I love the idea of this book: a murder mystery taking place in an alternate reality where Jewish refugees from World War II were settled in Sitka Alaska rather than Israel. Detective action, social commentary, atmospheric location.
Alas, Chabon fails to blend the various components of this ambitious brew. The plot mostly fits together narratively, but Chabon isn't able to settle on a tone. A scene of hard-boiled slangy dialogue bumps up next to a broadly comic set piece followed by exposition about Jewish culture. Is our hero Meyer Landsman a flawed defender of moral justice (à la Marlowe) or a seriocomic bumbler (à la Clouseau)? How respectful are we intended to be toward the religious customs of the various Jewish sects?
I felt that Chabon wasn't vivid enough in describing life in his alternate world, either social life in the city or the natural environment. The Sitka District is about to revert to United States control (à la Hong Kong), but the stakes never feel high. I also felt that the scale of the nefarious plot underlying all of the action was a bit too world-historical to match the rest of the story.
No comments:
Post a Comment