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The Yiddish Policemen's Union: A Novel (P.S.) | 
 enlarge | Author: Michael Chabon
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Category: Book
List Price: $15.95
Buy Used: $4.39
You Save: $11.56 (72%)
New (59) Used (45) Collectible (1) from $4.39
Rating:  291 reviews
Sales Rank: 1308
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
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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.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 286 more reviews...
 Good Concept But Not A Great Book November 12, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
When earlier in the year on NPR I heard about Michael Chabon's The Yiddish Policemen's Union, I immediately knew I wanted to read it, yet within twenty pages I began to suspect I'd made a mistake in buying what was far more a film noir sort of tale than the sociological one I'd been hoping for. So, yes, I was disappointed in this book. It starts off with a scenario sure to whet curiosity, this Jewish colony existing and thriving in Alaska, but whereas I wanted the novel to be an exploration of this intriguing concept, it was a crime story instead. I admit it wasn't a bad detective novel and I did stick around to see how it came out, but I'm not a big fan of that genre as much as I am one of alternate history, and I wanted to see more concentration on this hypothetical Yiddish culture atop the Pacific than Chabon gave it. I guess my giving this book three stars instead of higher is more reflective of my own disappointment than in this being in any way a bad book, because it wasn't. It just was not what I wanted it to be and I bet I'm not alone there.
 Ghetto Mentality Retrogression November 9, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon: Ghetto Mentality Retrogression
Review by Arthur L. Finkle
Mr. Chabon writes a masterpiece of a "what-if" portion of history. In this case, what if the Jews lost their War on Independence on 1948?
The solution was one proffered at that time, of region in Sitka Alaska for a 40 year term, after which there would be no more sanctuary.
In clear, lyric writing, Chabon brings out the historical facts and dress them with the "ghetto mentality" prevalent in European Jewry. No longer did the "New Jew" posses the Spartan-like Israeli warrior; instead, we still have the pacifistic minority who try to eke out a living. We see that self-determination is not even on the radar screen for this forlorn group.
This mystery is shrouded with "Jewish-isms" - the cerebral approach; psychological turmoil; lust for life (over cover); some of the underground elements (which include some of the arcane elements of the red heifer paradox). It even characterizes the Chasidim, as the Other, as well as the fractious Jewish community.
I used this book in a book club with extraordinarily good results, particularly showing how the World War 2 generation coped to survive in a world hostile to Jews.
The Yiddish Policemen's Union: A Novel (P.S.)
 The Yiddish Policemen's Union - Michael Chabon October 29, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Writing Style - 3/5
Characters - 2
Storyline - 1
Resonance - 2
The Not-Too-Revealing Synopsis
A murder that no one wants to talk about takes place in a alternate history-Jewish enclave in Alaska just as relations between it and the larger state and nation reach maximal strain.
The Review
Chabon's Alaskan settlement and its' problems are both believable and interesting. Chabon's plot and characters are not. We are introduced to every good guy and bad guy cliche with the wild twist that they are not your normal good guys and bad guys - they're Jewish good guys and bad guys. The writing isn't just adorned with Yiddish linguistic idiosyncrasies and Jewish cultural novelties, it's bludgeoned with them. Every problem and every solution runs through Alaska, runs through the this particular Bay and runs through the Jewish community. It is too neat, too predictable and wholly unsatisfying. The best part about the book are three minor characters that are certainly not worth the read to get to. They alone provided intrigue. A dose of moderation could have brought the different, promising elements together in this work. Instead everything was so heavily painted it bled and left an ugly, muddled picture. I do not recommend this book.
Chabon's best to date October 19, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Chabon creates an absorbing counterfactual world with a hard-boiled detective story inside it. Informative and hilarious, big chunks of the book are as good as any fiction I've read. Chabon is a terrific writer. The ending does not do the rest of the book justice, but I flew through this book and really enjoyed it. It's along the lines of "Gun with Occasional Music" by the brilliant Jonathan Lethem and "Hard-Boiled Wonderland & the End of the World by Haruki Murikami. Highly recommended.
Bittersweet like woodsmoke October 15, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a book I am not allowed to read in bed, as my husband is opposed to books that make me cackle while he's trying to sleep.
" According to doctors, therapists, and his ex-wife, Landsman drinks to medicate himself, tuning the tubes and crystals of his moods with the crude hammer of hundred-proof plum brandy. But the truth is that Landsman only has two moods: working and dead. ...He has the memory of a convict, the balls of a fireman, and the eyesight of a housebreaker. When there is crime to fight, Landsman tears around Sitka like a man with his pant leg caught on a rocket. It's like theres a film score playing behind him, heavy on the castanets."
Our hero, detective Landsman, has spend the night in his partner's bed. Which was invaded by small children. It was not restful. Upon rising, he speaks to his hostess
" You have a serious toenail problem among your youth," Landsman says. "Also something, I think it might be a sea otter, died and is rotting in the little one's diaper."
Chabon is never going to convince me that he has NOT shared a bed with a four-year old at some point.
Also:
" Every generation loses the messiah it has failed to deserve.
I finished it up yesterday. At then end, all the plot lines slammed together is a frothy stew of of beautiful coincidence. This book caters to my known preferences for character-based writing with a coherent plot. Nothing that happened was out of character, and the writing was lyrical and expressive.
I think the theme of this book is redemption. There is a running chess motif. Landsman's heart is described as making a "knight move in his chest", which is really evocative. I thought the last third of the book was a little slow, but I ripped through it at a pretty good pace, so it's not like it was so sludge-slow.
One of the interesting things I noticed was that I was unclear on when exactly the story was set. There were more and more clues, but it started like it could have been an alternate history Maltese Falcon, and as the story goes on, it becomes more and more firmly seated in time.
Read this if: you like alternate ethnography and history, if you have a burning need for more Yiddish flavor in your life, if you are a fan of chess, character-based writing, or weird lyricism.
Avoid if: you hate ambiguous endings, "artistic" writing, noir, or hats
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