A review by l3vy
The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon

challenging mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

This book is best in the middle. Unfortunately for it, that means it made a poor first impression and failed to stick the landing in its ending. The book is a pretty slow start and by the time it does get interesting, its writing style is already starting to grate on you. This isn't helped by a rushed and anti-climatic feeling resolution.

My biggest criticism of the book can be boiled down to that I think it could have used another few rounds of editing. In short, the text feels very overwritten and flowery, sometimes to the point that it can feel mind-bending and confusing. From what I have seen of other reviews this seems to be somewhat of an anomaly for the writer. I honestly think there is a great book in here but is being bogged down by overly flowery writing and time wasted on insignificant detail.

There are some other small things that bothered me throughout my reading, such as some of the characterization of female characters and Landsman sometimes feeling inconsistent, but I don't think these warrant going into much detail here.

"My Saturday night is like a microwave burrito. Very tough to ruin something that starts so bad to begin with."