The Book Pile: The Yiddish Policeman's Union
"Adjectives on the typewriter, moves his words like a prizefighter" -- Shadow Stabbing, Cake
When I'm actively working on my own writing, as I am currently, I read books in a slightly different manner than normal. I read not only for the story, but to study the craft. I did this while reading Michael Chabon's The Yiddish Policemen's Union and came away thinking I should give up writing entirely. My skills will probably never match those of Chabon.
His use of simile alone in this novel blew me away. His command of the English language is among the best I've read. His prose style is somehow simple and complex. Meaty sentences full of crystal-clear detail abound here.
The story is pretty damn good too. Chabon has taken a classic pulp-character, a down on his luck police detective, and an essentially pulp story and turned it into a literary feat of character driven fiction.
Amazing!
When I'm actively working on my own writing, as I am currently, I read books in a slightly different manner than normal. I read not only for the story, but to study the craft. I did this while reading Michael Chabon's The Yiddish Policemen's Union and came away thinking I should give up writing entirely. My skills will probably never match those of Chabon.
His use of simile alone in this novel blew me away. His command of the English language is among the best I've read. His prose style is somehow simple and complex. Meaty sentences full of crystal-clear detail abound here.
The story is pretty damn good too. Chabon has taken a classic pulp-character, a down on his luck police detective, and an essentially pulp story and turned it into a literary feat of character driven fiction.
Amazing!
