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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
Interesting plot, but parts really dragged on. He's a great writer, though, so that kept me from ditching it early.
i simply couldn't read this. I was annoyed by the main character and I found the prose overwritten. Sorry. couldn't make it more than 50 pages
I "read" this on CD in the car. There were several times I'd get home from work and my husband would wind up standing in the doorway staring at me because I'd be out there so long listening to just a little bit more.
I thought the premise of this story was fascinating, but I didn't think he quite carved out the plot and characters to their full potential. I didn't really get into the story until 100-ish pages in, and the ending wasn't nearly as satisfying as I had hoped.
It's still an interesting read with plenty of interesting turns--just not as amazing as I imagined it would be.
It's still an interesting read with plenty of interesting turns--just not as amazing as I imagined it would be.
As with most books, I was initially drawn to the cover and title, but I was ultimately intrigued by the “what-if”-historical setting and characters; the loss of a star stems from the fact I initially had to rely on the audiobook to help instill a will to continue, as the audiobook’s narrator added a humorous depth and realism.
"The Yiddish Policemen's Union" is Michael Chabon's latest genre-juggling tome and almost as enjoyable as his masterpiece, "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay." It may be unfair to compare the two, or to say at the outset that I didn't enjoy "YPU" quite as much. Still, I recommend this book.
Chabon has conjured a world in which Jews have been resettled after the Holocaust to, of all places, Alaska (Israel having lost its 1948 war for independence). The story begins as this resettlement experiment is about to expire, and Chabon positions the Reversion an a kind of Jewish End of Days. In the district of Sitka, just about everyone and everything is Jewish, though not in the way you'd imagine Jewish culture today, but rather in a hazy lost Yiddish culture (including Yiddish, the "mother tongue," still being the spoken language). Even the guns and cell phones have Yiddish nicknames or brand names. A major body of water is the "Shvartsn-Yam." Against this backdrop, Chabon spins a 1940s noir tale involving a Marlowe-eque police officer named Meyer Landsman, his ex-wife and boss Bina, and his cousin (half-Tnglit Indian) Berko trying to solve a murder that their powers-that-be would like ignored.
Without going into plot spoilers, it's a story of dead bodies, chess mavens, lost love, a shadowy rebbe, grifters, henchmen, tunnels, alcohol abuse, rulebreaking cops, spy intrigue, heartache, doughnuts, a prying journalist, a hoped-for Jewish Messiah, evangelical Christians, and ... need I say more? The writing is vivid. Chabon casts some terrific lines - describing a pair of drunks as "slung up against each other, a human lean-to thrown up against the rain," a hotel lobby as having "ashtray charm." "The hairy, mottled crab of his hand flicks one of its legs toward the telephone on his desk."
My main dissatisfaction was that the characters weren't quite as vivid to me as those in "Kavalier & Clay." That ending had me crying; this one left me sighing. Chabon has to work very hard to sustain that noir haze and the geography of Sitka. The book loses some momentum about halfway through, though it recovers toward the end. Chabon's not as successful using chess as a plot device as he was with the comic book in "K & C." But still, Chabon is one of our great writers today and overall this book is a pleasure.
For another review I found worthwhile, check out http://www.forward.com/articles/10541.
Rick
Chabon has conjured a world in which Jews have been resettled after the Holocaust to, of all places, Alaska (Israel having lost its 1948 war for independence). The story begins as this resettlement experiment is about to expire, and Chabon positions the Reversion an a kind of Jewish End of Days. In the district of Sitka, just about everyone and everything is Jewish, though not in the way you'd imagine Jewish culture today, but rather in a hazy lost Yiddish culture (including Yiddish, the "mother tongue," still being the spoken language). Even the guns and cell phones have Yiddish nicknames or brand names. A major body of water is the "Shvartsn-Yam." Against this backdrop, Chabon spins a 1940s noir tale involving a Marlowe-eque police officer named Meyer Landsman, his ex-wife and boss Bina, and his cousin (half-Tnglit Indian) Berko trying to solve a murder that their powers-that-be would like ignored.
Without going into plot spoilers, it's a story of dead bodies, chess mavens, lost love, a shadowy rebbe, grifters, henchmen, tunnels, alcohol abuse, rulebreaking cops, spy intrigue, heartache, doughnuts, a prying journalist, a hoped-for Jewish Messiah, evangelical Christians, and ... need I say more? The writing is vivid. Chabon casts some terrific lines - describing a pair of drunks as "slung up against each other, a human lean-to thrown up against the rain," a hotel lobby as having "ashtray charm." "The hairy, mottled crab of his hand flicks one of its legs toward the telephone on his desk."
My main dissatisfaction was that the characters weren't quite as vivid to me as those in "Kavalier & Clay." That ending had me crying; this one left me sighing. Chabon has to work very hard to sustain that noir haze and the geography of Sitka. The book loses some momentum about halfway through, though it recovers toward the end. Chabon's not as successful using chess as a plot device as he was with the comic book in "K & C." But still, Chabon is one of our great writers today and overall this book is a pleasure.
For another review I found worthwhile, check out http://www.forward.com/articles/10541.
Rick
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“A Messiah who actually arrives is no good to anybody. A hope fulfilled is already half a disappointment.”
This one was a mixed bag for me. The murder mystery kept me engaged, but everything else felt like too much. There were so many characters and plot threads to juggle that it became hard to follow. The historical elements didn’t click with me - maybe because it’s a history I’m unfamiliar with - and the heavy use of Yiddish added another layer of complexity. There’s a glossary, which helped, but flipping back and forth got tiresome. By the end, the book felt more like work than an enjoyable read. If you love dense, intricate stories, you might have a better time with this than I did.
This one was a mixed bag for me. The murder mystery kept me engaged, but everything else felt like too much. There were so many characters and plot threads to juggle that it became hard to follow. The historical elements didn’t click with me - maybe because it’s a history I’m unfamiliar with - and the heavy use of Yiddish added another layer of complexity. There’s a glossary, which helped, but flipping back and forth got tiresome. By the end, the book felt more like work than an enjoyable read. If you love dense, intricate stories, you might have a better time with this than I did.
Great book. Chabon weaves detective stories, jewish lore, a few "what ifs," and so much more into this complex story. I had no idea at the end who had done it but was continuously fascinated with the detail of the story and the effort that Chabon had clearly put into creating this alternate reality. Much like Kavalier and Clay, you get the sense that you are both in a world of fiction and non-fiction, which is really hard to pull off. There's even a little love story for those looking for a little (just a little) romance. Overall, I had problems putting this one down as I read it!