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jw101's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
rickypitz's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
mssunnyskies's review against another edition
Overly detailed writing, couldn't get into it
l3vy's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
This book is best in the middle. Unfortunately for it, that means it made a poor first impression and failed to stick the landing in its ending. The book is a pretty slow start and by the time it does get interesting, its writing style is already starting to grate on you. This isn't helped by a rushed and anti-climatic feeling resolution.
My biggest criticism of the book can be boiled down to that I think it could have used another few rounds of editing. In short, the text feels very overwritten and flowery, sometimes to the point that it can feel mind-bending and confusing. From what I have seen of other reviews this seems to be somewhat of an anomaly for the writer. I honestly think there is a great book in here but is being bogged down by overly flowery writing and time wasted on insignificant detail.
There are some other small things that bothered me throughout my reading, such as some of the characterization of female characters and Landsman sometimes feeling inconsistent, but I don't think these warrant going into much detail here.
My biggest criticism of the book can be boiled down to that I think it could have used another few rounds of editing. In short, the text feels very overwritten and flowery, sometimes to the point that it can feel mind-bending and confusing. From what I have seen of other reviews this seems to be somewhat of an anomaly for the writer. I honestly think there is a great book in here but is being bogged down by overly flowery writing and time wasted on insignificant detail.
There are some other small things that bothered me throughout my reading, such as some of the characterization of female characters and Landsman sometimes feeling inconsistent, but I don't think these warrant going into much detail here.
"My Saturday night is like a microwave burrito. Very tough to ruin something that starts so bad to begin with."
schanke's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The writing is very unique but sometimes a bit much.
The setting is fantastic.
The setting is fantastic.
tregina's review against another edition
5.0
Some books you love because the worldbuilding is amazing, some because the story is compelling or the characters are riveting, and some because the language itself is so beautiful or intricate. This book is all of that.
emeraldgarnet's review against another edition
4.0
As alternate histories go, 'The Yiddish Policemen's Union' is an original premise. Here you will not find a victorious Hitler or a surviving Confederate States of America. Instead, we read about a short-lived State of Israel and a large community of Jewish refugees in Alaska.
The novel's hardboiled detective theme makes for a riveting read.
The novel's hardboiled detective theme makes for a riveting read.
dreaming_ace's review against another edition
4.0
Personally I did not enjoy this quite as much as The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay but that was mainly because the Kavalier & Clay dealt with the birth of the comic industry which is a topic I am more interested in.
This book felt like it had a bit less plot, and the plot felt like when we finally got to the end it was rushed (Like well I am about done with the novel I should deal with the hanging threads) Also the main protagonists just are more weather beaten and worn down and much less optimistic then those in Kavalier & Clay so the story felt sad and draining not energized.
This book felt like it had a bit less plot, and the plot felt like when we finally got to the end it was rushed (Like well I am about done with the novel I should deal with the hanging threads) Also the main protagonists just are more weather beaten and worn down and much less optimistic then those in Kavalier & Clay so the story felt sad and draining not energized.
gothhotel's review against another edition
4.0
As a detective novel, middling. The atmosphere is great but the pacing is off and the plot rambles around the block and up and down a few hills before settling down somewhere out of left field. Still, it's got chutzpah, if I may borrow the term. Chabon writes like a control freak - you must know the exact inflection with which this minor character pronounces a name. - but with such imagination and wit that it is impossible not to enjoy. The big picture is rich and the little picture is jam-packed with weird little quips that make you laugh and say, "where the hell did that come from?" A character was "as sober as a carp in a bathtub." A place "had all the allure of a dehumidifier". In the slower first half, I had to make myself pick up the book, but I was always glad I did. The ending also hit like a ton of bricks, in light of recent events. ("That's the kind of shit we have to look forward to now. Burning cars and homicidal dancing.”)
If you put aside the whole "detective story" angle and look at the book as something else - a black-humored look at the tangle of fathers and sons, displacement and diaspora - it's really very good, probably even great. And in a monkey-brain aside, I imagined Landsman as Harry du Bois from Disco Elysium, but I'm pretty sure the writers of Disco Elysium were imagining Landsman when they wrote Harry du Bois, so I stand by it.
If you put aside the whole "detective story" angle and look at the book as something else - a black-humored look at the tangle of fathers and sons, displacement and diaspora - it's really very good, probably even great. And in a monkey-brain aside, I imagined Landsman as Harry du Bois from Disco Elysium, but I'm pretty sure the writers of Disco Elysium were imagining Landsman when they wrote Harry du Bois, so I stand by it.
jtrogers1992's review against another edition
4.0
Still thinking about the ending of this book, really compelling characters and themes, especially around religious fanaticism.