|
The Yiddish Policemen's Union: A Novel (P.S.) | 
| Author: Michael Chabon
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Category: Book
List Price: $15.95
Buy New: $8.84
You Save: $7.11 (45%)
New (54) Used (18) Collectible (1) from $8.25
Avg. Customer Rating:  260 reviews
Sales Rank: 268
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 464
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5 x 1.3
ISBN: 0007149832
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780007149834
ASIN: 0007149832
Publication Date: May 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand new Item. CD, DVD, Book, VHS more than 400 000 titles to choose from. ALL days Low Price !
|
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product 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 the Holocaust and the shocking 1948 collapse of the fledgling state of Israel. The Jews of the Sitka District have created their own little world in the Alaskan panhandle, a vibrant and complex frontier city that moves to the music of Yiddish. But now the District is set to revert to Alaskan control, and their dream is coming to an end. Homicide detective Meyer Landsman of the District Police has enough problems without worrying about the upcoming Reversion. His life is a shambles, his marriage a wreck, his career a disaster. And in the cheap hotel where Landsman has washed up, someone has just committed a murder—right under his nose. When he begins to investigate the killing of his neighbor, a former chess prodigy, word comes down from on high that the case is to be dropped immediately, and Landsman finds himself contending with all the powerful forces of faith, obsession, evil, and salvation that are his heritage. At once a gripping whodunit, a love story, and an exploration of the mysteries of exile and redemption, The Yiddish Policemen's Union is a novel only Michael Chabon could have written.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 255 more reviews...
 Must Read July 15, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
"The Yiddish Policeman's Union" raises the literary bar, vaulting into the top tier of fiction and establishing a new standard for the detective/murder/noir genre. Literary, fun, tragicomic, profound and light all at the same time; a masterful and daring act of luminosity. Chabon shines.
Chabon is back! Oy vey! July 13, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
It's taken a long time for Michael Chabon to write a real follow-up to his award-winning novel, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. During this seven year or so period, Chabon wasn't exactly idle: among other writing, he did produce an interesting novella (The Final Solution) and a forgettable young adults novel, Summerland. None of this, however, really like another Kavalier & Clay type of book. The Yiddish Policemen's Union is that long-awaited novel.
Although it doesn't really fit into one single genre, The Yiddish Policemen's Union is a mix of classic hardboiled mystery and science fiction (although technically, I suppose it fits better into that ambiguous genre of speculative fiction). Chabon has constructed an alternate reality where the state of Israel was never established; instead, Jews were given an area in Alaska to act as a temporary homeland and refuge from the horrors of WWII Europe. The emphasis here should be on "temporary"; sixty years after its establishment, the Federal District of Sitka is about to revert to the control of Alaska. Some Jews will be allowed to stay, but many will be kicked out.
With Reversion just a couple months away, homicide detective Meyer Landsman gets involved in a murder that most people don't want solved. Landsman is a typical hardboiled detective in the mold of Philip Marlowe or Lew Archer: he drinks a lot, has little in the way of money or friends and is constant defiance of authority. To make matters worse, his boss is also his ex-wife, Bina, who wants the Reversion to go smoothly (hopefully leading to both permanent residency and a job).
The murder victim is a heroin addict staying at the residence hotel that Landsman is living in. Since Bina doesn't want open cases, she has this one put in the cold case file, but Landsman feels obligated to solve a killing that took place more-or-less in his home. The victim, however, is not a mere junkie; instead he turns out to have been a potential Messiah, a role the victim did not exactly enjoy. There are, though, many who did want this Messiah, including the victim's father, a powerful rabbi.
To solve the crime will require all the standard things a hard-boiled detective needs to go through: gunfights, blows to the head, threatened job loss, powerful enemies, and so on. What's actually going on turns out to be more complicated than a simple killing. What makes this stand out from a routine mystery is, of course, the exotic setting, which is where Chabon really shines: he has created an alternate world which is well-constructed and essential to the story.
While really good, this is not a perfect novel; it's biggest flaw is that starts somewhat slow, but when it does pick up, it moves right along. Overall, this book is worth the wait: it's not Kavalier & Clay, but it's close enough.
 Great Book by a Great Author July 10, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Michael Chabon has done it again. What a terrific story. Enjoyed it from the minute I started it.
revisionist noir July 8, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I've read all of Chabon's earlier novels and am continually amazed by the depth of it all... characterization and language are impressive devices in his hands but even more enthralling are the plots. Originality in contemporary literature is a vanishing objective that Chabon gifts to us with each novel.
In this instance, Chabon also manages to use one of my personal favorite plot-lines as a wireframe for a hard-boiled detective story. The conflict over a small strip of land in Jerusalem made an excellent background for Tom Robbins' "Skinny Legs and All" and it does so again in Chabon's novel as geography that holds power for religions. Geography closer to home is also important in The Yiddish Policemen's Union as the forty-ninth state almost becomes a character.
Unlike Kavalier & Clay, The Yiddish Policemen's Union plods at times, inhabiting the slow-paced world of middle-aging adults but the magical language Chabon has become famous for mastering is ever present in American and old-country slang amongst God's chosen tribe.
 Ulp !!! July 6, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
The nicest thing i can say about this one is that Chabom has done better!
This is not a review in the strict sense, but my badly addled mind reacting to a horrible book. I cannot dignify this to be either a novel nor comedy, well written or not.
I accept the basic premise (Israel overrun in 1948 - "alternate history") - which becomes the story line. However, the book is a combination of some the worst stereotypes (and stereotypes of stereotypes) and ugliness pretending to be comedy I've seen in years. I was sick to my stomach. I cannot believe that Chabon is such a self hater... And I will stop there......
|
|
|
Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| |
