An interestingly done intellectual game, but mostly not even as emotionally engaging as Borges. Wonderful as a rarity, wouldn't want a steady diet of. I probably missed a lot. ( )

A riddling book, which I finished with the sense that things were eventually knitting together and might even converge on some semblance of a solution, if I examined both 'male' and 'female' versions, and undertook careful cross-referencing between the partial and sometimes contradictory Christian, Islamic and Hebrew dictionary sections. It's arguably to the book's discredit that I have not felt inclined to do so; it's arguably to its redemptive credit that I nevertheless found it an intriguing read.

This 'dictionary' is more a set of alphabetically ordered vignettes, each of which can be enjoyed firstly in itself, and secondly in the mutual mirroring between it and the others. Sometimes the effect is confusing, occasionally it can feel repetitive, and some details may just seem peculiar; but what's always evident is that the author has ideas, and whereas normally it's critical assassination to observe that plot elements in a work don't hang smoothly together, in the confused pseudohistorical accounts of the Khazar Polemic we have a kind of justification even for that. Perhaps this symposium of unreliable narrators is in its own way a more really historical fiction than most attempts at a 'realistic' historical novel.

The toughest thing I ever read, but fucking brilliant and WELL worth it!

Can a novel be written in the form of a dictionary? If your immediate answer is an adamant, "No!", then you might not enjoy this novel. On the other hand, it could change your mind.

Some reviews treat the Khazars as fictional, and this novel as pure fiction. However, Historical Fiction might be more accurate. The Khazars were real, or at least tales of them predate this novel significantly. According to tradition, the king did ask for representatives from the three major religions to debate. According to tradition the king, and his people, converted enmasse to Judaism. I have not found similar traditions among Christian and Muslim folklore. However, this novel suggests that all three possibilities might have occurred.

There is a male and female edition, differing in only a few lines. A nice marketing technique to get people to buy two books. Don't fall for it. You only need to buy one. The differing lines can be obtained on the internet. ( )

Interesting - I just wish I understood it, or could get someone to tell me what the passages are that "change everything".