Chabon follows his protagonists through a series of adventures in a mythical reconstruction of Asia Minor, circa the year 950. Sometimes they are con men looking for an easy mark, but just as easily slip into the role of altruistic heroes out to help an innocent orphan or topple a tyrant. The story lines will be familiar territory to anyone who has ever watch a Sabu movie or kippled with Kipling, but Chabon always finds an interesting twist or peculiar detail to raise his tale to a higher level. Above all, the author had a lot of fun with this project, and his enthusiasm is evident at almost every turn.
Gentlemen of the Road will not make anyone forget Chabon’s major works – Wonder Boys, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay and his recent The Yiddish Policemen’s Union. This is a modest work, only a little longer than a novella. But Chabon continues to charm with the scope of his imagination, the sparkle of his writing, and his willingness to sabotage the pieties of serious fiction. And needless to say, after you read it, you will never look at Uncle Manny the same again.
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