The Finkler Question

I do appreciate that the Booker Prize is not an election. It is not a contest in which one takes sides, cheering the winner and deprecating the losers. My delight at The Finkler Question's winning is not based only on its being a superb book, although it is that. No, what astonishes me is not only that the British Left's contemporary debate on Israel/Palestine can form the backbone of a truly great literary novel, but also that the novel in question could then win the Booker. The Finkler Question is a deeply significant view of life in this country today, as well as being both very funny and deeply moving. That the Booker judges 'get it' is enormously encouraging.