Reviews

It took a while for me to get into, and I do kind of feel bad saying it, but the Yiddish was an obstacle.. I just didn't feel at home. But a stretch is good, right? Once I got the characters voices established in my head, I really enjoyed the story and think it's one of the most creative books I've read in a long time.

teokajlibroj's review against another edition

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3.0

The setting is original and interesting but the plot is an extremely cliched story about a washed up alcoholic cop, his best buddy partner, ex-wife, who gets suspended and uncovers a great conspiracy.

I really liked the culture, Yiddish and chess elements but to be honest I didn't really care what happened to the characters or what they did.

In case anyone is wondering, the Esperanto for pile of shit is probably fekaĵaro.

khaliah's review against another edition

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3.0

It took me years to finish this book. That's all.

salty_morton's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Chabon is full of super descriptive, odd phrases that build such a unique vibe of the world. His alternate history is so detailed and has a lot of parallels to both real history and modern day events.

slinky179's review

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emotional funny mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I honestly really enjoyed the first quarter or so of this. Unfortunately the prose (which is charming at first) stops enhancing the novel at a certain point and instead becomes a hurdle for your eyes as you encounter the 20th random metaphor on the page

The novel gets worse and worse as the plot takes off. He went way too high stakes. The plot feels a little convoluted and it can be rather hard to follow. The ending of the novel is also rather abrupt with a few character moments that felt like Chabon was checking off boxes instead of letting characters dictate what happens

ledablanca's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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