Michael Chabon

​

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay

This intercontinental, decade-spanning story of two cousins involves Harry Houdini, a golem, comic book obsessions, and various other disparate elements. Josef Kavalier is the sole member of his family to escape Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia, and Sammy Klayman is his sassy New York cousin. The story relates the magic that commences upon their meeting. Chabon’s unique style—his original use of language and metaphor—as well as the fantastical plot line contribute to the joy of reading this book.

 

The Yiddish Policemen's Union

Michael Chabon’s alternate history imagines a coastal corner of Alaska that, based on a decision to create a refuge there for Jews fleeing Nazi persecution, is wildly different from our actual reality. The alcoholic detective protagonist investigates a murder that involves him in the machinations of the local mafia. Based on this unusual premise, The Yiddish Policemen’s Union takes the reader on a weird and rollicking ride.