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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
3.75. Loved this funny detective duo and alternative history, but this book could have been at least 25% shorter!
Certainly an enjoyable read, but nothing ground-breaking. The premise was interesting and the story was well-written. I think I just preferred [book: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay] better.
Write more later.
Write more later.
"Every generation loses the messiah it has failed to deserve."
The creative premise of this book really pulled me in completely (instead of Israel being created after WWII, the Jewish people are given a temporary "country" in Alaska) and was quite a robust hanger to hang this story on. A really good detective, mystery story, packed with wonderfully drawn characters, interesting places and a fun created language. A twisty-turny plot which was inventive and surprising to the end.
My edition of the book has an interview with Chabon, a story about Chabon traveling to Alaska and meeting with some real-life Jews and the original essay he wrote that sparked the idea for this novel. I found that to be a good add-on after reading this unique story.
My edition of the book has an interview with Chabon, a story about Chabon traveling to Alaska and meeting with some real-life Jews and the original essay he wrote that sparked the idea for this novel. I found that to be a good add-on after reading this unique story.
challenging
funny
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book challenged me in many ways. First, the writing is so filled w/ detail and really tries to evoke the hard-boiled/noir detective fiction style that it must be savored like a fine dining meal. Second, there are so many names that it can be hard to keep track of who’s who— but that’s just me. In the end, while challenging to keep up with at times, I thought this was a very solid read.
I think I may have enjoyed this even a little bit more than 'The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay,' which is saying a lot. I loved how Chabon completely invented the world of Jewish Sitka, complete with it's own slang, Hasidic organized crime, and everything else. The writing was sharp and the characters interesting, and I could never tell what was going to happen next (which is a must for any good detective novel).
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I read this book as part of John Green's "Life's Library" bookclub and I have to say that I loved this weird, hardboiled detective story set in an alternate world. What if the 1940s Slattery Report had allowed Jews to seek refuge in a small part of Alaska, a city called Sitka and that the state of Israel had been founded but was destroyed shortly after. I already liked the premise of this. (Germany also crushed the Soviet Union but was later nuked and destroyed.)
Our protagonist is called Meyer Landsman, alcoholic homicide detective, divorced from his wife (who later becomes his boss) and in every possible regard in a very bad place, is to investigate the murder of a drug abusing chess player who was shot in the same hotel Landsman is staying in. He and his partner discover that the chess player was the prodigy child of a well known and powerful Rabbi who had been regarded as the next Messiah (the Tzadik ha-Dor) but had fled from his wedding many years before and lived in disgrace ever since.
This tale is dark, twisted and utterly fascinating. I truly love hardboiled detective stories though I do not tend to read many oft them. Language-wise this book was also incredibly interesting. It is a mixture of English, Yiddish and newly invented Yiddish words to fit with this new, alternate world. I liked Landsman as a character as he reminded me a lot of "True Detective" Season I with Rust being played by Matthew McConaughey.
The alternate world history, setting, plethora of references to Judaism and all the (new) Yiddish words made it a hard read in many regards. You had to be a very attentive reader to not miss anything. Yet, the characters were complex, well crafted and interesting. I really liked this book but it was exhausting in some places. But I am a very fast reader, so that wasn't really a problem for me.
Thank you, John and Life's Library, for showing me this book!
5 Stars
Our protagonist is called Meyer Landsman, alcoholic homicide detective, divorced from his wife (who later becomes his boss) and in every possible regard in a very bad place, is to investigate the murder of a drug abusing chess player who was shot in the same hotel Landsman is staying in. He and his partner discover that the chess player was the prodigy child of a well known and powerful Rabbi who had been regarded as the next Messiah (the Tzadik ha-Dor) but had fled from his wedding many years before and lived in disgrace ever since.
This tale is dark, twisted and utterly fascinating. I truly love hardboiled detective stories though I do not tend to read many oft them. Language-wise this book was also incredibly interesting. It is a mixture of English, Yiddish and newly invented Yiddish words to fit with this new, alternate world. I liked Landsman as a character as he reminded me a lot of "True Detective" Season I with Rust being played by Matthew McConaughey.
The alternate world history, setting, plethora of references to Judaism and all the (new) Yiddish words made it a hard read in many regards. You had to be a very attentive reader to not miss anything. Yet, the characters were complex, well crafted and interesting. I really liked this book but it was exhausting in some places. But I am a very fast reader, so that wasn't really a problem for me.
Thank you, John and Life's Library, for showing me this book!
5 Stars
Took me forever to finish this book because of how slow and ridiculously written it was. It started off with an interesting hook but things just kept getting muddled. It was so overwritten that I’d finish a page and have no idea what just happened.
Eight years ago, I picked this book up and quickly dropped it after 50 pages or so, when (I think) the density of the prose was too much for me. It is not ponderous - actually very readable, as all his books are, but he has poured so much into each sentence and description that I had to pay more attention, and it became a pleasure to inhabit this world he created (not to mention that the air of impending catastrophe suffusing everything felt really timely), to the extent that I was pouring over maps of Sitka for locations he named. Although many of the Jewish references were lost on me, I could comprehend enough to get most of the jokes. I recant my prior take