I recently finished this book and would love to discuss it, specifically with regards to how it ends. First a quick summary: In an alternate history where Israel fell within 3 months in 1948, the district of Sitka, Alaska was established and given to Jewish refugees for a 60 year period. Now that period is coming to a close, with the district set to revert to Alaskan control in just 9 weeks and the fate of its residents up in the air. It's strange times to be a Jew. Meanwhile, gumshoe Detective Meyer Landsman has a murder case fall into his lap, and the few clues he have lead to dangerous places. Can he solve the case? Should he solve it? Oh, and by the way? His ex-wife is his new boss.
I found the book to be funny, interesting, and a compelling mystery. I was taking notes as I read, trying to piece the clues together the whole time, and had great fun with it. The characters are charming and familiar to me as a Jew myself. The first language of Sitka is Yiddish, and the way Chabon writes the dialogue really lets you know it. I don't know how to describe this properly to someone who is unfamiliar with Yiddish except to say that in my head I could easily give the characters the accents of my zaide and bubbe from Brooklyn. I also thought the book was strangely topical, given the state of things in Israel. There is also the rare foray into Jewish mysticism, which was an interesting curl.
Now, about that ending (spoilers under the spoiler tag. Obviously.): After the mystery is solved, there are still questions. Namely, what will the consequences be? How much will Meyer tell the reporter, and will it make a difference? What happens to him and Bina? Does the truth coming out stop the impending war in Palestine? The book just kind of stops with Meyer making the call. At first, I was really irritated at how abrupt this was. I wanted to know more! But then I wondered if that wasn't the point. Meyer concludes that the only homeland he needs is wherever Bina is, and that he can't live with himself if he doesn't try to expose the truth. So I guess from a character perspective, it doesn't really matter what the fallout is, just that he makes the call at all. What do you guys think of this? Did you find the ending satisfying, or did you want more? Did you enjoy the book as I did?
by ahumblethief