Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant !
Review: As a previous reviewer stated; one of the few books that lives up to all the accolades bestowed upon it. Remarkably well researched. Chabon mixes genuine history with his fiction so seemlessly that you believe these characters must surely have existed themselves. The paperback was 635 pages long and I was sorry it was that short. Chabon certainly is a master of the English language. Beautifully written and devised, this book will certainly be a classic in years to come. One hint for prospective readers: It would be helpful (but not necessary) if you had some background on Golems, or more specifically, the Golem of Prague. I did some research on it after the fact, and it just added to my respect for Chabon.
Rating:
Summary: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
Review: Perhaps for the first time in a long while; a book which truly deserves the accolades it has been awarded. Beautifully written, the book tells the story of two cousins, each challenged in their own way, who find themselves more complete for being together. Chabon's prose is exemplary, evocative, and succinct - I was sated. I was also moved to laugh, to cry, to nod my head in agreement, and close the book, with my fingers in my place, not willing to read more of the exasperating situations in which the characters occasionally find themselves. But of course, I read, and was glad. Really, the best book I have read in years...TV book clubs be damned!
Rating: 
Summary: Truly Average -- Maybe unless you grew up during WWII?
Review: I read this book last month on the recs of many. I am at a loss to understand all the hype. Browsing through the reviews here I wonder if I read a different novel. But I have a theory. I am 26. It was apparent to me as I read the novel that I simply could not relate to all the references to comic book heroes and great comic illustrators. That genre never interested me. There are times when Chabon waxes on for pages referring to nothing but comic book characters of old and great illustrators who never got their due. This may be a nostalgic walk though the golden years for those of 'The Greatest Generation', but for gen Xers, I think the book truly (stunk). Well, actually, the story was mildly interesting, and Chabon seems a well qualified story teller, but the fact that the book is over 600 pages and full of esoteric references to comic book lore made it never take ahold of my imagination, the way I thought it would.Reccomondation: Unless you REALLY like comic books, pass on this book -- it's not for you. Also: I'd be interested in the ages of people who like this book. My theory is they were all growing up during WWII. There is no way people 30 and under thought this book was as good as everybody thinks. MAYBE 3 stars, but even that's pushing it.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing Indeed!
Review: I find my faith in the novelistic prowess of Michael Chabon well-rewarded. Chabon's 2000 novel, "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay" is indeed an amazing novel that shows a great deal of intelligence, wit, and skill. Immediately chronicling 15 years in the lives of Samuel Klayman and Josef Kavalier from 1939 to the mid 50's , Chabon indirectly brings the reader in contact with the cultural histories of America and Jewish Eastern Europe, embodying national and cultural struggles for freedom in the lives of two ambitious young men. This is a tremendously honest novel, and is at times full of the comedy and tragedy of seemingly ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. The novel begins in October 1939, when teenager Samuel Klayman's sleep is disturbed by the entrance into his Brooklyn bed of a cousin, Josef Kavalier, just a couple years older, who has just arrived from Prague, Czechoslovakia. Sammy is obsessed with story and with the enrapturing capacities of the burgeoning form of the comic book. Raised largely by his mother, Sammy also has a kind of vacant father complex, and searches throughout the novel for a way to cope with or replace his missing father. Josef was raised by two prominent Czech doctors, allowing him access to indulge his interests, from magic to artistry. When the Nazis occupation of Czechoslovakia begins putting pressure on the resident Jewish population, his family sells off the majority of their possessions to fund his visa for America. Upon Josef's arrival in Brooklyn, Sammy finds in his cousin the potential, between his own storytelling and Josef's artistic genius, to make their way in the wide open comic book marketplace - and to create a hero to hang their highly individual hopes and dreams on. There is so much of interest in "Kavalier and Clay," it's hard to know where to start. On the novel's first page, though, Clay tells us that the driving tropes of the novel, the comic book and the superhero, are about "transformation" and "metamorphosis" - the very heart of the reason we read novels in the first place. The comic book provides a multifaceted outlet for transformation for both of our protagonists, from very simple to the most psychologically complex. Since at least 1719, with Defoe's "Robinson Crusoe," novel characters have seen name changes as a vehicle for social and economic assimilation and ambition. Within the first few chapters of Chabon's novel, the possibility of a career in comics and the hope of joining mainstream America (coming from a Jewish tradition), sees the protagonists become Sam Clay and Joe Kavalier. The novel traces the ways that Sam and Joe attempt to define their new identities both with and against their individual and cultural pasts. For both of these boys, in their late teens, this means coming to grips with sexuality and economic, personal, and social responsibility. For Joe in particular, around whom the novel centers, his rebirth into an American, literary, and artistic identity hinges on his anger against the Nazis and his efforts to redeem his birth family from the genocidal theatre of Eastern Europe. The hero they together create, an "American golem," as the novel has it, is awash in another complex set of thematic elements. One could spend hours unpacking his very names, 'Tom Mayflower' and his alter ego, 'The Escapist'. The themes of magic and freedom from tyranny inform the birth of this fictional hero; a background of fascination with carnivals (for Sam) and magic, especially Harry Houdini (for Joe), along with the sufferings of Czech Jews at the hands of the Nazis forms a web of social and political determinants for The Escapist. For Joe particularly, the comic book form and the key-carrying hero come to symbolize and enact one young man's desparate desire to save his own family from the clutches of the 20th century's most evil regime. Chabon suggests beautifully throughout his novel that the convergence of the rise of the comic book and the brutality of World War II create a unique historical moment in which identity politics merge with the strictly political and young male culture becomes a site where anything seems possible. The rich historical fiction of Chabon's "Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay" could be talked about endlessly - I've not even touched some of the great minor characters, like Rosa Saks, Longman Harkoo, Bernard Kornblum, and Tommy Clay, not to mention special 'guest stars' like Salvador Dali, Stan Lee, and the legendary Golem of Prague. The detail that Chabon uses for situations and scenery is highly evocative and magical itself. The comic book motif had me, during most of the novel, reading the action and dialogue into comic book panels, a great effect of Chabon's style and ability. This is a book I cannot recommend highly enough.
Rating:
Summary: Astonishingly good
Review: I completely and thouroughly enjoyed this book! This novel has shot nearly to the top of my list of all-time favorites (landing at number 2 after Pride and Prejudice). Michael Chabon's style and language are spectacular, and the episodic nature of the story is reminded me of the great, multi-issue comic book sagas of yore. I was also utterly beguiled by Chabon's footnotes, a seamless mesh of fiction and fact. I applaud Mr. Chabon for using a light hand when it came to expressing the psychological motivations of his characters; their actions and feelings were open to interpretation by the reader. All in all, if you want to stimulate your intellect and emotions in equal measure, I heartily recommend The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay.
Rating:
Summary: Luna Moth... ohh...
Review: I loved this book from Page One, and still loved it at the end. The protagonists are gutsy and short-sighted and irritating and magical... they're human, and beautifully so. The sub-plot of the comics is nothing short of brilliant. Each one of them was so believable, I wished he had a companion comic book to go along with the book. I've recommended this to many people... truly worthy of the Pulitzer, unlike the doubtful book that won this year's prize.... Compelling read. You'll be thinking about the characters, human or otherwise, long after you put it down.
Rating: 
Summary: SIMPLY AMAZING
Review: If you are a lover of comic books or one who enjoys an exciting story that takes you from reality to fantasy then this is the book for you. Never before had I encountered a novel which chronicled the fictionalized lives of two writers of comic books back in the days of its genesis. Kavalier & Clay reads like a biography, history, and fantasy all rolled up into one. Meet Joe Kavalier a young man who managed to escape from Prague just as Adolph Hitler's regime began swallowing up easter Europe. Joe goes encounters many obstacles until he lands into the crowded home of his cousin, Sammy Klaman also known as Sam Clay. The teamup of these two relatives results in the creation of new feature comics resulting in making their bosses wealthy while they get exploited. Ah, but this tome is more than the story about comic artists and illustrators during their hey day. You see the deep loneliness and broken dreams of two young men. Sammy struggles with his sexuality while Joe contends with his inability to save his family. Both young men have high dreams in life only to see them postponed or given up. Joey sometimes goes into the world of fantasy as an escape artist to bury his anger while Sammy buries himself in work. For both, the comics become their salvation and through that genre the two attempt to maintain some control over their lives. I thoroughly enjoyed this unique work of its time as I was taken through the history of comics, the challenges of being an immigrant, the hurt of World War II and the varied characters that impacted upon our heroes lives. You won't be able to put this book down which is a brilliant tale of courage, perserverance and triumph.
Rating: 
Summary: A long journey for little reward.
Review: I give the book 1 star for the simple fact that I finished it instead of giving up. Instead of giving a literary criticism, which plenty of others have done here, I will say the following: It took me 3 months to read this 600 page book. In that time I read 5 other books from front to back. 3 of those 5 I read in less than 2 days. The other 2 I read in less than a week. My point is this. There are books that grip you and make you continue turning the pages. Read the first chapter at the bookstore and see if this book does this for you. Otherwise, find a different book that does. Apparently some people loved this book. I did not. I finished the book merely because once I had gotten 100 pages into it I felt obligated to finish, no matter how difficult it later proved to be. Not recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Great Scott! It's a Hit!
Review: There is a sweetness about this book that surprised and gratified me beyond measure. It is the 1930's, and two cousins, one of marginal talent and the other a bona-fide artist, launch a comic-book character. Their genius idea
(based on the true history of comics) is to have the comic books set in the"real" world. So, imagine the drama here: in the first issue, Hitler is delivered a knockout punch! From this first attempt the team of Kavalier & Clay becomes a hit; but what Chabon does that is equally fascinating is take the lives of the creators and turn them into stories that have the vague feel of comic-book adventure and yet feel very plausible as mid-century lives. The writing is so smooth
it's like glass. This is the most all-around entertaining book I have read
since Brauner's Love Songs of the Tone-Deaf, which is very
reminiscent in tone and that enthusiastic, yet not dumbed-down American spirit.
Rating:
Summary: A Pulitzer Isn't Enough!
Review: I was blown away by this book! The characters were compelling, the story inventive and riveting, and the writing was gorgeous -- elegant in a way we seldom see. I savored every sentence and hated finishing it! I wish there were such thing as a Double-Pulitzer, because that's what this book deserves!
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