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

5.0

A re-read for me for the Coffee & Crime Mystery Book Club that I run at the Livingston Public Library. I always re-read the whole novel right before we meet, marking key passages and generally trying to be aware of the mechanics of the novel--how the writer gave me the impression I received the first time, how the mystery itself gets worked and its relation to the expectations and cliches of the mystery genre. I loved it every bit as much this time but differently. Though I wished I had given myself more time because reading through Chabon's dense, rich prose style on a deadline is a little like chugging a gallon of the best dark hot chocolate, steaming hot. Part of the time I listened to Peter Riegert's wonderful reading of the book on disk, which was a real treat--he reads with such an understated panache. Also really enjoyed the interview with Chabon on Disk 10 at the end of the book about how he came to imagine a colony of Yiddish-speaking Jews in Alaska and the amazing, infinite pains he took to build his imaginary world with its alternate history.