I forget how I heard about “Cain’s Jawbone” but upon learning of a nearly 100 year old puzzle that has only been solved by 3 people, I knew I had to give it a shot. It is 100 pages, printed out of order. There are 6 murders. Your job is to arrange the pages in the correct order, which will then allow you to identify the 6 victims and their murderers. This review comes after I have read through the book as it is printed 1 time. It is written in the Modernist style, with stream of consciousness narration, what seems like many points of view, abundant use of colloquialisms and references to classical literature and the pop culture of the time. It does not take long to see why so few people have solved the mystery. It’s going to be hard. As of now, I can only identify three of the victims, and have no idea who any of the murderers could be. Still, I’m really excited to start my deep dive into every line of this book. I might even buy one of those bulletin boards like a real detective.

 

If you’re piqued by the challenge, the book is $13 so why not? As a literary piece, I still suggest it is worth reading for fans of modernism as it is quite good writing and I imagine acts as quite the illuminating artifact of the time period. For the sleuths, it will probably be helpful to be an English polymath from the 1930s, but perhaps not. I’m hyped for the challenge!