Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Convoluted and Fun

The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon

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CBR15 Passport – Federal District of Sitka CBR15 Bingo In the Wild So there are a few things different this time around.  After WWII, Israel collapsed as a state and is no longer accommodating to Jewish refugees.  As a matter of fact, the only place they can gain at least temporary refuge is the Federal District of Sitka.  As long as they play nice and share it with the native Tlingit.  So that works for 60 years or so, but the District is now set […]

“His poor judgment is further evidenced by his continued denial of his obvious guilt.”

Midnight Son by James Dommek Jr.

Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann

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Midnight Son – 4 stars An upcoming native Alaskan actor, Teddy Kyle Smith, vanishes into the wilderness after his mother’s death and, attacking the first men who come across him, leaves them for dead. But when he is finally captured, he has a bizarre story to tell – that of encountering the Iñukuns, a mythic lost tribe. An Audible original, this audiobook is executed in an interesting documentary format, incorporating interviews and clips from police interrogations and court testimony alongside narration. The case is not […]

In the Eye of the Storm

Alaskan Blackout by Joanne Rock

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When Quint goes to the Aleutian Islands in search of his estranged half-brother, the last person he expects to be drawn to is McKenna, Clayton’s step-sister – and the only person who knows where he’s hiding. This was a quick read about a pair of people who butt heads a-plenty even as they acknowledge how much they like each other. I liked the wild, windswept setting of the Aleutian Islands, and learning more about how people lived in such an isolated place. The central scene […]

“I’m still going to move them out of my wanigan, but I’ll give you odds two-to-one that after they move out there’s going to be spontaneous combustion.”

Pilgrim's Wilderness: A True Story of Faith and Madness on the Alaska Frontier by Tom Kizzia

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The Pilgrim family seems to be a lovable, if eccentric addition to the town of McCarthy, Alaska, and soon win many supporters for their battle for landowner rights with the National Park Service. But the head of the clan is keeping some secrets, and the family’s lifestyle is not as idyllic as it seems. Having lived in bustling cities all my life, life in remote Alaska has always sounded surreal to me – and so I’ve often thought about how it would go if I […]

Even the Dog Can’t Save It

Bear Witness by Lark O Jensen

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Stacie is a tour guide, introducing people to Alaskan wildlife from a boat. When a man vanishes from the tour, she thinks he’s stowed away to cause trouble. But when his body is discovered out amid the ice floes, she realizes that there is something far worse at play. I really wanted to like this book. The premise sounds so cool and so eerie, the idea of a body bobbing out in the frigid Alaskan waters. Unfortunately the story goes downhill from there. My main […]

When Nothing Else Matters

The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon

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The Yiddish Policemen’s Union is fairly easy to describe: an alternate history mystery tale set in a Jewish colony in Alaska that’s about to be handed over to the United States. But it’s so much more. This book pays homage to the great hardboiled traditions of the past but has a big beating heart in the middle. And it also functions as a hilarious and sad commentary on Jewish life post-World War II. I’m aware of how acclaimed Michael Chabon is but I’ve not had much […]



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