Howard Jacobson's book "The Mighty Walzer" came highly recommended. It was about a young man growing up in Manchester England in the 1950's -- and trying to find his place in the world in a low-income Jewish family. As part of his journey, Oliver Walzer finds the game of ping pong and becomes very capable and eventually competes at a very high level. While the ping pong portion of the story was fascinating, I struggled to understand the meaning of many Yiddish words and the other portions of the narrative. I fear I often missed the intended/intentional comedy. While the ending of the book was brilliant and thought-provoking, I have to admit I struggled to fight through the final quarter of Jacobson's book.