Customer Reviews: Read 266 more reviews...
 Boring and vacuous August 20, 2008
I thought at the end there would be some great insightful, philosophical meaning to this book. I kept reading it even though it took five weeks because I don't speak Yiddish and there was no plot to follow. At the end, and this is a spoiler, all that happens is nothing. It was probably the worst book I have ever stubbornly stuck through. I really like this author, and you can tell he expended a ton of energy and time researching and writing this long novel, but in the end it was all wasted. It just isn't that good and is completely uninteresting. I wait anxiously for his next book.
 I dropped after 20 pages August 19, 2008
I though that I was familiar with the Yiddish vocabulary, but I could not understand any slang. I also could care less. I didn't relate at all with the story and any of the characters. Actually I found everything very annoying. When I drop a book, it is because there is absolutely no way to proceed. I am very benevolent with books, but this one didn't have a chance. Congratulations to those that read it and enjoyed. I'll wait for the Cohen brothers movie.
Good Premise; Imprecise Execution August 19, 2008
I had heard about this book and this author, and figured I would get around to reading it. What prompted me to actually buy it was the coupon from Borders I received for reviewing the first four chapters.
These first chapters were intriguing. I naturally thought the whole book was going to be like this - a unique combination of various genres. Being of Eastern European Jewish descent myself, I looked forward to a lot of the Jewish in-jokes other reviewers have mentioned.
Unfortunately, as others have also mentioned, the tone became as dreary as the weather, and there was virtually no payoff to plodding through to the end.
I will defintely read his other works. They all can't be winners.
 a real find August 18, 2008
I picked up this book after seeing the title recommended again and again. It is not only an intriguing story but is well-written as well. Chabon has that rare ability to pack a lot into every sentence, never wasting a word. I thought his style was a little hard to read at first, but once I got into it, I was rewarded over and over by his mastery of the language and his ability to tell a terrific story.
I immediately got a copy of his pulitzer prize winner, which is an easier style to read. Chabon is a real find if you like well-written literature.
Slynn
 It's a Good Story August 12, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Murder, intrigue, love, sex, chess, and conspiracy, all served on a platter crafted from pure fantastic imagination. Chabon is really, really good. This is a murder mystery. 'Nuff said.
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