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The Yiddish Policemen's Union

By Michael Chabon

(87)

| Mass Market Paperback | 9780061493607

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Book Description

For sixty years, Jewish refugees and their descendants have prospered in the Federal District of Sitka, a "temporary" safe haven created in the wake of revelations of the Holocaust and the shocking 1948 collapse of the fledgling state of Israel. Proud, grateful, and longing to be American, the Jews Continue

For sixty years, Jewish refugees and their descendants have prospered in the Federal District of Sitka, a "temporary" safe haven created in the wake of revelations of the Holocaust and the shocking 1948 collapse of the fledgling state of Israel. Proud, grateful, and longing to be American, the Jews of the Sitka District have created their own little world in the Alaskan panhandle, a vibrant, gritty, soulful, and complex frontier city that moves to the music of Yiddish. For sixty years they have been left alone, neglected and half-forgotten in a backwater of history. Now the District is set to revert to Alaskan control, and their dream is coming to an end: once again the tides of history threaten to sweep them up and carry them off into the unknown.

Critics

  • The Yiddish Policemen's Union By Michael Chabon

    Alternative history is usually a simple, if tantalizing affair. What if the South had won the Civil War? What if the Nazis had prevailed in World War II? What if America and its allies won WWII, but the fledgling Israeli nation was crushed in the Mid ... (read full critics)

    bookpage published on Fri, 10 Sep 2010

  • The Yiddish Policemen's Union

    In many ways Meyer Landsman is a down-at-heel policeman in the Chandler tradition: he's living in a seedy hotel after separating from his wife, drinking too much, and generally rather the worse for wear. To top things off, his ex-wife has been appoin ... (read full critics)

    dannyreviews published on Fri, 27 Aug 2010

7 Reviews

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  • 1 person find this helpful

    It's a strange time to be a Jew

    Despite a few stereotyped characters (the Chandleresque smart and alcoholic protagonist and his though buddy, plus a plethora of ever-scheming Jews) I liked this novel. I'm not a big hard-boiled fan, so I took a while adjusting to the pace. This is a story about loss (past and future), redemption, h ... (continue)

    Despite a few stereotyped characters (the Chandleresque smart and alcoholic protagonist and his though buddy, plus a plethora of ever-scheming Jews) I liked this novel. I'm not a big hard-boiled fan, so I took a while adjusting to the pace. This is a story about loss (past and future), redemption, hope and the pain of being forced to be something you don't want to be.

    The unusual "alternative history" setting and the Yiddish humour that permeates the novel, set it apart from other pulp stories and make it a nice read. An Yiddish glossary at the end of the book would have helped anyway, as it's not so obvious that "sholem" (peace) is the gun! And while I knew that the "shoyfer" is the ram's horn blown on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the fact that this is the way the detectives call their cellphone wasn't readily understandable!

    All in all, a good novel

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    Luciferasi said on Apr 24, 2009 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

  • It took me awhile to come around to this offering from Michael Chabon. I think part of the problem for me was its position as a Hugo and Nebula award winner. I was expecting something with a slightly more science fiction bent to it. Instead I got a very well realized alternate history and pulp de ... (continue)

    It took me awhile to come around to this offering from Michael Chabon. I think part of the problem for me was its position as a Hugo and Nebula award winner. I was expecting something with a slightly more science fiction bent to it. Instead I got a very well realized alternate history and pulp detective story.

    While the story starts right in with the primary murder case, it took me awhile to get hooked in to the story. There are places where the narrator tends to ramble a bit in a stream of consciousness sort of way, which had a tendency to bog the story down in spots.

    The building of the alternate history and the Jewish settlement in Alaska is superb. The imagery and feel for the Sitka setting were extremely well done and in the end is what kept me reading, even when things slowed down developmentally.

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    Braydin said on Mar 18, 2009 about the Hardcover edition | Add your feedback

  • Very readable cross between alternate reality sci-fi and detective genre piece.

    A whiff of parody at several points - the description of the yiddish 'godfather' leader of the orthodox Verbover gang is definitely over the top.

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    huntch said on Oct 10, 2008 about the Hardcover edition | Add your feedback

  • The unusual location and the witty dialogs make the book worthy of consideration. Characters are less surprising and the plot frequently fades away for pages. Native English speakers and Yiddish experts (quorum non ego) might find it a brilliant linguistic experiment.
    All in all, a pleasant rea ... (continue)

    The unusual location and the witty dialogs make the book worthy of consideration. Characters are less surprising and the plot frequently fades away for pages. Native English speakers and Yiddish experts (quorum non ego) might find it a brilliant linguistic experiment.
    All in all, a pleasant reading.

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    Luca said on Jul 21, 2008 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

  • I wanted to love it, the conceit of Jewish exile in Alaska was so thoroughly imagined and his writing (as always) was clever and inventive, but as a whole the book just wasn't compelling. But maybe it just seemed that way because of my high expectations. Which is interesting considering that it's, ... (continue)

    I wanted to love it, the conceit of Jewish exile in Alaska was so thoroughly imagined and his writing (as always) was clever and inventive, but as a whole the book just wasn't compelling. But maybe it just seemed that way because of my high expectations. Which is interesting considering that it's, in part, a book about a messiah who can't bear the expectations that come with the role. Hmmm, I might have to rethink my opinion...

    Is this helpful?

    Kip said on Sep 8, 2007 about the Hardcover edition | Add your feedback

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