J by Howard Jacobson

About halfway through this book, author Jacobson includes a retelling of "The Allegory of the Frog," you know, the one about the frog who lets himself be boiled because the water is warmed gradually. It seems to me that J in its entirety is an allegory rather than a novel in the usual sense, because its plot line and characters at no time appear lifelike (no more than the frog); however, they do carry an obvious message: humanity needs a scapegoat for its anger, and, for the Jews, this means that history can repeat itself.

The world of the novel occurs some time in the future following a largely undescribed violent event called by all WHAT HAPPENED, IF IT HAPPENED, after which the population by common consent all chose new names (a curious blend of Celtic and Jewish), agreed to forget about the past, and adopted an apologetic "so sorry" superficial attitude. Despite their efforts to create a climate of peace and love, their society is filled with random violence, particularly against women.

The two central characters, who both feel themselves to be misfits who are threatened in some unspecified way, are thrown together by some mysterious agency and fall in love. The mystery becomes, who is trying to direct their lives, and why.

Favorable comparisons that have been made between J and the dystopian classics 1984 and Brave New World greatly overestimate the power of this book. J never seems real, lacks narrative tension, and, most of all, does not have an interesting plot at all, unlike those to which it is being compared. They are alike, however, in their generally bleak view of mankind. Jacobson appears to be correct in his contentions -- when life is not perfect, people tend to look for someone to blame and assume an "us" against "them" attitude. (This scenario is rampant in the US, though, in this case, the Jewish people don't seem to be the "them.")

In conclusion, I would recommend J for its ideas, but not as an interesting or intriguing novel. (It was a finalist for England's 2014 Man Booker Prize.)