Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon

7 reviews

e_l_thompson's review against another edition

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I understand that a part of this book takes place in the 1940's.  Still, I did not appreciate the derogatory language, swearing, or vulgar descriptions.  Also, I felt the narration was overdone.  Davidson aimed for tough and mysterious, film nior, but his cadence often distracted from the storyline and left me confused as to who the characters were and how they related to one another.
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dreadspawn's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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cronads's review against another edition

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challenging dark funny sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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meshuganush's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I struggled to get into this book in the beginning. Connecting with Meyer Landsman was not the easiest, he's an alcoholic detective who "knows" he's a  better detective than all other detectives. But eventually the mystery, the story and the growth of character pulled me in. 

I ended up really enjoying this book and appreciating the relationship between the characters, especially Meyer and his ex-wife, Bina. I thought what the author did with them was really good. 

Was also impressed with the cleverness of swapping out words for imagined Yiddish slang for example a cell phone becomes a shofar. Once I caught onto it, very fun. However, also part of why I struggled to get into the story in the beginning. Even if you have some knowledge of Yiddish and Hebrew the glossary at the back of the book is absolutely necessary.
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bc_'s review against another edition

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Slow, boring, unsympathetic main character. The fact that the reviews on the jacket of this book all talked about other books by the author should have told me this one wasn’t going to be worth the time. 
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toopunkrockforshul's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Technically this bookhad a lot of interesting and well done things, I found the use of present vs past tense interesting and there were a lot of descriptions and turns of phrase that were very unique and interesting. Overall I don't think the story was that compelling, though the worldbuilding had potential, and I found the ending disappointing. 
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underabrig's review

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dark mysterious reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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