The Amazing Adventures of Michael Chabon
Michael Chabon is author of the critically acclaimed Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, published in 2000, and The Wonder Boys, which was made into a successful film (two Oscar nominations). His most recent book, The Yiddish Policeman’s Union, continues the tradition of excellent, if off-beat storytelling which began with those earlier works and others (see bibliography below).
Still, after about 150 pages I found myself asking, “What is this book about?” Yiddish Policeman’s Union is filled with wit and creative energy. Its plotline, an intriguing premise that postulates the failure of the State of Israel after which the Diaspora finds temporary refuge on the Coast of Alaska, is often overwhelmed by the anarchy of word-play and verbosity that has become Chabon’s stock in trade. Michael Chabon is a wordslinger; the fastest talker in town. You can get whiplash trying to keep up with his verbal exchanges, like trying to watch Venus Williams play tennis against herself. Chabon’s good, though; he’s the Jascha Heifitz of wordplay. At times, though, the sheer volume of words obfuscates the action, meaning sometimes you can’t see the forest (the plot) for the trees (the words).
The story of a wise cracking shamus, rendered “shemmes” by Chabon throughout (more wordplay: a shamus is a detective, a shemmes is the caretaker of a synagogue, waking up the faithful and calling them to prayer), is the perfect vehicle for a bit of lexical legerdemain. Private detectives are legendary for mouthing off and getting their teeth knocked out for their pains. Chabon’s hero, Meyer Landsman, is no exception. But in fine detective fashion, Landsman carries on in defiance of the odds that are stacked overwhelmingly against him, in defiance of his ex-wife (who is also his boss), and in spite of the fact that he has been relieved of his badge by “people of influence” who are, he conjectures, the same shadowy figures he is pursuing. All this against a fusillade of one-liners and snappy repartee that is as steady as the Alaskan rains.
Tough but compassionate, world-weary yet quixotic, Landsman presses on to the bizarre conclusion of his case. He is reunited with his beloved Bina but everything else seems to have fallen apart.
Our library Guardian Angel, Goddard, says she was disappointed with the book. She was enthralled with the first 200 pages or so and then she lost interest. Or perhaps Michael Chabon sacrificed her interest to the god of unrelenting loquaciousness. The Yiddish Policeman’s Union doen't pretend to be something more than what it is: entertaining and occasionally thought provoking. It has flashes of brilliance and it is consistently (almost) entertaining. A good summer read by an accomplished writer.
Other books by Michael Chabon:
Mysteries of Pittsburg (1988)
A Model World and Other Stories (1991)
The Wonder Boys (1995)
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay (2000)
Summerland (2002)
Michael Chabon Presents: The Amazing Adventures of the Escapist (Graphic Novel—2004)
Michael Chabon is also a frequent contributor to the N.Y. Times Book Review