One night, after Julian leaves a dinner date with his two friends, a woman mugs him on the street. Because of Julian's hapless way with women, he pretty much considers himself a widower, too. Sam is also a recent widower but has not yet fully grasped, or grieved, the death of his wife, Tyler, with whom Julian once had an affair.

Libor's wife, Malkie, has just died, and he is still in mourning. The two men also keep in contact with their former teacher Libor, who, at almost ninety years old, is a retired tutor and Hollywood gossip columnist.

Their bond is an often-uneasy one, but an enduring friendship is a rarity in Julian's life, so he holds fast to it. Where Julian is easily forgettable and largely unremarkable, Sam is electric and accomplished, a popular writer, philosopher, and prominent television commentator. He works as a radio producer, formerly with the BBC, and one of his few successful relationships is with his best friend, Sam. The novel opens with a discussion of Julian's abysmal luck in life and love. The Finkler Question won the Man Book Prize in 2010 and was shortlisted for the JQ Wingate Prize. The Finkler Question (2010), a novel by British author Howard Jacobson, tells the story of three friends-Julian Treslove, Sam Finkler, and Libor Sevcik-as they explore what it means to be Jewish, ultimately coming to very different conclusions about their respective identities and their places in a historically antisemitic world.

The finkler question by howard jacobson