I loved the story, the writing, the pop culture references, everything.So a few weeks ago I went to my local library and I checked this out:
Initially I loved it as well. Well, I loved the first half of it. I thought it was a super interesting story about an alternate history and it highlighted segments of the Jewish culture and population that I had little or no knowledge about. The setting was incredible, Chabon does a hell of a job setting the mood and drenching you in the locales of this novel.But as I made my way through the book I became restless and I grew tired of the whole thing. It's just too 'insiderish' for me to get through. I grew tired of the main character. He hardly ever slept and he hardly ever eats. Umm, excuse me Mr. Chabon, how does he stay alive if he never eats or sleeps.
I loved the alternate history of the book, in this novel the attempt to found the state of Israel is unsuccessful and Jews are resettled in and around Sitka, Alaska after World War 2, which is ended only when the Allies drop a nuclear bomb on Berlin, but it wasn't enough to keep me engaged.
I'm sure some of you will read this and like it more than I did. Me, it wasn't my cup of literary tea. I tried it, I almost liked it, just not enough to spend another three weeks finishing it.
6 comments:
Commence the accusations that I am an anti Semite for not finishing a novel about Jews!
sometimes you just have to cut your losses and say I have wasted enough of my life on this book.
Three weeks?!?
I went on a Chabon spree a few months ago. I liked most of them, except for The Yiddish Policemen's Union. I don't think I made it past the first chapter. I didn't read Kavalier and Clay, though, the subject just didn't grab me.
I usually read only at night right before I go to sleep Megan. Some nights I read more, some nights I read less.
I got about fifty pages into and gave up, the whole concept just depressed me beyond belief.
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