The Yiddish Policemen's Union
- 427
- Pages
- about 8 h
- Reading time
- Hugo Award for Best Novel
- Nebula Award for Best Novel
- Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel
- Ignotus Award for Best Foreign Novel
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Our view
“The Yiddish Policemen’s Union” is a noir detective story whose real draw is its setting: a Yiddish-speaking metropolis in an Alaska that never was. Chabon builds this alternate history with texture and humour, and its world and characters win particular praise from some readers. Some find the plot grows too far-fetched and would rather have spent that time in the city than with its detective.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
The Yiddish Policemen's Union is a 2007 novel by American author Michael Chabon. The novel is a detective story set in an alternate present, based on the premise that during World War II, a temporary settlement for Jewish refugees was established in Sitka, Alaska, in 1941, and that the fledgling State of Israel was destroyed three months after its founding in 1948. The novel is set in Sitka, which it depicts as a large, Yiddish-speaking metropolis.
Where the score comes from
The sources average 7.4 across 321 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 69% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Crime & mystery average of 7.6. That is how 7.7 comes out. A further +0.20 comes from the small bonus for major awards.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 7.9 | 28 | 9% |
| Hardcover | 7.4 | 293 | 91% |
Frequently asked
How long is The Yiddish Policemen's Union?
It has 427 pages — longer than 57% of the ranked books in Crime & mystery.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
The same shelf — Crime & mystery — and a score of 7.7, the closest to this book.
