FACT SF Reading Group

July 2008

July 7: The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon

Nine of us gathered at the North Village Library to discuss The Yiddish Policemen’s Union, the recent Nebula-winner by Michael Chabon. The book is set in an alternate world where a large Jewish population settled in Alaska instead of Israel after World War II. The plot, set roughly in our present, is a police procedural mystery. Four of us had read Chabon’s earlier work. All of us started the book, with five finishing. Also, four of us had met the author when he’d been in Austin earlier this year.

One person described the protagonist, Meyer Landsman, as “Sam Spade as a Yiddish Cop.” She’d read the book twice and felt it was better on a second reading. 

Another felt the story had a fascinating concept. The sliver of history that served as the branching point of the alternate history wasn’t known to him. He felt the detective story was great. He loved the Yiddish culture. The book had supernatural elements that added flavor, but were secondary to the story. He felt that this book was a page-turner. He thought it was a successful mix of fantasy, reality, comedy, and murder.

Most of us raved about Chabon’s writing style. We thought he wrote wonderful and convincing dialog. One member felt that each page showed lots of work, and the plot was secondary to the writing. Another commented that Chabon’s prose is dense. She found startling and interesting enrichments and embellishments in his sentences. The prose style initially distracted her from the storytelling.

One person felt the plot was secondary to the characters. She wondered if the story was a fair representation of Yiddish culture. She was surprised our book pictured so morose a book, since our group does not generally like such books.

Another member commented that the Yiddish culture is dead on. He felt the Yiddish street gangs were hilarious. As an old diehard chess player, the book grabbed him early. He appreciated the great level of detail. He liked the boundary maven who drew up lines for the Sabbath. The portrayal of the legalism in Jewish culture was hilarious.

One person said that she zoomed through this book and strolled through rereading. She loved the reverse similes used to introduce Yiddish terms. She thought it felt real. She loved that this book portrayed a gay Messiah, who nobody deserved.

We had some discussion of the thriller plot. We debated why a character was killed, and discussed the political motivations for blowing something up.

We talked about the strong chess element of the novel. Several of us learned some chess strategy from reading the book and the group’s discussion.

One reader did not come away from this book with a warm feeling. He thought the book was well-written, but felt the dense prose style made it less fun to read. He does not enjoy the mystery genre, so he was not thrilled by this book’s cross-genre nature. He didn’t like many of the characters, but admitted to occasionally laughing at the protagonist’s soliloquies. He did appreciate the female character whose purse seemed to hold anything she might ever need.

Several people were put off by the book’s use of flashbacks. These were written in the present tense, and it was often difficult to determine when a flashback had started. Another person complained that a flashback late in the book, which revealed crucial information, broke the narrative point of view. The person relating the flashback was impaired and could not communicate well, so it was not clear how the narrator could ever get this information.

Another person loved every sentence, and felt the book worked on all levels. He thought the story was funny and clever, and he loved the characters.

Overall we found this to be a strong novel, and we had an excellent discussion. Many of us plan to read more Chabon books soon. After the meeting, many of us had a nice dinner at Fuddrucker’s.

July 22: Magic for Beginners by Kelly Link

This meeting was held at A. T.’s home in north Austin. Eleven people attended. Our topic, Magic for Beginners, was a World Fantasy Award-nominated collection by Kelly Link. Three us had read Kelly Link previously. Nine started the book, and four finished.

One person had only read two stories: “Magic for Beginners” and “The Faery Handbag.” She thought both were delightful. It should be pointed out that both of these stories won major awards.

Another person read the entire book. She loved the way Kelly Link writes, but did not like any of the stories. This reader does not like magic realism, the tradition to which she feels Link aspires. She did like the ending of “Stone Animals”, but in general found the stories to be consistently depressing. This reader said she may pass the book on to a relative who seems interested, but does not plan to read Kelly Link again.

Another reader commented that he likes Link’s writing and he likes magic realism, but he felt these stories were missing some essential element. He suggested that maybe the author is too nice. There were several nifty bits in the writing, but could not see any of the stories had a point.

Yet another had met the author personally and likes her, but has a mixed impression of her work. She liked “The Faery Handbag” but did not like its “write your own ending” conclusion. She read several other stories and did not feel that they worked.

One person was simply in the wrong mood to read this book. She had been itching to read an action/adventure novel. She could see why this book’s stories would appeal to people who like “literary fiction,” but personally found too many of the book’s stories had inadequate endings.

Another liked the experimental nature of many of the stories. He felt more happens in these stories than in a lot of well-regarded New Wave sf.  He enjoyed the reading experience, and said he generally likes contemporary urban fantasy.

Another reader commented that these stories were “artsy and fartsy” and not at all to his taste. He does not enjoy weird fiction or horror. He thought “Stone Animals” had its good points, but otherwise the book did not appeal to him.

One person who doesn’t read much short fiction had mixed comments on the book. He thought the writing was good, but disliked the mysterious endings of many of the stories. His favorite story was “The Zombie Contingency Plan,” containing the wonderful quote “zombies are like Canadians.”

We briefly discussed similar writers, including Jonathan Carroll, Karen Joy Fowler, and Sean Stewart.

Overall our opinions on this book were mixed. Afterward, many of us had dinner at Culver’s. The food was good but service was disappointing.

-- A. T. Campbell, III