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Book Review: The Yiddish Policemen’s Union by Michael Chabon

( #MichaelChabon )

Over the years Michael Chabon has cemented himself as one of my favorite writers. His recent (and under-appreciated) book of essays “Manhood for Amateurs” resonated with me deeply. Chabon’s fictional work is equally outstanding and almost always extremely quirky.

Quirky is the word that I would use to describe “The Yiddish Policeman’s Union“. This is an alternative history story that presents a world where Israel was never created after WWII. Instead, a section of Alaska is set aside (essentially like a Native American reservation) for Jewish Holocaust survivors. All of this is the background of a strange murder investigation by (of course) a Yiddish Policeman.

Like most of Chabon’s characters, Meyer Landsman is a semi-broken man that yearns for former lovers, has a career that is badly damaged, and has substance abuse issues. As Meyer pushes deeper into his investigation, a larger plot about the fate of the entire Alaskan reservation is uncovered that puts Meyer’s life in danger as well.

I liked this book because it was a good ride, but it falls apart at the end. Once “YPU” links the murder plot into a larger mystery about fate of Sitka District (the name of the “city”), it loses focus. There is a whole situation with a missile that comes out of nowhere and doesn’t fit with the gritty snowy-noir vibe that Chabon spends the entire book creating.

Even with a nutty conclusion I like the book for the characters, the alternative history (I am a sucker for alt history books), and the interesting blend of genres and location.

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Book Review: World War Z by Max Brooks

( #Zombies, #MaxBrooks )

This is a bit of a departure for me, because I read this book years ago. Actually, I read World War Z at least three times in the last few years, so that should tell you how much I liked it. The reason I am doing the review so late is because I am actually writing this for another website (but cleverly posting it here as well). Enough blog politics, on with the review…

World War Z is so good is because it is not about zombies. Don’t freak out, there is plenty of terror and gore, but the true momentum of the book is carried by the stories of how society failed and rebuilds itself after a major disaster. Unlike most Zombie books (where everyone usually dies), humans basically learn from their mistakes. The world isn’t perfect after the plague wipes out most of the population, but the book gives the reader the sense that the world is going to be a better place as a result of the carnage.

Brooks does an excellent job of rationalizing why certain societies did better during the crisis (island nations like Cuba were naturally protected, while militant societies like Israel were generally well prepared and took action quickly). Instead of the following a traditional linear format, the events are told in a series of survivor interviews. This was a very effective narrative device that I have noticed other genre books adopting (notably Robopocalypse). The interview approach allowed Brooks to convey the terror of the situation without getting into B-grade horror writing. Aside from the concept of the dead walking around trying to eat people, the plot feels very plausible. Brooks also does a very good job of making the book feel like a historical document which adds to the fantasy that this could actually happen.

I have said this in other zombie book reviews, World War Z is by far the best zombie book on the market and is a great read for any fiction/genre fan. WWZ is clever, creative, and scary the best possible way – I highly recommend it.

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Live Reporting from the Mantua Chick-Fil-A

( @ChickfilA, #Mantua )

I was driving home from the gym today and noticed several tents popped over around the Chick-Fil-A that is scheduled to open tomorrow. My wife told me they were doing a free food give-a-way for the first 100 customers, so I (correctly) guessed that was the reason for the crowd. I decided to pop back over with my camera and capture the scene.

There were a few things that caught me off-guard:
1. I can’t believe how many people showed up that were willing to sleep in parking lot overnight.
2. Most of the crowd was not local, not even South Jersey local (which I have mixed feelings about).

I am glad that the Chick-fil-A is opening. It may be fast food, but at least it isn’t McDonalds.

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Book Review: Zombie, Ohio by Scott Kenemore

( #Zombies, #ScottKenemore )

Frequent readers of this blog know that I have a thing for zombies. A few weeks ago, Amazon had a Kindle sale on a zombie book that I never heard of before called “Zombie, Ohio”. For a few dollars, I didn’t mind taking a risk.

While reading, I could tell that the author (Scott Kenemore) was a fan of the zombie genre because it reads a bit like fan fiction (I found similarities to a book I read last year called “Living with the Dead” by Joshua Guess). The benefit from being a legitimate fan of the genre is that Kenemore was trying to avoid using cliches, but the writing lacked a certain polish that could have pushed “Zombie, Ohio” to be much better.

The plot centers around a man who wakes up as a zombie. Although a zombie, he still has the ability to think but has no memory (at first). As the book progresses the zombie tries to remember how he died and attempts to find his place in the world. The plot was creative, but Kenemore misfires in his attempt to have the character explore his zombie nature and then go back to being a hero. Kenemore has a good time blowing up zombie cliches by using the thinking zombie in unique ways. He would have been better off leaving zombie as an antagonist for the human characters, since the redemption sections were very weak and the zombie playing mind-games with the humans was one of the things that worked well.

Overall this was a fun book that I didn’t mind reading or spending a few bucks on. It was certainly no World War Z which is the benchmark for any zombie book, but the author got creative and mixed up several genres into an entertaining quick read.

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Book Review: The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides

( #JeffreyEugenides, #MarriagePlot )

When I found out that Jeffrey Eugenides released another book, I was excited to read it. His previous novel, the Pulitzer Prize winning “Middlesex” was (obviously) very good, with rich character history and unique plot. “The Marriage Plot” is a much different book in tone and story than “Middlesex” and not for the better.

Set in the early 1980’s, the book centers around a girl named Madeleine who is about to graduate college. She just broke up with her boyfriend and there is another guy that likes her. This love triangle makes up the entire plot of the book. The problem is that Madeleine is so unlikeable that you don’t want to read about her with either guy. You don’t want the guys to succeed in getting her, and I really couldn’t envision this girl being happy with anyone unless she changes (spoiler: she doesn’t). The whole love triangle was not enough to maintain the primary narrative of the book… what I am saying is that the book was boring.

Madeleine starts off as a self-centered over-privileged little snot and makes absolutely no progress in becoming a better person. One can argue that her caring for her depressed boyfriend Leonard during most of the story would count as growth, but I would counter that by saying she was just living up to social expectations. Her treatment of every other character in the book is horrid.

The other participant in the love triangle is a religious studies student named Mitchell. He spends most of the book traveling around Europe and India learning about religion and avoiding Madeleine’s relationship with Leonard. I would say he is the character you want to win in the story, but his attraction to Madeleine makes him suspect in my view.

I am not sure what the book was trying to accomplish. Perhaps it was a critique of expensive liberal arts colleges not preparing students for real life. Or it could be debunking the expectation that 21-year-old people should be treated like adults rather than children. Or perhaps it could be that relationships are complicated, but I would argue that is well covered grounds and this book didn’t add much to the conversation. My final thoughts on “The Marriage Plot” is that I found it to be a disappointing follow-up to an excellent book from a talented writer. The amazon reviews seem to disagree with my assessment, so feel free to make up your own mind.