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Content snapshot
Flag an inaccuracy →What's in this book, at a glance — five things readers want to know before they start.
Violence
Some
Murder investigation and noir violence throughout; some confrontation sequences
Language
Some
Some profanity and crude language in the hard-boiled tradition
Sexual Content
Barely any
Brief sexual content in the literary noir register
Substance Use
Some
Significant drinking and some drug use — Landsman is an alcoholic detective in the Chandler tradition
Emotional Intensity
A lot
Strong psychological content: a man's spiritual and psychological disintegration, the weight of a people's possible messianic destiny, and the noir tradition's bleakness create sustained darkness
What this book is about
In an alternate history where Jewish refugees settled in Sitka, Alaska after WWII, homicide detective Meyer Landsman investigates the murder of a man who may have been the prophesied Messiah — just as the temporary Jewish homeland is about to revert to American jurisdiction. Michael Chabon's Pulitzer-winning mashup of noir fiction, Yiddish culture, Jewish mythology, and alternate history is brilliantly conceived, linguistically exuberant, and darkly funny — a detective novel that also functions as meditation on identity, faith, and belonging.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
Alcoholism as a central character element
Exploration of religious extremism and political violence
Noir violence and murder throughout
Reader Verification
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