If you don't believe in love in first sight, you can't have been there when I began reading this book. It was immediate, like electricity. I was totally hooked. The author had me, the characters had me, and the audio book narrator (one of the best matches to subject I've ever encountered) had me. None of them let go; if anything, they improved as I went along.
Chabon is just a genius. He writes so fucking well- I see what he is doing, I understand what he is doing and how, and yet I still can't comprehend it. His vocabulary is astounding- there are numerous words used in his books that I couldn't even find in the dictionary. But they are somehow still real words! The internet has them. The first time I ever used the term "man crush" it was to describe how I feel about Michael Chabon and his writing ability.
This novel is set in an alternate world in which Jews were relocated in America during WWII to their own segregated province in the Aleutians. Within that setting (which qualified the book for a Hugo, being alternate history, grumble grumble grumble) there is a noir plot of at once classic and bitingly original dimensions. The characters, plot, themes, setting, language, writing- all of it flawless.
If I had an 11 point scale for that occasional 10 that went above and beyond, this book would make that cut. Perfect 10 out of 10 feels like faint praise for such a brilliant book. Consider all of the authors I've read and reviewed for this list, and know this: for the first time yet, the next two books I review will be by that same author. I really don't do that often.
I can only come up with so many synonyms for good. This one is a true diamond. Read the book, people.
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