So, for my first (and horribly delayed) reading endeavor, I present you with: The Yiddish Policemen's Union, by Michael Chabon. The novel is set in the fictional District of Sitka, which is a safe haven in Alaska created for Jews after the post-Holocaust collapse of Israel. In this fictional land, cellphones are called Shoyfers, handguns are called Sholems, and when a yid starts to cry, he brings a tissue to his face and "blows a great tekiah on his shofar of a nose." I think these things are funny, because I'm Jewish. The rest of you may not...So, that's the basic groundwork of this novel. Layered into that groundwork is a beautiful, complex, colorful detective story about a lonely police officer (who's afraid of the dark and can't stop drinking), who finds a murdered man in his hotel building who may or may not be the messiah. What spins from that is a lovely tale of chess, strings, donuts, conspiracies, red cows, Alaskan Jews, and sadness.
I really liked it. If any of the above intrigues you, even a little bit, I think you might like it, too.
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