First off, sorry for the exceedingly long topic name. Secondly, I'm a Jew, there's no way around it. My dad's Jewish (/Buddhist/agnostic/other/...it makes filling out the demographics on standardized tests a pain in the ass) my mom's Christian (sorta), which further complicates matters, but in the end my world view is pretty similar to that espoused by Landsman. Additionally, and most importantly, my moniker (or handle, as Marcus calls them) on the Interwebs is jewbacca, which pretty much ends the debate in my opinion.
As my topic title suggests, I was just thinking about how all detectives have essentially the same characteristics as many of the "yids" in the novel. All detectives (at least of the "noir" tradition) are essentially pessimistic and jaded, masking a deep rooted resilience and code of values that persist despite what hardships they may face. The "Jewish" aspect of the equation really doesn't factor in as much as one might thing, as most Jews in this day and age are increasingly secular, effectively reducing being Jewish to a collection of values, perspectives, saying, jokes, and customs, but not necessarily any real religious dogma. I say this with the caveat that I'm no historian, but in my experience most Jews don't sweat going to temple much.
So, given this, I thought it was entirely appropriate that the detective genre would be adapted to narrate the trials and tribulations of a Jewish protagonist. Having said that, I'd like to pose a few question regarding the science fiction aspects of this story. Basically, I'm going to leave you guys with all the hard work. Sorry, but don't worry I'm sure I'll feel bad for it later (again, the whole Jewish mentality...)
To what degree is this story a detective novel, and to what degree is it an alternate history? Personally, I feel that the detective aspect of the story complements the alternate history, as it allows Landsman to act as a sort of audience surrogate helping us to go along with discovering Chabon's revisionist history by framing everything in the guise of the "mystery". Hope that made sense, what do you guys think?
In what ways are the more religious and spiritual aspects of this novel (ex. The Messiah) analogous to certain sci-fi tropes like the alien outsider in such novels as Stranger in a Strange Land for example?
You're on your own for this one, as I'm really just throwing this one into the ether.
Well, that's all folks, I've got some potato latkes cooking...
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"Have you ever heard the expression 'Let sleeping dogs lie?' Sometimes you're better off not knowing."
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion one of the best homages to the film noir genre is Chinatown. I had this movie running through my head the entire time I was reading this book, which was probably a hindrance, seeing as how one is an Alaskan Jew and the other a California P.I. Overall though, the book leaves me feeling the same since of discontentment along with the question "Sure we got an answer but did we really solve anything?"
Great posts, guys. Matthew, when you say you felt discontent at the end of both the movie and the novel, I take it you mean not discontent with how well the endings were handled, but discontent with the somewhat fatalistic or despairing emotional note you were left with?
ReplyDeleteI also must point out that it's The Yiddish Policemen's Union, plural ...
ReplyDeleteFix't!
ReplyDeleteI think this novel was more of an alternate history than detective novel. Or maybe that I thought the alternate history part left more of an impression on me than the detective part. I felt that the author used the main character's profession as a detective to build a story throughout his alternate history. I really enjoyed the subtle things such as the atomic bomb being dropped on Berlin and what not.
ReplyDeleteI apologize if that last post only barely adressed what the original post was about.
ReplyDelete