The Yiddish Policemen’s Union by Michael Chabon is a terribly fascinating book. I had heard about it a few years ago, but the specifics have been lost to memory. The other week I was walking to Little City Books in Hoboken to pick up some books for a class I was taking, as the professor chose not to order any to the college bookstore, and I refuse on principle to use our university’s mailroom. So this trip was an absolute necessity, and I was not going to be spending frivolously on pretty books. I am, of course, a liar and as soon as I spotted an admittedly pretty book with a title I recognized and an engaging synopsis, I immediately bought it. Funnily enough, I think on that trip I bought only unnecessary books, but we all deserve to experience joy.
The Yiddish Policemen’s Union is a classic detective story set in an alternative history timeline. Specifically, the United States, towards the beginning of World War II, set aside a piece of land in Alaska for European Jews to escape to. As a result, in this book’s universe, the Holocaust only killed 2 million Jewish people, the rest of them living in Alaska. The book is set almost 60 years after these events, and the plot itself is about two grizzled old police officers solving a murder and, in the process, unearthing a government conspiracy broader than anyone could have anticipated. But I feel the need to stop my spoilers here, as there is a reason that this novel has won multiple awards and is still popular nearly 20 years after its publication.
What I find really fascinating about the novel is its setting. Typically, alternative histories are explored because of their alternative history. That’s the intrigue of the world, and the story as a whole revolves around this. In this book, its role is primarily creating a setting and premise which impacts the plot, providing context or justification for the world’s goings-on. Most of the changes are atmospheric or irrelevant or both. For instance, in this world JFK ended up marrying Marilyn Monroe, and it was Berlin that was bombed by the U.S. rather than Hiroshima. Although this is interesting, the narrative is at best unconcerned with it, because this is a detective story and by god our detectives are trying to solve a murder here! In a world where interested readers are dying to explore its details, the narrative remains sharp and focused. I think it’s a choice beneficial to the novel as a whole: It keeps the story feeling fresh and allows readers to be drawn into the world of the characters without being swallowed by a textbook’s worth of changes.
Although I am aware that the mystery part of the novel is the main draw for the story, I think that without the unique setting and its consequences, I would be significantly less drawn to it. The point is not the alternative history, but the interest of the story is, mostly because of a concept called the butterfly effect. Within the story, the reason that European Jewish people were allowed to stay in Alaska is that the main Senator, who was against it, and who was a real person, died in a freak car accident. As an aside, this was a real piece of legislation that a real Alaskan Senator was against, but in the early 1900s, it is meant to be a slightly realistic alternative history. The choice of the Alaskan city of Sitka as the story’s setting was not irrelevant; rather, it was a deliberate historic choice by the author. The entire novel follows the butterfly effect of one guy dying in a car crash and how it leads to the lives of 4 million people saved, one grisly murder, and JFK marrying Marilyn Monroe. I love the idea of very small things—or horrible, tragic accidents—having some greater meaning in our lives. I find it compelling that minuscule choices that we make can affect ourselves and others in meaningful ways.
This is a beautifully written novel, and I highly recommend giving it a chance if the premise intrigues you.
