The Yiddish Policemen's Union

A Novel

De: Michael Chabon

Narrado por: Peter Riegert

he New York Times bestseller, now available in paperback—“an excellent, hyperliterate, genre-pantsing detective novel that deserves every inch of its…blockbuster superfame” (New York).

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.

Great narration, alternative history meets noir

What does Peter Riegert bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

His gruff delivery is perfect for the hard-boiled, ever suffering detective. Classic.

Any additional comments?

A really engaging combination of alternative history and hard-boiled classic noir. In Chabon's imaginings, the Jewish diaspora is offered refuge in Sitka, Alaska, but that refuge is limited in space and in duration. Their 50 year dispensation is coming to an end and the Sitka District is soon to revert to the American government. With two months left until Reversion, we see Sitka through the eyes of Dectective Meyer Landsman. Landsman is, in the great tradition of noir, worse for wear, a functioning alcoholic, and divorced. He chews scenery with the best of them, and the dialog comes hard and fast. Here, they mystery surrounds a murdered heroin addict who lives in the same crappy, run down hotel that Landsman inhabits. But the heroin addict is more than he seems and the trail to his killer uncovers deeper plots and machinations. Chabon mixes in more than a few metaphors that will tickle the fancy of hard-boiled buffs, and the convoluted nature of the eventual solution can be forgiven because the ride to get there (full of colorful characters, cutting insight into the historical plight of the Jews, and clever details about what a Jewish enclave in Alaska might look like) is so incredibly diverting.

The ending. And the beginning.

First off. I thought after 1.5 hours I was gonna have to abandon ship and try another book, but something happens around hour 2 that hooks you into finishing in record time. Great alt timeline/history fiction. I enjoyed the Jewish topics immensely.

The ending tied up some loose ends but definitely not all. I hope future novels will come out to do so.

Overall 4/5

Great book, but odd production.

story was great, narrator was good. but there were oddly placed music interludes that would sometimes start mid sentence and not mark any real transition in the book. I found them disruptive

technical issues with the editing

lots of weird skips and jumps. chapter change music wasn't always correctly aligned to the chapter breaks.

Enjoyed it

Really interesting take on alternate history / murder mystery - with a mostly Jewish and Native Alaskan "cast." Nice work, Mr. Chabon! The reader was a great fit for the Raymond Chandler vibe. There were a few times when the writing style didn't totally work as an audio book. Chabon loves descriptive metaphors and long descriptions of split second moments, which is part of why his writing is so good, but as audio book it sometimes slows down the pace a bit. In my experience plot-driven works best for audio, probably because I'm usually driving or doing dishes and not giving my full attention. So sometimes I got a little distracted or bored but the story and characters are so interesting that carried it through. Recommended!