The Yiddish Policemen's Union

Michael Chabon - 4 1/2 stars

Review Six

(Belated book review project explained here.)

I enjoyed the hell out of this book. I'm a sucker for the hard-boiled format in the hands of a good literary writer (e.g. Lethem's Gun With Occasional Music and Amis's Night Train). Add a waterlogged Alaskan landscape and a likable tough guy for a protagonist and you've got something pretty close to my perfect book.

But any story that starts so engagingly will struggle to keep up the magic--especially in noir, where the suspense is usually far more compelling than the plot's ultimate resolution. And this book is no exception. (The dark ending of Amis's Night Train is the only exception to this rule I can think of right now - that was like a punch in the gut). Chabon's Sitka is still super fun. I'll read this book again.