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aberdeenwaters's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed the setting and alternative history in which Chabon set this detective story. Had to use the Yiddish glossary a lot, but I didn't mind.
jrcarr233's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
5.0
grayjay's review against another edition
3.0
In this alternative history mystery novel, the USA created a temporary colony for the Jewish people when the new state of Israel was destroyed in 1948. Sitka, Alaska is now a Yiddish-speaking metropolis and Detective Meyer, a middle-aged, alcoholic devorcee, becomes obsessed with finding the killer of his neighbour, a heroin addict with mysterious connections to the chess club Meyer's father pressured him to be in as a child.
Although I wasn't super into the main character, Chabon created a fascinating, living world to explore and I enjoyed immersing myself in it.
Although I wasn't super into the main character, Chabon created a fascinating, living world to explore and I enjoyed immersing myself in it.
spamrisk's review against another edition
5.0
Jews in Alaska,
A strange murder mystery,
Lots of epic prose.
A strange murder mystery,
Lots of epic prose.
geoffdgeorge's review against another edition
As a detective novel it's a fun read, and Chabon's definitely got talent, but I did find myself drifting a bit towards the end. I went to a talk where the author read from the book, and I liked the segment he read aloud, and he talked about how he spent three years working on the thing, and it sounded very arduous and made it difficult for me to not like, just because I knew what went into it. I'm wondering how much I would have liked it if I'd never heard him talk about it.
I spent a good deal of time looking up yiddish words in the OED and eventually using a Yiddish-English dictionary, which really is probably a good thing.
I imagine you would like it a great deal if you're big on detective fiction. And the world of Sitka, Alaska that Chabon created ... you could visualize it so well sometimes, this great big city with grimy old buildings, constant bad weather, and a sun that barely rises before falling again. So many diners and hotels and sections of town. You could tell that he had put a lot into the creation of that world even before setting a story within it, and there are probably still portions of it that only he will ever know about.
Overall, I give it a "yeah, pretty good" on a scale of "piss awful" to "intelligent, fantastic, and amazing."
I spent a good deal of time looking up yiddish words in the OED and eventually using a Yiddish-English dictionary, which really is probably a good thing.
I imagine you would like it a great deal if you're big on detective fiction. And the world of Sitka, Alaska that Chabon created ... you could visualize it so well sometimes, this great big city with grimy old buildings, constant bad weather, and a sun that barely rises before falling again. So many diners and hotels and sections of town. You could tell that he had put a lot into the creation of that world even before setting a story within it, and there are probably still portions of it that only he will ever know about.
Overall, I give it a "yeah, pretty good" on a scale of "piss awful" to "intelligent, fantastic, and amazing."
crazyda79's review against another edition
Was confused by characters and wasn't engaging
rajaxar1's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
jacksontibet's review against another edition
3.0
I like Jewish books, but for some reason this one didn't grab me as well as some others. Maybe it's because I'm not a super fan of the detective-solving-a-murder genre. Kind of played out, even when it does involve red cows and the messiah and chess and an imaginary Jewish community in Alaska.
bentrevett's review against another edition
1.0
I did not care about anyone or anything in this book
canalla82's review against another edition
4.0
Me pareció muy bueno este libro el modo en q que te describe la historia me encanto