Good Collection only on the strength of 33% of the stories

books:


	• Werewolves in Their Youth: Stories Michael Chabon Random House, 1999 - 212 pages average customer review:based on 26 reviews view larger image
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Good, but...

I've been a fan of Chabon's since I borrowed "Wonder Boys" from a friend of mine. One of the reasons I like him as much as I do is because he draws a lot from his time in Pittsburgh which, due to my location, is interesting.

"Werewolves in Their Youth" is a good collection of stories. Chabon's an excellent writer, and that saves this collection a bit. Chabon's writing spares "Warewolves" from becoming too monotonious. I'm not saying all the stories are the same... but if you read it you'll probably see what I'm hinting at. If I recall correctly, all but two stories deal in some way with divorce. Is Chabon working through some issues? I'm not sure.

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Good Collection only on the strength of 33% of the stories

This is the second work from Chabon that I have read - *The Final Solution* being the first. I was very disappointed with that book, but mostly because it didn't speak to me and couldn't follow it due to lack of interest. I do plan to read *The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay* and I did really like the movie version of *Wonder Boys*. That setup to this review said, this collection of short stories - Chabon's second I believe - is somewhat uneven. I would have given it 3 stars, but the first three of the nine stories were so good that they alone propel my rating to 4 stars.

The first three stories of this collection are fantastic. "Werewolves in Their Youth" is a nifty tale of boyhood and being an outcast at a school with someone even more of an outcast, which you still get to place yourself above. But, it is also the story of a boy who is dealing with the broken marriage of his parents and all of the turmoil and repercussions that follow. In "House Hunting", a young, recently married couple is shopping for the house that will fix all of their marital problems. Their guide on this journey? A broken down Real Estate agent friend of the family with marital problems of his own. This story is great in all of its subtle brutality. The third story in this collection is "The Wolfman's Son", another tale of marriage going bad, but this one centers on the impending birth of a child from the wife's rape. Not a particularly uplifting start for this story, but in the end, it is a story of redemption and acceptance. I can't believe I actually liked it.

The rest of this collection is mostly forgettable; so much so, that in the week since I finished the book, I can only remember one other story: "The Harris Fletko Story". This one had promise as it followed the slow downward spiral of a quarterback in a failing indoor football league and the shadow cast upon him by his somewhat equally down and out father/football coach. But, this story never really goes anywhere I want to and was a lost path by the end.

>>>>>>>

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Amazing Collection of Shorts

You would be hard pressed to find a short story collection that is this deverse, and all written by the same author. I own all of Chabon's books and this is by far my favorite, not to say I don't love them all. But if you're not familiar with the author this is a great place to start. Each story has it's own voice, which is refreshing, because if you don't like one story, just try another. Good reading!

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

In this superb book by Michael Chabon, called by Jonathan Yardley "the young star of American letters," the bestselling author of The Mysteries of Pittsburgh and Wonder Boys gives us nine stunning short stories. Beautifully crafted, powerful in its impact, Werewolves in Their Youth takes us into the hearts and lives of young people and people in midlife caught at emotional moments of turning point and change. Brilliant, frightening, funny, these stories are shot through with Chabon's unique vision and uncanny understanding of our mysteries and nightmares, hilarity and pain.

In the opening story, "Werewolves in Their Youth," a boy attempts to help a troubled classmate, only to uncover the even more perplexing troubles of the adults around them. In "House Hunting," a young couple mend their strained relationship during an appointment with a strange real estate broker. In the collection's chilling final story, "In the Black Mill," a student archaeologist travels to a small American city to conduct his fieldwork, and finds himself investigating the mysterious fates of the inhabitants.

The brilliance of an astonishing American talent is everywhere apparent in Werewolves in Their Youth.

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