in World War II-era England. It features a mute Jewish boy who escaped Nazi persecution in Germany and his loquacious parrot. It is what the parrot says that is the heart of the caper: Over and over again, it rattles off a series of numbers in German. There are various theories about what these numbers might mean: A Nazi intelligence code? The numbers of a fabulously full bank account? Nonsense? This intrigue leads to a murder that brings an aging Holmes-like detective who was once renowned for his attention to forensic details. In the end, the reader has a good idea about what those numbers might mean, but nothing clearly definitive.

I can't say I was particularly taken with this novella. I think it's greatest achievement was the tone Chabon managed to hold throughout. It is very different from his other novels, a clear homage to Doyle's classic detective novels: it is stiff, Victorian language. That part was fun. But, perhaps owing to its length, I never found myself lost in the story. The characters felt like caricatures, and the plot unfolded so suddenly that you never had time to be shocked or surprised. Suspense is, after all, the bread and butter of mysteries, but it was almost entirely lacking here. Not recommended.