HOW DO YOU REVIEW A MASTERPIECE?

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	• The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay Michael Chabon Picador, 2001 - 656 pages average customer review:based on 594 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Suffers From Indulgence

No point in rehashing what has been stated previously. This is a compelling narrative taking part in a storied time, recent enough to still seem familiar, but remaining disconnected from the present generation.

It ends up feeling like a more detailed family tale, something passed on by wizened grandparents, a clear portal into what they left out when they began, "When I was young..."

My main complaint with the story is that it involves too many unearned tangents. Unlike some, I did not find the sudden leap to Antarctica to be incongruous or unwieldy at all. It served a necessary purpose to understanding the actions of a title character.

But that one instance does not redeem countless, superfluous others. I can't help but think that Chabon could use a more determined editor. There is a difference between being indulgent and economical with prose, a distinction that Chabon would benefit from.

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Great writing and storytelling

This award winning epic depicting the history of the comic book industry has both informed and entertained this reader. The novel opens with an introduction to its heroes; cousins who are thrust together by circumstances that ultimately provide the impetus for their life's work. We meet Josef Kavalier in 1939 as a teenager after his escape from Prague to New York prior to Hitler's reign of terror against the Jews. Joe is a skilled artist and magician having honed his talents under the guidance of the most reputable trainers in each field. Samuel Clay is Joe's American born cousin and an aspiring novelist whose job at a New York novelties company serves as the spring board that launches the cousins' careers as comic book creators and New York socialites. Sammy uses his imaginative abilities and writing talents to create superhuman characters and supporting storylines that serve as both creative outlet for his writing and perhaps the covert expression of a more personal manner. Joe channels his frustrations with Hitler and his inability to rescue his family from Hitler's grip into comic strip drawings that depict the German regime and its leader as weak and vulnerable to the powers of comic book characters created to advance freedom around the world. Together the team of cousins creates memorable and socially critical comics that sustain them through life's trails and adventures.

"The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay" reflects and challenges the moral and political barometer of Americans from the 1930s leading up to WW II and immediately after. The New York City setting is a perfect back drop that allows Chabon to capture the artistic energy ultimately used in comics to heighten troop and citizen moral during the war. I particularly enjoyed how the author's storytelling morphs aspects of the city into the plot and setting of the comic books Sam and Joe write; during these times I actually felt that I was reading a comic book not a novel. Overall this is a very enjoyable read. The novel is dense but well paced. Chabon unfurls deftly structured sentences that convey information critical to the story and stimulus critical to the reader's senses. The characters are multidimensional, memorable and familiar in a way that recalled for me my first encounter with a "comic book". Having grown up during an era where most comic book character had made their way to the tube (I never knew Superman or Batman as comic book characters, only characters on TV) and where the genre was considered intellectually inferior, my first experience with a "comic book" was at the age of thirty-five when a co-worker suggested that I read Art Spiegelman's "Maus: Part I" (The Complete Maus: A Survivor's Tale). That reading experience was incredible and a couple of months later I found myself reading "Maus: Part II". Chabon's Pulitzer winning " . . . Kavalier & Clay" reconnected me to that experience and has reignited an interest in the history of the genre. Highly recommended, enjoy!

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Kaptivating & Clever

My first book by Chabon and I'm hooked. It's about the people, the people & the people! Great down to earth believable characters drive this story. While I could guess some of the events that are going to happen, I was surprised at how they happened and how many times I guessed wrong. I love long reads but I find that most drag numerous times. This one kept me reading & turning pages rather than skimming & turning. More Chabon is in the offing for me.

The book description above will give you enough info about the book, I'll add that highly recommend it. It may be one that I'll read again (something I rarely do as the dust gathering on that shelf will attest to).

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Kavalier and Clay

An excellent book by an excellent author. It has depth, detail and one is constantly led forward as the characters and the plot develops. Outstanding.

HOW DO YOU REVIEW A MASTERPIECE?

Stepping Off the Edge: Learning & Living Spiritual Practice
I found this book deeply satisfying. Some of Michael Chabon's writing is brilliant, but a little too into the clever metaphor or dazzling use of language. Okay, as an author, I'd kill for that verbal ability, but in some cases, it fails to touch my heart the way I want a great book to move me. This one satisfies on all levels: Brilliant technique, unbelievable imagination, a plot that nobody else could come up with. And lovely, moving characters. A great read, a great book. I recommend it highly.

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reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, page 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15

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