 "the amazing adventures of kavalier and clay" | 2009-10-01 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1TXR76CG30ORD |
| I read this book and loved it. A history of comics in NYC and jewish life in europe and NYC the late 30's through the 40's. Great book.I bought this book for a Jewish friend. I know he will love it. |
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| "Not a Booker Winning Style of Novel" | 2009-09-27 |
| - Reviewed By User: A3TCC7LJXJLUA8 |
Kavalier and Clay is not a deep, moving, ponderous novel that wins Booker prizes. It is also not a typical Pulitzer Prize winner. It's difficult to explain what it is in some ways. Probably the best thing I can compare it to is a Quentin Tarantino film. I can picture Tarantino directing the film version of Kavalier and Clay.
The novel has at it's heart the comic book boom of the 1940s. Surrounding this is a plot that reads like a very well written comic.
It starts in Prague in the late 30s when a young Jewish man named Josef Kavalier trains to become an escape artist in the tradition of Harry Houdini. Magic and escape are major themes throughout the book. It follows his escape from Prague and arrival in New York. Ultimately he teams up with his cousin Sammy to create many successful comics where the superheroes are particularly hard on Hitler and the Nazis. The emergence of the comic as a popular form is told lovingly and in great detail.
There are many dimensions to the novel as it deals with WWII, loss of family, censorship, love, homosexuality in the 40s and 50s, radio, Antarctica, father son relationships, revenge and redemption.
It's not necessarily the deepest novel ever but it's exciting, fast moving and enjoyable. The author captured the atmosphere of the time perfectly. I loved it!
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| "Like watching an old movie" | 2009-09-22 |
| - Reviewed By bbruck |
| I didn't live in the thirty's or forty's, but I did watch a lot of movies from that time. Whether intentional or not, Chabon did a wonderful job of capturing the atmosphere and dialog of those old movies. He very creatively blurred reality and his imaginary world in a way that was truly entertaining. Nazis, Jewish folklore, World War II, homosexuality, comic books, old time radio, magicians, the Empire State Building -- definitely an amazing adventure. |
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| "My favourite book of all time." | 2009-09-10 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2WZPJM6PFRIP |
I am surprised by the amount of people who gave this one star, but more so at their reasons. One person said he doesn't read books for florid description. Casting that aside with a big 'whatever', I have to say that this book is now my favourite book of all time. It knocked off a book that held the perch for 12 years and it did so quite easily. Chabon crafts a world with words that is impressive to behold. I took my time reading this book because I didn't want it to end. I can understand that this book might not be a certain person's cup of tea, but I don't know how anyone could hate or turn others away from it. You can't doubt that this book is masterful storytelling, you can only say it isn't for you.
I'm just glad that it is for me, because to miss out on this reading experience would be a grave travesty. Grave indeed. |
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 "Really good for a while" | 2009-07-01 |
| - Reviewed By wolfd |
| Chabon is brilliant writer. This could have been a brilliant novel except it gets stuck. The characters, plot, setting all develop in fascinating ways until about 2/3 of the way through. Then the notion of the golem becomes a useless distraction. Too bad. This could have been a great book. |
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| "Unapologetic, Serious, AND Fun? Amazing." | 2009-07-01 |
| - Reviewed By spatulajr |
The first thing you need to know about Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures Of Kavalier & Clay is that just because it's an acclaimed work of literary fiction doesn't mean it's not a lot of fun to read. In fact, it's the kind of unapologetically plot-driven novel that I feared "serious" novelists had mostly given up on since around the time John Steinbeck passed away. I'm rarely proven wrong on that score, but I'm always glad when I am.
I don't at all mean to indicate in saying this that the novel is at all lacking in substance. In fact, the intricate web of motifs and symbols that Chabon works into it is one of the most fascinating elements of the work, and he's a skilled enough craftsman to make sure that it supports rather than intrudes upon the tremendous story he has to tell here.
Stylistically Chabon knows his stuff, and there's at least one "wow" virtuoso moment where you think you're being told a story out of a comic book and then you suddenly realize you aren't. But what really made Kavalier & Clay shine for me is (again) the storytelling, the richly symbolic subtext, and the author's wonderful ear for dialogue, which is probably the best (and certainly the funniest) I've read since Elmore Leonard.
In sum, Kavalier & Clay is more than deserving of its Pulitzer Prize win and the most wholly satisfying novel that I've read in years. |
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