The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay

As I read through this book, I kept wondering if I my lifelong love of comic books was simply adding another level to my enjoyment of it, or if it was actually the main reason I was appreciating it. Would someone who hadn't grown up obsessing over superhero exploits past and present still find this novel such a joy? Or would they simply wonder why the author kept muddling his narrative with all of this talk about silly stories of grown men in their underwear? The "Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction" blurb on the cover reassured me to some extent, but if I had a nickel for every award-winning book or movie that I think is terrible I would be a very rich man.

However, when all is said and done, I think this story really speaks to something that anyone can relate to. You might connect a little more strongly to the main characters if you are a comic book fan, but you might connect even stronger if you are Jewish, or any minority, or a dreamer, or someone who has been in war or been close to someone who was in war, or if you lived in New York, or any of a hundred other types of people.

The story focuses on two young Jewish boys, one a born-and-bred New Yorker, and the other, his cousin, a refugee from Prague. They become quick friends and find their fortune in the creation of a comic book character called The Escapist during the comic book boom that followed the debut of Superman in the late 30s. But to say that the book is about comic books or about superheroes would be ridiculous. It's about the lives of these two men and the routes that they end up taking through them as World War II, along with any number of other events, comes about. It touches on the disenfranchisement felt by immigrants, the difficulty of being a homosexual during that period, the beginnings of suburbia, and the wonder of childhood, in addition to being something of a history lesson on the creation and publication of superhero comics.

Chabon is simply a masterful writer. Whenever he begins to build the characters up and give them a hope of real happiness, the reader can tell that something terrible is around the corner. But the true measure of his expertise comes from the fact that you can't help but get excited for them. You know a catastrophe is looming, yet the desire to see them succeed and be happy, and the hope that it is possible, simply won't allow you to remain totally cynical. The other thing I feel the need to point out is that Chabon's use of language is a joy to read. His descriptions and the way everything is structured are English at its best. He could write a novel about American Idol and I'd probably find it a pleasurable read.

So, to wrap it up, you owe it to yourself to read this book no matter who you are. I have nothing bad to say about it. I haven't read a book this good in so long I think I had forgotten that they existed. I almost hesitated to praise the book so heavily because I was concerned that I might have raised expectations too much, but, honestly, I feel confident that the book can take it.

As I read through this book, I kept wondering if I my lifelong love of comic books was simply adding another level to my enjoyment of it, or if it was actually the main reason I was appreciating it. Would someone who hadn't grown up obsessing over superhero exploits past and present still find this novel such a joy? Or would they simply wonder why the author kept muddling his narrative with all of this talk about silly stories of grown men in their underwear? The "Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction" blurb on the cover reassured me to some extent, but if I had a nickel for every award-winning book or movie that I think is terrible I would be a very rich man.

However, when all is said and done, I think this story really speaks to something that anyone can relate to. You might connect a little more strongly to the main characters if you are a comic book fan, but you might connect even stronger if you are Jewish, or any minority, or a dreamer, or someone who has been in war or been close to someone who was in war, or if you lived in New York, or any of a hundred other types of people.

The story focuses on two young Jewish boys, one a born-and-bred New Yorker, and the other, his cousin, a refugee from Prague. They become quick friends and find their fortune in the creation of a comic book character called The Escapist during the comic book boom that followed the debut of Superman in the late 30s. But to say that the book is about comic books or about superheroes would be ridiculous. It's about the lives of these two men and the routes that they end up taking through them as World War II, along with any number of other events, comes about. It touches on the disenfranchisement felt by immigrants, the difficulty of being a homosexual during that period, the beginnings of suburbia, and the wonder of childhood, in addition to being something of a history lesson on the creation and publication of superhero comics.

Chabon is simply a masterful writer. Whenever he begins to build the characters up and give them a hope of real happiness, the reader can tell that something terrible is around the corner. But the true measure of his expertise comes from the fact that you can't help but get excited for them. You know a catastrophe is looming, yet the desire to see them succeed and be happy, and the hope that it is possible, simply won't allow you to remain totally cynical. The other thing I feel the need to point out is that Chabon's use of language is a joy to read. His descriptions and the way everything is structured are English at its best. He could write a novel about American Idol and I'd probably find it a pleasurable read.

So, to wrap it up, you owe it to yourself to read this book no matter who you are. I have nothing bad to say about it. I haven't read a book this good in so long I think I had forgotten that they existed. I almost hesitated to praise the book so heavily because I was concerned that I might have raised expectations too much, but, honestly, I feel confident that the book can take it.

The characters, plot, and themes lack any sort of interesting, analytical depth that makes a book worth reading. Chabon is consistently infatuated with the extreme breadth of his vocabulary, which is quite impressive but is not enough to carry a book or make a book "great." While reading this gigantic paperweight of a novel, I also read a book by Graham Greene and a handful of short stories by Flannery O'Conner just so that I wouldn't forget WHY I enjoy reading. I slogged through to the end and found that I had held out hope only to be left still wanting something else.

This is one of those rare but wonderful books that immediately pull you into the writer's world where you just want to stay forever. There is a sense of being in a contemporary Mark Twain novel, really. In addition to having well-developed characters with complex lives, we learn so darned much about everything. I learned something about the history of the comic book and about the way comics used to be produced. I learned more about a myth I knew only a little - the golem. I learned about world fairs and WWII. I was sad when the book came to an end because I then had to leave this world. Frankly, it was quite a spell before I could get into another book. I recommend the book often and loudly.

Having just completed my reading of Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, I am profoundly impressed with how stunningly excellent this novel is. I was floored in just about every way. To say that this novel had the same effect on me as Infinite Jest or House of Leaves would not be true but that said, it also does not diminish how expertly written, how masterfully crafted this fine piece of literary genius is. I feel ashamed that I had not heard of it until quite recently.

Chabon's epic romp through the Golden Age of Comics is a true stand-out that I'm not certain how to characterize other than (please pardon the oblique pun) marvelous. The prose is alive with brilliant imagery and metaphor, following his two protagonists though two decades of youthful intrigue and into middle-aged rebirths. I was captivated by how the prose evolves along with the characters as well, watching its sophistication increase and mutate as they matured within the novel.

There are too many stand-out moments to attempt to capture them all here. I will say this, however: the story brings so much to the table and (like any good novel) it forces you to confront and question your beliefs and values.

Highly recommended.