Δεν ξέρω αν μου έχει ξανασυμβεί να θέλω ένα βιβλίο εξακοσίων σελίδων να μην τελειώσει ποτέ.Διαβάστε το
αν αγαπάτε τα κόμιξ, τους υπερ ήρωες, την μαγεία (they're called illusions Michael), αν έχετε έναν μικρότερο αδερφό που είναι όλος σας ο κόσμος, αν ονειρευτήκατε ποτέ μία ζωή στην Νέα Υόρκη, αν έχετε ντραπεί ποτέ για κάτι που δικαίως κερδίσατε επειδή ο κόσμος γύρω σας ματώνει, αν γυρίσατε ποτέ την πλάτη στον πόθο και κινηθήκατε με βαριά βήματα στην αντίθετη κατεύθυνση, αν βρεθήκατε να ζείτε την ζωή κάποιου άλλου, αν σκέφτεστε καμιά φορά στα κρυφά πως θα ήταν να γεμίσετε μια βαλίτσα και να μην σας ξαναδεί ποτέ κανείς.Διαβάστε όσα πιο πολλά αντιπολεμικά κόμικς και βιβλία μπορείτε για να συζητάμε, για να γεμίζουμε τις σιωπές γιατί όπως λέει και η μαμά Έθελ όταν υπάρχουν αμήχανες σιωπές στις συζητήσεις κάπου γεννιέται ένας ηλίθιος.

As World War Two is beginning to take shape, a Jewish family ushers their oldest son Josef out of Europe to live with his cousin Sammy in New York. While Sammy works for an ad agency, his real passion is in storytelling, more specifically, the booming medium of comic books. When he realizes Josef’s artistic talent, the two create The Escapist, a superhero to free people from the chains of oppression.

As the industry grows, so does their ambition. The two collaborate on creating additional heroes establishing themselves as a dynamic partnership. Michael Chabon’s Pulitzer prize winning epic tells the story of two men and their rise to cultural icons in 1940s America.

It’s not often that I stray from my comfort zone of thrillers, mysteries and comics but with the amount of praise heaped upon Chabon’s work, I thought I’d give it a shot. Afterall, the guy did write a draft for Spider-Man 2 and while only a supposed third of it was actually used, it is one of my favorite comic book movies. It also doesn’t hurt that it’s about comics to begin with as well as World War II, both of which I enjoy reading about more as time goes on.

Initially, I was a little worried. Chabon’s style seems to be in line with someone who could call himself a “wordsmith”. It almost felt at times like he was showing off in a way – trying too hard to differentiate his prose from other authors’. Look, I’m not criticizing Chabon for being “different” nor am I saying that it would’ve been nice if he “dumbed it down”; it just took some time for me as a reader to settle into his style. Once I did though, things flowed nicely.

I know it’s a fourteen year old novel and I’m not about to sail into spoiler territory here but I did feel it was a little on the long side and maybe it could have been edited somewhat more tightly. There were points where I felt the story dragged a little too much for my liking but it’s hard to argue against a novel that won a Pulitzer. Perhaps I’m a little thin on patience knowing I have a ton of books on my to-read pile.

These are minor complaints really. The story is certainly a great period piece (taking place in my favorite historical setting of the 30s through the 50s) and an instant classic. I’ll definitely be checking out more of his work.

I love this book. This is actually my second by Michael Chabon, and my giving him a second chance was seriously my best decision this week! I am actually biased to him, because he is a fellow alumni from the University of California, Irvine!

My single notable complaint is that @ 636 pages, it was a little long. Some chapters did lose my interest briefly. But with that many pages it is quite an accomplishment that most of it held my interest completely.

Notable side note: Added in the 2012 edition, "Odds & Ends"- a collection of six short stories, some serving as epilogue/prologues, others chapters removed from the novel by Chabon prior to publication, one an alternate ending, the last written long after the novel's publication- felt like such a necessary addition to the completeness of The Adventures of Kavalier & Clay that I am confident I would not have liked this novel as much without it.

The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay is an immense, saga like novel, spanning the lifetime for the three main characters. They are: Josef Kavalier whom has immigrated from Prague-through "magic", as a stowaway in a cut out section of an enormous golem statue being shipped. This is overseen by his mentor in the art of magic, Kornblum. His love for stage magic stats with him when he immigrates to New York City. He is the inspiration for the comic book character, The Escapist, whom he creates with his cousin, Samuel Clay (Klayman).

The Escapist is a Houdini-like superhero, his symbol the golden key. Using stage magic and his lock-picking, covert, escaping abilities, he saves the world- one day at a time; one less fortunate individual at a time. Samuel, the brains behind the partnership, speaks on their behalf with his superiors heading Empire Comics (fittingly headquarters in the eponymous architectural landmark). Pitching and convincingly selling the value if their proposed comic series, Kavalier & Clay soon begin their lengthy success with The Escapist. Samuel stays awake writing storyboard after storyboard, while Kavalier determinedly, sometimes unreasonably, immerses himself in the sketching, the drawing; the artwork for each issue. This is one of his escapes from the nightmare of his life, namely that his family in Prague used the last of their savings in order to send him to "The Land of Opportunity". The millions he earns from "The Escapist" is all saved- millions he refuses to spend, lest he admit to himself (let alone the world) that the telegrams he received accurately reported his beloved younger brother Thomas having passed away, his family obliterated as a mere side effect of the war.

The third hero/heroine of the story is Rosa Saks. A complcated three amigos / love triangle they make, indeed.  The love interest to Joe, good friend to Samuel --> Husband to Samuel, when Joe disappears without saying goodbye, to get what he sees as "revenge" on Germany by serving in the armed forces, but performing another magic trick when he supposedly returns, yet is never seen to unboard his ship when it docks --> Mother to Joe's son, Tommy (named in honor of Jose's late brother), whom is actually told is Samuel's son, though he has his suapicions --> Partner to Samuel as a comic book artist for Empire Comic's female targeted series --> Joe ultimately relents, giving his life savings to a future as the new co-owner, with his cousin, of course, for Empire Comics, Rosa a lead artist --> Finally, when Joe returns to their lives, ultimately due to his desire to get to know his son better, Rosa becomes her true love's wife, the truth is revealed to Tommy, and Samuel fulfills his dream of pursuing true love by boarding a train to Hollywood, where Tracy Bacon awaits (finally facing the truth of his homosexuality he always kinda knew and all his loved ones were already aware, to his shock) --> In an epilogue, readers learn that following Josef Kavalier's death- after a successful run with a comic series based on his Prague Golem, drawn by him and led by Samuel Clay, Rosa Saks a lead artist- Samuel & Rosa tour the world from convention to convention, their love clearly visible to ask those attending. Though not of a romantic kind, it is no less strong.

"The Escapist" eventually creates an impressive following, matching that of competitors like Marvel & D.C. Comics. This is the core of the story, representing each character's need, in some way, to escape. To escape from society, from being different, from life, from themselves. Surrounding this is one of the most fascinating aspects of the book, the comic books industry- directory during The Golden Age of Comics. Serious fans will recognize names of Comics, artists, specific facts in the history that have been thoroughly researched by Chabon. (Some examples include Stan Lee, Bob Kane, Will Eisner, Jerry Siegel, and Joe Shuster.) The novel spans from shortly after the debut of Superman and concluding with the Kefauver Senate hearings, two events often used to demarcate the era. The historical and cultural significance of this book is undeniable, as evidenced by its Pulitzer Prize.

Anyhow, I feel I have said enough to support my proclamation that you need to read this book. Yes, you. Whoever you are. Because everyone should!

I love this book – it is a work of puree genius. It is now cemented as an all time favourite, a big call for me! A well deserved Pulitzer Winner, Chabon’s highly original novel has everything going for it – unusual and captivating plot, exceptional writing, witty dialogue and unforgettable, loveable characters what will stay in my heart forever!

It had been on my ‘to read’ list for a while, only cast aside by the fact that I couldn’t imagine enjoying a novel about comic books. I didn’t grow up reading comics, hence the potential appeal of this novel escaped me. How wrong I was! It is an astounding achievement of literature that reels the reader into not only the fascinating history of the comic book industry and the birth of the ‘super hero’, but also the lives of the individuals that were integral to its development and long term booming success.

I couldn’t put it down, for days, refusing to be separated for too long from the adventures of Jewish cousins, Joe Kavalier and Sam Clay, the two protagonists as well as the range of supporting characters that really form the backbone of what makes this book so enthralling. Yes, the comic book aspects are interesting, but it is the insightful character development and carefully imagined plot that make this book unforgettable – Joe’s miraculous escape from occupied Prague to Brooklyn NYC, his super glue friendship with his cousin, Sam and the ingeniousness of their joint skills in writing and illustration. Together, combining their talents, they conceive the “Escapist”, the super hero to rival all others – because his remit is universal, securing the freedom of those under oppression. Namely, for Joe whose family remain in occupied Prague, the thwarting the evil of Hitler and the Nazi’s and the liberation of the Jews. While Joe racked with guilt and fuelled by anger wages his figurative war with the Nazi’s through his art, Sam’s personal battle centres around his struggle to “fit in”, to accept his homosexuality, as well as the overarching loneliness that comes with his secret. He is also plagued by a sense of inadequacy due to his father’s abandonment and the crippling effects of polio.

Chabon’s writing is flawless, effortless, a pleasure to read. His language is original and evocative: “his heart smacking against his ribs like a bumblebee at a window” and “The sky was as blue as the ribbon on a prize-winning lamb…”, or even “charming as a carton of eggs…”. As a reader, it is rewarding to cast your eyes over a page and really wonder at how an author can so cleverly not only weave a tale, but also strong words together so perfectly: “when the needle hit the groove, the scratches on the disk popped and crackled like a burning log. Then the air was filled with a festive wheeze of violins…”

Chabon also infuses the novel with comedy, again, using his skill as a writer rather than the voice of the characters. Sammy’s mother’s culinary skills are described as, “dinner was a fur muff, a dozen clothespins, and some old dish towels boiled up with carrots. The fact that the meal was served with a bottle of prepared horseradish enabled Sammy to conclude that it was intended to pass for braised short ribs of beef—flanken. Many of Ethel’s specialties arrived thus encoded by condiments…” At least there wasn’t gefiltfish! The comedy juxtaposes cleverly with the tragic elements of the story and the very real, dark reality of not only war and genocide but also society’s vilification of anyone who is different.

As the title suggests, there are innumerable adventures over the course of decades as the cousins are shunted together and forced apart. There is love and loss, sadness and triumph that stretches from Europe to New York and even Antarctica. Chabon is a super talented writer and story teller, sentences are fluently crafted and the plot is confidently composed, rollicking along, pulling us in and propelling the reader to the final pages. I admit, I was nervous about approaching the end, how could this epic, monumental saga of a novel conclude without either being depressing or anti-climatic – but it avoids both! It is a befitting closure to the rest of the book – kudos to Chabon. Not an easy feat after 600 odd pages of genius.

Ultimately, it is the illusive but ever present character of the escape artist who sums things up perfectly, “the true magic of this broken world lay in the ability of the things it contained to vanish, to become so thoroughly lost, that they might never have existed in the first place…” Please do yourself a favour and read this book. Whatever genre you read, this is a sure bet crowd pleaser.

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay is amazing. Well, some of it is. To be specific I found it fairly amazing up until about page 429. Then it got slightly less amazing which was sad really because, prior to that it was zipping along so nicely like Superman with a new stream-lined cape sliding in and out of the slip stream. After page 429 it became a bit more like Superman trying to erratically jump over tall buildings with Dr Octopus tied to one leg and the Juggernaut tied to the other. You just know that weighty baggage like that is going to slow our hero down and make him a lot less agile and graceful. Yes, yes, before people write in and complain I know they're not all from the same comic book stable... it's just a metaphor alright?

The book starts off light and agile. The prose is nimble and immediately I was engrossed which was great because this was a spur of the moment purchase which had to see me through a long day of waiting for builders to decide to do nothing for a very large part of it (now you see how I get so much reading time in!)

Cousins Kavalier and Clay are thrown together by a secret transatlantic crossing where Joe Kavalier escapes from Prague, the Nazis and certain death. His first introduction to his cousin, the redoubtable Sammy Clay is when they are forced to share a bed together. Not the most conventional of first meetings for those who wind up being business partners, although maybe this is how it goes on Wall Street and I am just ignorant of the fact. It quickly becomes apparent that Joe's talent for drawing and Sammy's quick-fire pulp fiction brain are together the most unstoppable comic strip writing duo that American has ever seen. And so that's what they do. Write comic books.

With the Nazis invading most of Europe and implementing their programme of anti-semitism the backdrop to the entire book is the havoc wreaked by war in the Old World while America gamely attempts to negotiate a political minefield without having to immediately send itself into the fray. The tactful negotiation even extends itself as far as the mild censorship of comic book content. The comic books and their heroes represent not only a decent wage and but a shift towards the American dream for Kavalier and Clay who quickly find that with fame comes responsibility. A conduit for the anti-Hitler message the Kavlier and Clay hero "The Escapist" represents a force for good but is also symbolic of Joe's escape from Europe.

The shiny potential for happiness created by Kavalier and Clay quickly becoming the embodiment of the 1930s American dream was great but obviously, like life, things can't always be great for long and this is when the book began to take a bit of a faster-than-a-speeding-bullet style nose dive. Still I stuck with it till the end like a faithful sidekick should and was rewarded with the tying off of a few loose ends and one last act of escapology, albeit an emotional rather than physical one.

This is honestly a very daunting novel to review, more so to finish reading in the first place, and not just because of its 600+ pages but the quality of its prose which is painstakingly detailed in ways that are often not necessary at all. I can only think of two reasons why I could recommend reading this, and even then I could only recommend it to a specific type of people, and not to your average casual reader. Michael Chabon's n  The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clayn is a 2000 book that is in many ways a historical fiction about the Golden and Silver Age of American comic books. This subject matter is what got me so interested in it when a good friend of mine recommended it (and purchased me a copy as a Christmas gift last year).

~MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD~

The paperback is actually close to seven hundred pages and is divided into six parts which chronicled the lives and struggles of cousins Joe Kavalier and Sam Clay, the titular heroes of this novel. They are aspiring comic book writers and artists with a Jewish heritage, living in an era when fascism is thriving and victimizing Europe. With this promising premise filled with daring possibilities for character exposition with lots of historical allusion, Chabon takes readers into a very vivid and verbose journey about the intricacies that surrounded these cousins and their choices. From making it big in the comic book industry and facing certain issues in the business, to the important discoveries they have made within their personal, private lives that also influenced and changed them either for better or worse.

n  n    "Comic books thrived to articulate a purpose for itself in the marketplace of ten-cent dreams, to express the lust for power and the gaudy taste of a race of powerless people with no leave to dress themselves. They were pure and true, and they arrived at precisely the moment when the kids of America began, after ten years of terrible hardship, to find their pockets burdened with the occasional superfluous dime."n  n

What I can say foremost is that The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay is a damn mighty fine novel comparable in length and breadth to perhaps something like War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy but the comparison, of course, ends there. I just want to give everyone proper context on how completely immersed, absorbing and detailed this novel was to read and enjoy, and how much it spans from one decade/era to the next since it does follow Joe and Sam from their early twenties to middle age and so on. Since it's also a historical fiction, many chapters are dedicating to lavishing the readers with expositions regarding the comic book characters created by Joe and Sam, and how they serve as allegories for the themes Chabon tackled profusely and passionately for.

There is clearly a great amount of research and planning done to infuse together what is based from factual accounts with that of the fictionalized moments in Chabon's narrative he wrote in, but ultimately the result was a seamless and compelling semi-biographical examination and commentary at why Americans created and celebrated superheroes in those times. Chabon's grasp of his subject matter is impressive; he doesn't shy away from dedicated chapters to completely build a world that resembles the one we can recognize about the Golden Age of comics, while also maintaining layers of fictional liberties in doing so.

Of course, this rigorous storytelling style will not appeal to everyone's taste and sensibilities, and that is why I can't recommend The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay with the casual reader. One should at least have an enthusiasm or passion in comic books in general which I have copious amounts of. If not, then a great bulk of this novel will be alienating and baffling for you. However, if you do have an open mind and do want to explore the mythos and the kind of creative industry which comics books operate on, then The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay could be a worthwhile endeavor. The selling point of the story for me is the way Chabon got me invested and involved in Joe and Sam as characters and respective representations of a Jewish boy who immigrated to the States and wanted to help his kin escape from the Nazis in whatever way he can, and a closeted gay man who is coming to terms with his sexuality. The moments devoted to their respective character arcs are my favorite.

n  n    "He wanted them to understand the importance of the fight, to succumb to the propaganda that he and Sammy were unabashedly churning out. If they could not move Americans to anger against Hitler, then Joe's existence, the mysterious freedom that had been granted to him and denied to so many others, had no meaning." n  n

Joe Kavalier's character arc in the beginning focuses on his superhero myth-making as an artist with a character named The Escapist, his creation with Sam. Though Sam is the one who is more of the writer of their duo, Kavalier is the one whose attachment with the Escapist runs deep since it stems from a place of both hope and despair. Successfully immigrating to the States before Nazis took over his land, Joe feels obligated to do something to make Americans and everyone else see the evils of Hitler's regime, and this translates in the stories and illustrations he collaborates with Sam who is open to it because he is very supportive of his cousin's plight. Joe wants to showcase that the Escapist is a superhero who can free himself from any bondage and hence also do the same for others.

The origin story for the Escapist is nuanced, and the more Joe devotes all his creativity and efforts in turning him into a symbol akin that to a freedom fighter, the more he also gets depressed over the fact that he's living a pretty good life, earning sustainable income for his comics while his family is out there dealing with the Nazis daily. This survivor's guilt drives Joe's character throughout the novel, making him do really noble and admirable acts but reckless and temperamental things as well. Joe is a well-rounded character whose personal demons are fascinating to read about.

Meanwhile, Sam Clay struggling with his sexuality and abandonment issues offered readers a bittersweet taste of wide-eyed innocence and idealism. Sam has admired men his entire life, and it was only through meeting an actor named Tracy Bacon, who plays the Escapist for a radio show based on their comics, did Sam came to understand that he falls for men romantically. But the era in which he lives in is very homophobic and prejudiced, and Sam has to retreat emotionally from what he wants and the man he loves because to be a gay man then means opening yourself up to being terrorized, policed and even raped. The later parts of the novel reach a frightening climax when Sam was abused by a couple of FBI agents just because he was gay, and Joe finding out that his younger brother whom he was attempting to spirit away from a Nazi-populated region had perished on a ship ride to America among with other Jewish children. It got very harrowing that I was shocked about it because the tone of the novel becomes more intimate in a gruesome and disheartening way. Nevertheless, I was already devoted to these boys so I finished anyway.

n  n    "The magician seemed to promise that something torn to bits might be mended without a seam; a scattered handful of doves or dust might be reunited by a word, a paper consumed by fire can bloom from a pile of ash. But it's all an illusion. The true magic of this broken world, however lay in the ability of the things it contained to vanish, to become thoroughly lost that they might never have existed in the first place."n  n

At the last hundred pages or so of the book, Chabon included production notes that expand on the world he created for Kavalier and Clay. I have yet to read them all but from what I can garner so far, they are able to offer more insights on his narrative and choices of plot directions. In a nutshell, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay is a work of fiction I could only recommend to a chosen few, but those people are guaranteed to enjoy it nevertheless!

RECOMMENDED: 8.5/10

Read more of my review in:
n  n

658 pages too long.

I didn’t like this book. I didn’t like it at all.
This is one of those books I never felt like reading. The word adventures in its title being enough to put me off.

This time my gut feeling was right. This really was loathe at first sight. I started it on kindle (300 pages) and finished it on audio (Desperate times call for desperate measures). Boring as a funeral, no matter the way I read it. Well, to be fair, I can recall having had more fun in some funerals than I had while reading these “adventures”.

Things i couldn’t stand:
•The fact that there’s no character development, at all.
•The story was told in a very matter of fact kind of way.
•Too many irrelevant underdeveloped characters.
•Too many unnecessary descriptions: street names, business contracts, magic tricks, Batman and Robin, Superman, more business contracts, Salvador Dali and so on...
•Whole chapters describing the “adventures” of the superheroes created by the “protagonists”.

Things I thought weren’t too bad:
•The writing.

So yes, this was like torture to me, but I don’t think this is actually a bad book. It was only a very serious case of “it’s not you, it’s me”. This was definitely not the right book for me, but those guys from The Big Bang Theory are going to love it for sure.

I still give it 3 stars though. I didn’t like it but its author clearly loved it. It’s only fair.

So happy I finished it and am already starting to forget everything about it.

Richard Russo’s Empire Falls is the next one on the Pulitzer list and I have a good feeling about it (and love its title).

I know I'm totally an outlier on this one. But I tried four times, literally four times, to read this and could never get past page 50. It's extraordinary enough for me to give a book a second chance after flunking my 50-page rule, but a third and a fourth? That was enough for me. And I love comic books, too. So go figure.

Dvaja chalani židovského pôvodu v New Yorku začínajú kresliť komiksy. Ale ešte pred tým sa tam jeden z nich musí dostať z nacistami okupovanej Prahy. Našťastie je obdivovateľ Houdiniho a niečo už vymyslí.
Keby som chcel provokovať, tak poviem, že je ťažko pochopiteľné - prečo niekto napíše román Malý život, keď na prelome tisícročí Chabon napísal Úžasná dobrodružství Kavaliera a Claye. Tiež je to o priateľstve v tomto americkom veľkomeste, o umelcoch, aj o homosexualite, aj o ťažkej minulosti. Ak to mala byť výzva, tak Chabon zostáva neprekonaný. Jeho príbeh je prirodzenejší, prepracovanejší a odbočky sú zaujímavejšie.
V poslednej dobe sa mi stáva, že 150 stranovú novelu v polovici odložím pre môj čitateľský nezáujem. Kavalier a Clay majú 600 strán a ani raz mi nenapadlo príbeh opustiť.

Nech žije veľký americký román!

In the street

“Hey!”

“Huh? me?”

“Yeah – you. You wouldn’t know great American literature if a pigeon pooed it all over your anorak.”

Wow – that was surreal… who the hell were those guys?

At the office

“The boss wants to see you.”

Oh my… that’s Mrs Higgins sitting there with Mr Duthie – she’s from the HR department! What’s going on?

“Paul, hi, sit down, yes. This is… rather awkward. You see, it has come to our attention that you’ve been, well, how can I put this delicately, heard to say… hmmm…that Michael Chabon’s The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay is well… not bad. Pretty good. Okay-ish. That kind of thing.”

“Er, yes, that’s right, I have.”

“Hmmm, well. Er – Mrs Higgins, can you explain?”

“Certainly. Mr Bryant, we have a copy of the terms and conditions of employment which you signed. As you know, part one clearly states that the employee agrees to promote the company’s mission at all times. The mission is encapsulated in the Mission Statement. Perhaps you need reminding of it.

Our mission statement :

We undertake to manufacture by carbon neutral means the world’s greatest sprockets and to work in harmonic partnership with our friends, colleagues and customers to ensure Michael Chabon’s The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay is recognised throughout the English speaking world as the Great American Novel”

“Wow, I had never seen that last bit!”

“It was revised in 2000 when Mr Chabon published the novel.”

“Well, I’m not sure I like the drift of this discussion. I don’t dislike Michael Chabon’s The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay! It’s pretty good!”

“Well, Paul… I’m very sorry, but that’s sort of the point of this interview. Really though, I’m surprised at you. Do you know that Bret Easton Ellis declared the novel "one of the three great books of my generation" ? Did you not know that?”

“Well, ,but, with respect Mr Duthie, Bret Easton Ellis is an overhyped jerk whose theatre of cruelty has been gulling the young and the impressionable for decades! His opinion counts for less than nothing! Less than nothing, do you hear me, less than nothing!” Bangs table.

Mr Duthie groans and puts his head in his hands.

“Mr Bryant, this is to formally inform you that this is your first formal written warning regarding this matter. Here. File it. Next to The Rules of Attraction.”

At the hairdressers

“I’m sorry Mr Bryant, nobody is available to cut your hair today.”

“But I see three of them hunched over a dog-eared copy of Wonder Boys and they’re clearly not cutting anyone’s hair!”

“I’m sorry….”

In court

Third witness : I clearly heard him say that if Michael Chabon’s The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay” is the great American novel then Everybody Loves Raymond is the great American sitcom.

Crowd : Ooooh – we like Everybody Loves Raymond too.

Prosecutor : Mr Bryant, Michael Chabon’s The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay is a magical novel. Its recreation of the golden age of the comics industry is, although cloaked in fiction, picture perfect. Its characters -- Joe and his struggle to bring his family to America; Sam and his complex relationship to his father; Rosa and the depths of both her talent and compassion -- are gripping. This novel's epic sweep is constructed with tender moments of heartfelt intimacy. The story itself is, in many ways, the story of the USA itself: the Depression, the American dream, isolationism, the dichotomy of racism and integration, sexual repression, the Second World War, the paranoid 1950s. How , therefore, can you describe it as – I quote – “often like reading a recipe book instead of eating the cake…the seventy five earnest historical facts per paragraph tend to slow the story down to a sludgy creep for fifty pages at a time…” and this… “Every 50 pages or so I had to read a couple more ecstatic reviews to jolt me into continuing, which was like getting sick of one’s exercycle and watching a George Clooney movie and thinking okay I remember why I am doing this and getting back on the exercycle.”

Crowd : booooo! Boooo!

Me : Hey, where did you get that from?

Prosecutor : this is from your very own Goodreads review…

PB : But but that’s not there anymore

Prosecutor : no, of course not, the management deleted it within ten minutes. They run a responsible book reviewing site!

At home

“Jeez, the day I’ve had.”

“Yeah, but look, you bring this down on yourself. I mean, the Daily Telegraph said Perfection. There are perhaps four other novels I’ve enjoyed this much. And none of them has made me cry more."

“Well.. er… that reviewer must have led a very sheltered life. And not read many books.”

Silence.

“My mother was right! You have a heart of stone! And very poor critical facilities! Oh, what have I done! Why did this happen to me?”

"There there, it's only a novel."

"Oh my God you're at it again!"

When I read books, I try to see the whole picture of what the writer is trying to express, not just words on page after page of text. This book is one of the ones you just have to do that and then spend some time pondering the message that it has. The Escapist story is one that I believe we can all relate to at one time or another in our lives. We tend to think we can somehow "escape" our troubles by either physically leaving a bothersome situation or changing our circumstances. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay illustrates the Escapist in all of us by telling the story of Kavalier leaving his homeland to begin a new life in America, with his hopes and dreams of reuniting with the family he left behind in Prague. His cousin, Sammy Clay, also has secrets that he is keeping from himself and others and finally comes to terms with them and gains perspective. I don't want to give too much away from the story; you would just have to read it for yourself.

This was okay. I'm not sure what it is about the Pulitzer Prize winners for me. This book took commitment. I'm not going to lie - it was a slog. I never DNF books and I put this one down for several months after getting about 250-300 pages into it. I really had a hard time picking it back up. I had a hard time getting into it and caring actually. When I did pick it back up it took me through a phase where I started to care. Then it just got long again. Then interesting. Then long... It ended on an interesting part. But wow, it took a lot.

It was epic in the depth of the story and detailed descriptions. The writing is definitely elevated. But all of this jumped into the "extra" category. For example, I could say that the author used quite a high level vocabulary in his descriptions. I could also say he was sesquipedalian bordering on magniloquence. And some of that is welcome for sure! But oppugned? Or should we just say fight against? Never did this use of the English language seem out of place or trying too hard. But it further distanced me from the story or the point.

The other thing that got to me was not only long paragraphs (like pages long) but the pages upon pages of description of some mundane detail only to follow up with a truly impacting part of the story noted in one short sentence. This - what I am going to call, "style" - just confused me.

I could read a book that was entirely description, but here the connection was lost on me. I know it is highly awarded and came to me highly recommended by people and writers who have my utmost respect. But I found myself Googling reviews while reading it wondering if it was only me who didn't love this book.

Again, epic, long, definitely a life's work; however, it left me with a 'just okay' feeling.