#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
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"I loved this -- it's a swashbuckling, sort of silly "Boys Own Adventure," complete with illustrations, swordplay, and chapters that end on cliffhangers. Michael Chabon clearly had a blast writing this, and I had a blast reading it. It's not literary in the manner of some of Chabon's other works, but despite its rolicking nature, it's not complete fluff, either. Take this on an airplane or hide out for a few hours with some tea and cookies, and enjoy."
— Kirsten (4 out of 5 stars)
" A fun adventure novel. Chabon imitates the style of classic adventure novels with over written passages and flowery language which were sometimes difficult to follow. Ultimately though, this book was a quick read and an exciting tale. "
— Matthew, 2/17/2014" Well-written and a good read! "
— Lara, 2/1/2014" Entertaining adventure tale from long ago and far away. Very different from Yiddish POliceman's Union. "
— carl, 1/27/2014" Beautiful writing, plot a bit thin. "
— Ann, 1/27/2014" Some excellent writing, but the characters and stories were just a little too unbelievable at times. "
— Cynthia, 1/23/2014" I like Chabon's recent adventure books. He provides interesting characters, situations and alternative views of history. This is a quick read and very enjoyable if you can get into 9-10th Century interactions of Muslims, Jews, Vikings, Franks and an empire about to break up. Being of Khazarian heritage, myself, it was a chance to visit a place that I had only held in my mind before this tale. "
— HBalikov, 1/17/2014" "Jews with Swords" was the working title for this short and wonderful book. Loved it. Love Chabon. "
— Catherine, 1/14/2014" Good, not great. Of course he has set a high bar w/ his previous works. It's a very good, old fashioned adventure story in the mold of Ali Baba/40 Thieves. "
— David, 1/10/2014" Listened to this one on CD, so didn't absorb everything, but found this book quite enjoyable nonetheless. And it's quite short- an added bonus! "
— Brittany, 1/8/2014" This book has a great opening, but then begins to lose focus. I'm stuck in the middle of the second act, but determined to finish it. "
— Ed, 12/24/2013" Entertaining saga of con men and dreamers parlaying cunning, disguise and chutzpah to right wrongs and make some money if possible. A wonderful story focusing on two characters who are very dissimilar tempermently and physically but who trust each other. "
— David, 12/15/2013" You get the feeling Chabon wrote this during the commercial breaks while watching a disney film with his kids... a couple hours of fun with highfaluten' vocabulary hung on a swashbuckling plot gone wild "
— David, 12/9/2013" Obvious why it's a lesser Chabon. "
— Joe, 12/1/2013" a literary excursion into pulpy historical adventure fiction. this is Chabon channeling R.E. Howard, tracing the lives of the original odd couple - a mismatched pair of Jewish soldiers of fortune - as they traipse through the Near East around the turn of the millennium (~1000 AD). "
— furious, 11/27/2013" My least favorite Chabon book so far, but still fun. "
— Angela, 7/9/2013" I love Chabon, but this was really hard for me to get into. I'll have to try again later. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood. "
— Danita, 7/1/2013" Another epic adventure by Chabon, full of witty banter and outlandish adventure. Laurance of Arabia meets the crusaders! "
— Eriel, 9/8/2012" Very disappointed. Not original at all. "
— L., 7/7/2012" Chabon is such a smart writer that it was a little confusing following the multiple clauses of each sentence, the multiple names he introduces, etc. I thought there would be more adventure, but it was alright. "
— Sean, 5/19/2012" Truth be told I didnt even finish it. Chabon should be credited for writing well outside his usually style and Genre(s) but frankly he didnt pull it off. "
— Calvin, 3/28/2012" I listened to the audiobook version of this, and it was tremendous. I'm actually not sure if I would have enjoyed the book in traditional form. It was really fun as a road trip backdrop, though. "
— Rosie, 3/22/2012" Bit short, but only in that I was enjoying the fun and would have liked a little more. Great illustrations too by Gary Gianni. Will definately look for this author again (and for Gary Gianni for that matter) "
— Roland, 2/22/2012" Loved this book, the characters were great the story was thrilling and kept me wanting to get back in the car to listen. Set in a vague past two not so admirable 'thieves' find themselves at the center of a revolution and must decide who they really are. "
— Cathryn, 10/27/2011" Fun little adventure, very capably written but nothin' to write home about. "
— Marijan, 10/15/2011" I love the flavor of this old story, the long sentences, and the Don Quixote feeling. Chabon is talented. "
— Janice, 8/5/2011" Enjoyed this short novel by Chabon. Descriptive, good action and clever plot twists. "
— Corrie, 5/23/2011" The marriage of a tale of legend to an adventure story ends in a literary divorce. "
— Jason, 5/15/2011" So, so disappointing. I loved everything I've read of his, so I was excited to start this one. <br/>I had to force myself to finish it. <br/> <br/> "
— Ken, 5/9/2011" Every blurb for this book calls it "swashbuckling," which it is, but the language and sentence structure is probably far more elaborate than any other swashbuckling adventure out there! In short, what you would hope for and expect from Chabon. "
— Andrea, 5/8/2011" It defenetly want for me. Too slow, Too low. <br/>The language was hard to read. Pitty. "
— Doron, 4/30/2011" This book was amazing. I loved the characters and the plot. Just everything was fantastic. "
— Adam, 4/22/2011" I know he's supposed to be a great writer, but I thought this was just boring. "
— Jeanne, 4/18/2011" Rollicking, exotic, adventure story about Jews with swords. Not an easy read...but it would make a great movie. "
— Ivy, 4/14/2011" Wonderful read --- leaves you desiring more! "
— Fred, 3/14/2011" Wow, what a fun book. Michael Chabon is a master with the language and with creating the world he is writing about for the reader. Even the chapter titles were fun--here's one of my favorites, "On following the road to one's destiny, with the usual intrusions of violence and grace." "
— Wendy, 3/5/2011Michael Chabon is the New York Times bestselling author of numerous books, collections of short stories and essays, and a young-adult novel. Titles include Wonder Boys, which was made into a critically acclaimed film; The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, which won numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize; and The Yiddish Policemen’s Union, among others.
Andre Braugher (1962–2023) was an Emmy Award and Obie Award–winning actor. His film and television credits included Salt, Passengers, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, and Men of a Certain Age. He was born and raised in Chicago, earned a BA degree from Stanford University and an MFA from Juilliard.