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3.66 AVERAGE
3.66 AVERAGE
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book has an interesting premise but terrible pacing the way the characters and dialogue are written, the way the scene is set I would probably really enjoy seeing it on the screen
Would probably give it 4.5 if i could :)
It really evoked Chandler for me (which was very much intended by the author) albeit in an imaginary "promised" land.
It really evoked Chandler for me (which was very much intended by the author) albeit in an imaginary "promised" land.
Having enjoyed Kavalier & Clay, I figured I'd probably like this book. I was surprised though, at how delightfully the book both adhered to the familiar themes and characteristics of the potboiler detective novel while also digging deeper into issues of identity, community, family, and polity. "It's about fathers!," Berko says, and boy I felt that. We can seek to atone for the sins of our fathers, while trying to separate which of our fathers' traits are worthy of sustaining in ourselves, and which should be counterchecked as the angels of our lesser natures.
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-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
Excellently written. One of the best books I’ve read in 2024. Chabon’s prose is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. Great mystery and very Disco Elysium-esque, train wreck manic drunk of a cop who’s quite unconventional in his methodology.
Murder mysteries are no longer my cup of tea.
Michael Chabon is an amazing writer. This is an amazing book. I wish I were a more reflective person who could sit down and actually think about it. I would think about what it would mean to be the thd.
Not really my jam, I read the first 30 pages just in case it blew my mind but it didn't. Might be a truly lovely mystery story.
Meyer Landsman is a burned-out, alcoholic detective in Sitka, where Jews were relocated after the collapse of Israel in 1948. He discovers the body of an unidentified chess-playing junkie in his hotel, and against orders (and his better judgment) begins to investigate. His investigation leads him deep into the heart of Orthodox Jewish political intrigue, chess, and his closest relationships.
Michael Chabon is a great writer. That is, he can write great sentences. And he can put the sentences together into magnificent paragraphs. In Kavalier and Clay, he used his great sentences to tell a beautiful story about engaging characters. In The Yiddish Policemen's Union, they are still good sentences, but the story they tell (and the characters that they describe) is pretty bland. He does some interesting things with language, alternate history, and exploitation of the hard-boiled crime genre, but on the whole the book was just ok.
Michael Chabon is a great writer. That is, he can write great sentences. And he can put the sentences together into magnificent paragraphs. In Kavalier and Clay, he used his great sentences to tell a beautiful story about engaging characters. In The Yiddish Policemen's Union, they are still good sentences, but the story they tell (and the characters that they describe) is pretty bland. He does some interesting things with language, alternate history, and exploitation of the hard-boiled crime genre, but on the whole the book was just ok.
challenging
dark
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Gun violence, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder
Minor: Drug abuse, Grief, Pregnancy