Gentlemen of the Road: A Tale of Adventure [title page only]#1 SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE BESTSELLER • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE “A picaresque, swashbuckling adventure.”—The Washington Post Book World They’re an odd pair, to be sure: pale, rail-thin, black-clad Zelikman, a moody, itinerant physician fond of jaunty headgear, and ex-soldier Amram, a gray-haired giant of a man as quick with a razor-tongued witticism as with a sharpened battle-ax. Brothers under the skin, comrades in arms, they make their rootless way through the Caucasus Mountains, circa a.d. 950, living as they please and surviving however they can—as blades and thieves for hire and as practiced bamboozlers, cheerfully separating the gullible from their money. But when they are dragooned into service as escorts and defenders to a prince of the Khazar Empire, they soon find themselves the half-willing generals in a full-scale revolution—on a road paved with warriors and whores, evil emperors and extraordinary elephants, secrets, swordplay, and such stuff as the grandest adventures are made of. Praise for Gentlemen of the Road “Within a few pages I was happily tangled in [Chabon’s] net of finely filigreed language, seduced by an old-school-style swashbuckling quest . . . laced with surprises and humor.”—San Francisco Chronicle “[Chabon] is probably the premiere prose stylist—the Updike—of his generation.”—Time “The action is intricate and exuberant. . . . It’s hard to resist its gathering momentum, not to mention the sheer headlong pleasure of Chabon’s language.”—The New York Times Book Review “[A] wild, wild adventure . . . abounds with lush language . . . This book roars to be read aloud.”—Chicago Sun-Times |
Contents
CHAPTER | 16 |
CHAPTER THREE | 30 |
CHAPTER FIVE | 56 |
CHAPTER | 68 |
CHAPTER SEVEN | 79 |
CHAPTER EIGHT | 91 |
CHAPTER | 119 |
CHAPTER TWELVE | 146 |
CHAPTER THIRTEEN | 157 |
CHAPTER FOURTEEN | 170 |
CHAPTER FIFTEEN | 182 |
AFTERWORD | 197 |
A NOTE ON THE KHAZARS | 205 |
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Common terms and phrases
adventure African Amram Arabic armor arms army Arsiyah Atil Azerbaijan bek's belly blade brother Brotherhood Buljan burned captain of archers caravansary caught Chabon cheeks dagger dark dead dragged dudeen elephant eyes face father feet felt Filaq fire fist Frank GARY GIANNI gate gaze giant girl grass guard hand Hanukkah head heard Hillel holy tongue horse Jewish Jews Joseph Hirkanos kagan Khazar Khazaria kingdom knees Lancet leather likman looked mahout MICHAEL CHABON mosque mouth Muhammadan Muslim Mysteries of Pittsburgh nephew never night nodded Northmen palace partner Qomr Radanite rebab Regensburg revenge river road rode rumor runes scarecrow seemed shatranj board shoulders side smell soldiers stood stranger stripling sword tarkhan tarpan tent thin throat took troopers troops turned voice walls watched wind yard Yiddish Policemen's Union young youth Zelik Zelikman