The Yiddish Policemen’s Union, by Michael Chabon is an extremely intriguing novel, often reading like a thriller.

“Now somebody has put a bullet in the brain of the occupant of 208, a yid who was calling himself emanuel Lasker.”

If you are looking for a novel, a story like Chabon’s The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, you might as well forget about it. This book is unlike that in every aspect, excepting the brilliant writing of Chabon.

It is a dark story, a story written like a novel out of the 1940s, with its noir style. It is a classic novel in every sense. Part mystery, part humor, part poignancy, Chabon brings us a story of love and hate, spirituality and acceptance, murder and redemption.

Meyer Landsman works for the District Police, in Sitka, Alaska, along with his partner, Berko Shemets. it is an area where there are Jews, Jews who have managed to assimilate and make a life for themselves after fleeing the events of the Holocaust. Landsman and Shemets have several outstanding cases that haven’t been broken, yet. It doesn’t look as if there will be a break in them any time soon. They are working under the supervision of Landsman’s ex-wife, Bina Gelbfish, the woman he is still madly in love with, the woman he still has an unfinished life with.

After the marriage separation, Landsman ends up living in a cheap hotel. You can often find him drinking his life away. A neighbor, Emanuel Lasker, has been shot through the brain, right under Landsman’s nose. Therein begins the mystery, and the murder investigation. And, within these circumstances also begins Landsman’s search for identity and Self. Through the murder investigation, he subconsciously searches for meaning in a world surrounded by harsh coldness, not only of the environmental type, but also the physical and emotional kind, as well.

The Yiddish Policmen’s Union is a compelling novel, in many aspects. It is a story of spirituality, of Judaism and religious beliefs and doctrine. It is a detailed and explicit telling of how, within one particular religion, there can be religious offshoots, where the diversion leads to boundaries that can border on the obsessive and compulsive aspects of spirituality and dogma.

It is also a story of love and loss, faith and redemption. Michael Chabon manages, with expertise and excellence, to give us a gripping story, and a story filled with all the elements that manage to keep his readers turning the pages until they have finished the book. Such intrigue, such a masterful story teller, Michael Chabon has given us the gift of his amazing brilliance. Bravo for The Yiddish Policemen’s Union!

I personally own and have read this book.

Jew Wishes…Peace to All.
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