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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was our August 2008 neighborhood book club selection, but I didn't manage to finish reading it until mid-September.
I enjoyed the book, but found both the beginning and the ending to be a bit slow. I feel like a more aggressive approach to editing would have improved the overall feel of the book - it dragged on a bit in places. I probably would have set this book aside, except a fellow book club member said that it improved after the first 60 pages or so. He was right, the middle of the book was well-written and quite interesting.
I've always found alternate-history books to be enjoyable reading and this was no exception, the challenges presented by the premise of the history proposed by the book were intriguing.
I enjoyed the book, but found both the beginning and the ending to be a bit slow. I feel like a more aggressive approach to editing would have improved the overall feel of the book - it dragged on a bit in places. I probably would have set this book aside, except a fellow book club member said that it improved after the first 60 pages or so. He was right, the middle of the book was well-written and quite interesting.
I've always found alternate-history books to be enjoyable reading and this was no exception, the challenges presented by the premise of the history proposed by the book were intriguing.
A pretty straightforward detective story, with the unique setting of a Jewish homeland established in Alaska after WWII and on the verge of reverting back to US control. Very well written and entertaining.
I really wanted to love this book so that I could justify buying it. I almost bought it just for the cover alone! But alas, while the story was good, I had a hard time understanding it. There's so much yiddish slang that I had no idea what was going on a lot of the time. And I wasn't going to sit with my laptop and google every other word. I did manage to figure out that gist of it, and the story is great...I just wish it had been a little easier to follow.
3.5 stars.
The Yiddish Policemen's Union succeeds at few different things, mainly it's alternate history setting. Chabon manages to craft a world that just makes sense somehow even though it doesn't actually exist. There's a lot of thought put into both how Alaskian Jews fit into Sitka, how this small change in history affected World War II, President Kennedy, and other historical elements. There's a really fascinating world building element at play here, and Chabon really succeeds at that.
Chabon is also perfection at describing the diaspora of the Jewish people. He often describes how they have made their culture and their world portable. How Bina carries her world in her purse. It's a beautiful metaphor. He has a very particular way of really humanizing the reality of being shifted around as a people.
What I found to be less successful was the actual mystery. While I appreciated how it leaned into the Jewish religion as an impetus, I ultimately struggled to understand the motivations behind the crimes that were committed in the book, from the murder to what Meyer uncovers as he investigates those murders. I understand it in theory but I'm just not seeing how doing those particular actions would have the affect they want it to have. In fact, we know that. So just as a mystery, I didn't think it was all that well thought out.
If you're here for the alternate history and world-building, you're going to have a great time. If you're here for the detective/mystery element, well, I think there are some other options.
Final note, Berko, Bina, and Meyer are all absolute gems of characters. Chabon really had their characters and voices well defined. Additional credit to the narrator of the audiobook. Perfect casting, great voice. It was actually kind of odd to hear him read the credits because he still had Meyer's voice.
The Yiddish Policemen's Union succeeds at few different things, mainly it's alternate history setting. Chabon manages to craft a world that just makes sense somehow even though it doesn't actually exist. There's a lot of thought put into both how Alaskian Jews fit into Sitka, how this small change in history affected World War II, President Kennedy, and other historical elements. There's a really fascinating world building element at play here, and Chabon really succeeds at that.
Chabon is also perfection at describing the diaspora of the Jewish people. He often describes how they have made their culture and their world portable. How Bina carries her world in her purse. It's a beautiful metaphor. He has a very particular way of really humanizing the reality of being shifted around as a people.
What I found to be less successful was the actual mystery. While I appreciated how it leaned into the Jewish religion as an impetus, I ultimately struggled to understand the motivations behind the crimes that were committed in the book, from the murder to what Meyer uncovers as he investigates those murders. I understand it in theory but I'm just not seeing how doing those particular actions would have the affect they want it to have. In fact, we know that
Spoiler
killing Mendel does not stop the bomb attempt at all which makes the point of getting himself killed rather pointless...If you're here for the alternate history and world-building, you're going to have a great time. If you're here for the detective/mystery element, well, I think there are some other options.
Final note, Berko, Bina, and Meyer are all absolute gems of characters. Chabon really had their characters and voices well defined. Additional credit to the narrator of the audiobook. Perfect casting, great voice. It was actually kind of odd to hear him read the credits because he still had Meyer's voice.
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Sure, it starts out slowly, but all good things worth waiting for usually do. An excellent book.
I have no idea what happened. While I found the writing pretentious, I also found the Yiddish slang charming. Disappointing for what I expected from the author of Cavalier & Clay.
Word Salad: the novel. Cool story, and creatively written. But sometimes it's just a bit too much.