The Yiddish Policemen's Union

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It's a hit!

Stop me if you've heard this one: A maverick detective, down on his luck with a drinking problem and an estranged wife, discovers a corpse in a se... (show more)

Stop me if you've heard this one: A maverick detective, down on his luck with a drinking problem and an estranged wife, discovers a corpse in a seedy hotel. His investigation into the culprit leads to uncovering a high-level conspiracy and puts his life in danger. This hard-boiled detective pastiche may be riddled with cliches, but it has one pretty high-concept idea: it is set in an alternative universe where European Jews in danger of extermination were resettled in Alaska. In creating a world where Israel does not exist, Chabon manages to deftly side-step the question of whether or not it should exist, and this novel is more whimsical than political, and all the better for it. I concede the point that many have made that here is a writer who could probably benefit from self-editing a little bit more strictly, but the background detail is important to flesh out a story set in a world which, after all, never happened. And he manages to capture both negative and positive aspects of Jewish culture: on the one hand, a self-inflated sense of their own importance in the grand scheme of things, and an annoying determination to deliberately marginalise themselves, and on the other, the wonderful gift for smartass backtalk that has made them the bane of Fascist societies throughout history. It also reminds us that it is neither Jews nor Arabs who have an innate tendency towards terrorism, but rather that oppressed and marginalised societies of any kind will always breed terrorists in their midst. (show less)

 

 

by Ronnie Bitten

No, it's a flop!

Apparently there should be a club, or a support group for those that had great expectations for this book, read the negative reviews, read the book... (show more)

Apparently there should be a club, or a support group for those that had great expectations for this book, read the negative reviews, read the book anyway, and came out of it dissapointed. I could be the president of that club. I really wanted to enjoy reading this book, instead it was a totally laborious experience. I dragged my eyeballs across every page hoping that, what? the writing style would change? the characters would be interesting? the plot would gain more dimensions? I'm not sure what I hoped for, but I somehow finished the book and yet I still don't hate it. The larger story, the alternative history aspect of this book, was what held my interest. Unfortunately, that aspect was stowed in the back of the closet in favor of the murder mystery. The fact that the closet was opened here and there and a little bit of light was shone on the brilliant back story must have been what kept me going, and it must have been what led me to give the book two stars. (show less)

 

 

by Jessica Hayden Everhart

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  This book has received so much good critique (said to be hillerious) that I had to read it.
  The idea is brilliant - Israel is never created (it loses the war of independence) and the USA offers the holocaust surviving Jews (and Israeli's escaping destroyed Israel) an autonomous zone in Alaska. There, a new community flourishes... but not all is well with this autonomy - and as the book says, it is a strange time to be a Jew.

  In this strange time, one Jew is murdered and here starts a detec... (show more)

  This book has received so much good critique (said to be hillerious) that I had to read it.
  The idea is brilliant - Israel is never created (it loses the war of independence) and the USA offers the holocaust surviving Jews (and Israeli's escaping destroyed Israel) an autonomous zone in Alaska. There, a new community flourishes... but not all is well with this autonomy - and as the book says, it is a strange time to be a Jew.

  In this strange time, one Jew is murdered and here starts a detective story which starts with the murder and ends in... I wont say.

  The book does have its funny bits, but I didn't find it that funny. Maybe its because the book deals with the Yiddish language and I'm a Hebrew speaker. or maybe because the book deals with Orthodox Jews and I'm secular.

  Its a good book, a good detective story, but I didn't laugh my ass off (as was suggested that I would). (show less)

   

   

  by Guy Grobler on Oct 03, 2009 at 12:36AM

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  Great fun, a rollicking read. Coincidentally, I also happen to be reading Plato's Republic. I was astonished to discover that Chabon has taken up the Socratic challenge of examining the nature of justice by creating an imaginary city-state and probing how good and evil play out in the lives of the purveyors and betrayers of justice. The book goes after the "What is it?" and "What if?" questions and never lets go.

  The alternate reality Chabon creates is richly satisfyin... (show more)

  Great fun, a rollicking read. Coincidentally, I also happen to be reading Plato's Republic. I was astonished to discover that Chabon has taken up the Socratic challenge of examining the nature of justice by creating an imaginary city-state and probing how good and evil play out in the lives of the purveyors and betrayers of justice. The book goes after the "What is it?" and "What if?" questions and never lets go.

  The alternate reality Chabon creates is richly satisfying, though at times far-fetched. But it's as much a whodunnit in the classical, Sam Spade sense as it is a philosophical musing, so the wild flights of fantasy can be forgiven--in fact, savored. It's also a love story and a story of personal, family, religious and national identity, with every character in the thick of the struggle for understanding, revenge or redemption. In short, this is a book to sink your mind and your imagination into. (show less)

   

   

  by Martha Vockley on Jul 15, 2009 at 02:40PM

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