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A review by cpriz
The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon
4.0
Great book. I think the most impactful part of the book was the way it viewed Jews, Jewish-ness, and Judaism. As an insider, I felt at home with the small town, pessimistic, yiddish-speaking, existentially troubled protagonist and yet I was able to view the variants of Jewish society with the total absurdity they must have to an outsider. Chabon's portrayal and criticisms of Jewish life hit home.
It was nice to have the normals (white American Christians) turned into great outsiders. These characters appeared as buffoons with their inability to pronounce Yiddish names and their lack of comprehension for the subtleties that rule the Jewish way of life.
The book was a world. I smelled its air, felt it's frigid temperatures and got lost in its strange pickle smells. The characters, the setting, the writing, the plot. It was the perfect summation of everything that is a Good Book.
It was nice to have the normals (white American Christians) turned into great outsiders. These characters appeared as buffoons with their inability to pronounce Yiddish names and their lack of comprehension for the subtleties that rule the Jewish way of life.
The book was a world. I smelled its air, felt it's frigid temperatures and got lost in its strange pickle smells. The characters, the setting, the writing, the plot. It was the perfect summation of everything that is a Good Book.