This is a remarkable work by an extraordinary writer, probably his best to date. At heart, it is a detective story—a very compelling mystery that begins when Detective Meyer Landsman is summoned to the room of a murdered man sharing the fleabag hotel where Landsman lives. Landsman is a detective for the Jewish police force in Sitka, Alaska, where Jews have been relocated following World War II, and the murder leads him into a complex, tangled conspiracy. Chabon has created an alternate reality that is completely believable and fascinating, and he spins out his story with such perfectly chosen language that the reader is compelled to slow down and savor every word.

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Like Summerland, this is no “Amazing Adventures…”. I found the beginning to be hard slogging – too much half-glimpsed history and unfamiliar terms to make things fun.
Later on, the book got better flow, and the story became a little more interesting. The resolution was a little disappointing, though, and I felt like I did when reading the Rebus novel where he’s dealing with the national government agencies (forget the title) – like the scope of the novel hadn’t been contained well.
Still, Chabon’s prose is almost always a joy to read, so the book was worth reading.