An alternate reality, with Yiddish in Alaska

Chabon's latest packs big ideas and an entertaining story into a noir detective tale.

from the May 1, 2007 edition

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Even those who care little for religious introspection will find plenty here to keep turning the pages. Chabon's dexterity remains impressive; he juggles the Big Ideas with brisk narrative and amusing set pieces without breaking a sweat.

The murder victim may, or may not, be the messiah. And it turns out his death could be linked with that of Meyer Landsman's sister, a fearless pilot and voice of reason in Meyer's eternally dysfunctional family.

Even when the novel becomes convoluted in its latter stages, Chabon's deft writing still sparkles. He seems incapable of writing a bad sentence, even when describing something as banal as the coffee maker. "The drip-filter coffee maker," he writes, "hawks and spits like a decrepit Jewish policeman after ten flights of steps."

Hebrew hiatus

In the "Alyeska" of Chabon's invention, the official Jewish language turns out to be Yiddish, not Hebrew. As the 60-year settlement comes to a close, sparking fears and uncertainty as to where the population will go once America reclaims the territory, Sitka's candidacy for statehood fails, stirring headlines like "No Jewlaska, Lawmakers Promise."

Lest all this sound too politically and religiously rigorous, it's worth noting that Chabon remains an engaging storyteller above all else. He delights in putting Landsman in ridiculous scenarios – and then helping him find a brief respite.

A terrified run through the Alaskan snow with little beyond underwear to fight the elements? Done. A "Monk"-like fear of the dark? Yep, he's got that, too.

One of the novel's best characters is Landsman's ex-wife, Bina, who also happens to be his new, no-nonsense boss. Her disdain and occasional empathy for Landsman's demise keep the drunken detective's cynical ramblings from eclipsing what is, in the end, a redemptive investigation into a murder case everyone wants closed.

The final third of Chabon's novel becomes cumbersome. His ambition gets the better of him, and the unraveling of the mystery becomes overheated in the manner of a "Mission: Impossible" plot.

Still, Chabon demonstrates once again with "The Yiddish Policemen's Union" that he ranks among the most important, and interesting, contemporary American novelists. And, although his latest novel may not dazzle with quite the same charm as "The Adventures of Kavalier & Clay," Chabon remains a literary wonder boy nonetheless.

Erik Spanberg is a freelance writer in Charlotte, N.C.

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