Julian Treslove, a professionally unspectacular former BBC radio producer, and Sam Finkler, a popular Jewish philosopher, writer and television personality, are old school friends.

After much cogitation, Treslove believes what the assailant meant was "You, Jew", sparking a long-running obsession with all things and people Jewish – which he refers to as "Finkler".

Treslove gets into a relationship with Hephzibah, the great-grandniece of Libor, and is haunted by his adulterous affair with Tyler, Finkler's deceased wife.

The magazine's critical summary reads: "The Finkler Question, a portrait of three men wrestling with identity, showcases Jacobson as "a frighteningly smart and insightful thinker and stylist" (Spectator)".

[4] Chairman of the judges and former Poet Laureate Andrew Motion said, "The Finkler Question should not be seen as something that was 'relentlessly middle-brow, or easy-peasy' because it was comic.