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GaryCorby

GaryCorby

The Yiddish Policemen's Union

The Yiddish Policemen's Union - Michael Chabon I like everything about Michael Chabon, except his writing. I love his taste in genre writers, I love it that a supposed literary writer works in genres. I know most of the civilized reading world thinks he's God-like, but for me, it's an effort to drag my eyes from one word to the next. The Flanders Panel by Arturo Perez-Reverte is a very similar book. It's also written by a highly regarded stylist. It's also a mystery with a game of chess at its center, and it's brilliant. I remember staying up all night, because I couldn't put it down. Twenty pages into The Yiddish Policeman's Union, I suspected I wasn't going to finish it. After 70 pages, I was sure.The difference is voice and character. The voice of The Yiddish Policeman's Union is a relentless monotone. The characters are all an unsympathethic, faded gray. This is obviously a minority opinion, but...sorry, not for me.For an example of a literary writer doing great work in genre fiction, see Kyle Minor.