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emeraldgarnet's review against another edition
4.0
As alternate histories go, 'The Yiddish Policemen's Union' is an original premise. Here you will not find a victorious Hitler or a surviving Confederate States of America. Instead, we read about a short-lived State of Israel and a large community of Jewish refugees in Alaska.
The novel's hardboiled detective theme makes for a riveting read.
The novel's hardboiled detective theme makes for a riveting read.
dreaming_ace's review against another edition
4.0
Personally I did not enjoy this quite as much as The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay but that was mainly because the Kavalier & Clay dealt with the birth of the comic industry which is a topic I am more interested in.
This book felt like it had a bit less plot, and the plot felt like when we finally got to the end it was rushed (Like well I am about done with the novel I should deal with the hanging threads) Also the main protagonists just are more weather beaten and worn down and much less optimistic then those in Kavalier & Clay so the story felt sad and draining not energized.
This book felt like it had a bit less plot, and the plot felt like when we finally got to the end it was rushed (Like well I am about done with the novel I should deal with the hanging threads) Also the main protagonists just are more weather beaten and worn down and much less optimistic then those in Kavalier & Clay so the story felt sad and draining not energized.
gothhotel's review against another edition
4.0
As a detective novel, middling. The atmosphere is great but the pacing is off and the plot rambles around the block and up and down a few hills before settling down somewhere out of left field. Still, it's got chutzpah, if I may borrow the term. Chabon writes like a control freak - you must know the exact inflection with which this minor character pronounces a name. - but with such imagination and wit that it is impossible not to enjoy. The big picture is rich and the little picture is jam-packed with weird little quips that make you laugh and say, "where the hell did that come from?" A character was "as sober as a carp in a bathtub." A place "had all the allure of a dehumidifier". In the slower first half, I had to make myself pick up the book, but I was always glad I did. The ending also hit like a ton of bricks, in light of recent events. ("That's the kind of shit we have to look forward to now. Burning cars and homicidal dancing.”)
If you put aside the whole "detective story" angle and look at the book as something else - a black-humored look at the tangle of fathers and sons, displacement and diaspora - it's really very good, probably even great. And in a monkey-brain aside, I imagined Landsman as Harry du Bois from Disco Elysium, but I'm pretty sure the writers of Disco Elysium were imagining Landsman when they wrote Harry du Bois, so I stand by it.
If you put aside the whole "detective story" angle and look at the book as something else - a black-humored look at the tangle of fathers and sons, displacement and diaspora - it's really very good, probably even great. And in a monkey-brain aside, I imagined Landsman as Harry du Bois from Disco Elysium, but I'm pretty sure the writers of Disco Elysium were imagining Landsman when they wrote Harry du Bois, so I stand by it.
jtrogers1992's review against another edition
4.0
Still thinking about the ending of this book, really compelling characters and themes, especially around religious fanaticism.
fanokna58's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
5.0
heloise_lifeinbooks's review against another edition
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
The pacing was really slow, and I def had to force myself through the first 150-200pgs. I didn’t drop it at that point because the premise and the characters were interesting, but I was definitely a bit bored.
Past that point the story picks up and it starts to get interesting (on the detective/noir side), and the characters and dialogues are both really great.
The ending lacks closure but I enjoyed it.
Past that point the story picks up and it starts to get interesting (on the detective/noir side), and the characters and dialogues are both really great.
The ending lacks closure but I enjoyed it.
nairijan's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Chabon’s alternate history novel was incredibly original but ultimately it still remains to be a detective story bolstering the idea of a good police officer against a corrupt system. While the dialogue is stunning and enjoyable throughout, Chabon’s worldbuilding left me wanting for more especially given the themes of a diasporan community moving onto an indigenous people’s land
izzylashley's review against another edition
4.0
This book was low key kind of crazy towards the end, took me a bit to actually get into it but damn
soben's review against another edition
3.0
Slow start, then got really captivating about 50% through. Wish the ending was a little more conclusive, but enjoyed the story overall.
angus_mckeogh's review against another edition
2.0
Oy vey! Certainly not awful, but so far off from being amazing. I’m still left thinking I read his best book, Motherless Brooklyn, first. This novel is an alternate history set in a Jewish State within the defunct United States. A mystery and a murder, but ultimately kind of bland.