Rating: 
Summary: a great read!!
Review: I almost fell in love with this book but I have to admit that at times it really gets on your nerves. First of all, this is a very long read (clockin up to 636 pages in my edition...), just like every novel that files under the (vague) "American novel" label. It's an enthralling tale but the central part is just a bit too long and, as another reviewer noticed, there are a couple of subplots (Joe's adventure in Antarctic, Sam and Tracy's relation) that come to a halt right when they start getting interesting. Still, for the most of its lenght this is a page-turner and Michael Chabon surely knows how to write. Therefore... buy it!
Rating: 
Summary: Good story, but Uneven
Review: Being a huge comic book fan growing up, I was really looking forward to this one. The first half of the book, was tremendous. It was beautifully written. The originality of the story, the characters, the prose: it was all systems go. The middle dragged a bit, but still kept me hooked. The last fourth of the book....was really disappointing. I didn't buy the marriage between Sammy and Rosa at ALL. The reunion between Sammy and Joe was completely underwhelming. And it ended on such a predictable and corny way. Ironic the novel was about comic books, because this story had a comic book ending.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Book
Review: I'll spare you the plot details as they are recounted in other reviews. Chabon wrote a great book.Most of you probably read a fair bit, as I do, and perhaps you seek books that win awards, as I do. Reading this book was like dining (not just eating) at a fine restaraunt -- you need to chew the words slowly, roll them around on your tongue, and enjoy the nuances of the flavors. Chabon chooses his words and his metaphors very carefully and they need to be read with equal care. Many reviewers complained that Chabon's prose were needlessly difficult, but I think his word choice was like using exotic herbs and spices instead of run-of-the-mill salt and pepper. I agree the first two-thirds of the book were better than the last third -- the plot developed at an epic's pace in the beginning and perhaps accelerated too quickly in the end. I'll touch on three important -- I think -- points not seen in other reviews. Firstly, an individual writer and an indiviudal reader have a unique relationship that no one else can experience. This perspective allows one reader to see through the lenses of his or her own experiences what no one else can perceive. One person might relate to Sammy, another to Joe, another to Rosa, and another to Tommy -- or to none of them or to a combination of them. All people experience guilt, failure, love, confusion, responsibility, et cetera differently -- even though these themes are universal. Secondly, I believe the first two-thirds of the book were the fanciful projections of young, dreamy, idealistic youth (and hence were more satisfying to the escapist reader!) while the second part of the book was based on the mundane reality (thud!) of contemporary life in America. Chabon thankfully did not spend too much time on the second part. Thirdly, the transition between the two parts was Joe's trip to Antarctica, which for me was a metaphor for limbo or hell. In the end, Joe was reborn and found a little bit of heaven in his new reality. (I'm not at all religious, but can spot a metaphor when I see it!) In the end, you get out of this book what you put into it. Books come and go, and I unfortunately forget most of them and their characters. I will be thinking about this book (and Sammy, Joe, and Rosa) for a while.
Rating:
Summary: The Great American Novel
Review: This is it. I cried when it was over. I walked in a daze. This is, by far, the most satisfying novel I have read perhaps ever. As with "The God of Small Things"(Arundhati Roy), it is simply perfect; beyond reproach.
Read it.
Rating:
Summary: His Best So Far
Review: This novel is a marked departure from Michael Chabon's earlier works. In novels such as Mysteries of Pittsburgh and Wonder Boys, Chabon dealt with smaller themes -- a neighborhood, a group of friends, a single small university, all centered in Pittsburgh. Here he shifts radically, moving swiftly between Nazi-occupied Prague, New York in the Forties and Fifties, and even Antarctica. While the book at times turns gimmicky or falls back on stereotypical comic characters (like the low-rent editor of the boys' comic book company), Kavalier and Clay is Chabon's best work by far, and that is saying a lot.
Rating:
Summary: Good main narrative, but too fragmented and unfocused
Review: Amazing Adventures is a big, sprawling story about two Jewish comic book artists living in 1940s New York City, cousins Joe Kavalier and Sammy Clay. Joe is an apprentice magician and Houdini aficionado who uses his skills to escape from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia and arrive in America. His cousin Sammy, a native Brooklynite, is a small kid with a gimpy leg and vast imagination. Sammy quickly befriends Joe and shares with him his enthusiasm for comic books. With Sammy's ideas and Joe's natural artistic talent, they begin creating their own successful comics, including The Escapist, a superhero who "comes to the rescue of those who toil in the chains of tyranny and injustice" and represents Sammy's desire to be strong and Joe's hatred of Nazism. Escapism is one of the main themes, and probably the only theme that holds together well in this book. Joe escapes from the Nazis and later tries to escape from his grief and responsibilities. Sammy escapes into marriage to hide his true desires, and his wife Rosa escapes into her work (inking romance comics) to forget the man she really loves and believes is lost (Joe). And comic books themselves represent an escape. But the other themes disparately never link up. The plot twists, without any reason or closure, so it feels like nothing is happening. The book plugs along solidly in the first half, but then quickly falls apart before the reader feels any satisfaction. The teenage boys (to whom the book devotes 400 pages to) suddenly age by years every chapter. Suddenly, inexplicably, Joe is a WWII stationed in Antarctica; a story that begins out of nowhere and ends just as it gets interesting. We learn the fate of Sammy's lover (the development of their relationship of which took 100 pages) in one sentence. 12 years suddenly passes and we are introduced to Rosa and Sammy's (nay Joe's) 12-year old son. It seems Chabon has a lot of ideas, and rushes to start one before finishing another. Interesting events do take place, but because they aren't fully fleshed out they seem disconnected and pointless. Another problem is Chabon's own superfluous style. Everything has to be described with long metaphors; sometimes the simplest declaration is drawn out to a page or two, making Amazing Adventures a very long and arduous read. That, coupled with his chunky, clunky storyline, makes this book, weighing in at 656 pages, extremely frustrating. I can see how this book could become popular. It contains a well-researched, nostalgic look at old-school New York life, historical references, and a lot of emotion and romance. The main narrative - two boys creating a superhero to compensate for their physical and political desires - is very appealing. But after finally putting this book down, all I could think of was: "So?"
Rating:
Summary: Inventive, historically based fiction...
Review: Chabon explores the birth of superheroes and the comic book industy, where every publisher in the late 1930's was looking for their own "Superman." Kavalier and Clay collaborate to bring Empire Comics, "The Escapist", a hero whose goal it is to break the chains of tyranny, in particular Adolph Hitler and Nazi Germany. Joe Kavalier is an independent teenager, whose hero is Harry Houdini, escaping Nazi occupied Prague to come live with his cousin Sammy Clay in Brooklyn. While Kavalier is more independent minded, Sammy relies on a partner for his work to flourish. It is not until Kavalier arrives in the States that Sammy's talents come out. The two contrast each other perfectly as Sammy is a writer and Kavalier a gifted illustrator. Its the case where opposites attract and are able to collaborate utilizing each other's skills to create the ultimate comic book hero. The two characters are very different and very alike all the same. . The fact that these characters mutate is one of the great accomplishments that Chabon achieves in this novel as he takes us full circle on various stages of heartbreak, attachment, guilt, commitment, sacrifice and independence. For Joe Kavalier it is important that he bring the family he left in Prague, safely to the shores of America. He will not be happy or free of guilt until he is reunited with the family he left behind. For Sammy, although his mother remains close in Brooklyn, he is more aloof and does not have that close a relationship. This is one of the important themes that prevails throughout the book as neither character is ever really comfortable, content or happy with what they currently have. The character of Rosa Saks is a common link between the two, who highlights the different paths that the two characters choose to take in their lives. I highly recommend this book as I think Chabon does a great job chronichaling a dramatic time in the history of our country. It is both escapist fiction and historically based, another area where two opposites come together to form a masterpiece.
Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant beginning turns unfocused and long-winded...
Review: What starts as a wonderful and exciting story of WWII comic book geniuses turns into an exercise in "admire my writing technique", complete with painfully long diatribes and head-scratching tangents. In the end, a very disappointing book.
Rating:
Summary: Guiltless escapism
Review: Whatever its literary merit, KAVALIER & CLAY is a fun read. The first review inside the cover says, "Starts out as one of the most pleasurable novels of the past few years. It ends as one of the most moving." Contrary to a few other reviewers, I did not find the adventures of the characters to be un-amazing, I did not find Michael Chabon's writing to be filled with too many adjectives or difficult words (look them up, if you don't know), and I don't think his story is ultimately empty. It is unfair, not to mention meaningless, to expect Chabon to write like Hemmingway, or to desire that this book be like some other book you previously enjoyed. It is remarkably original and quirky, and Chabon understands the world of comic books, and what they meant for kids. Furthermore, he understands what they meant for kids from 1939-1953. He understands the artistic ambitions of talented youth, their dreams and disillusionments, sacrifices and compromises. I can't speak for others, but I haven't had so much fun reading in a long time, and I must agree with the aforementioned review.
Rating:
Summary: How could this win the Pulitzer Prize?
Review: I picked this novel for a book report at school, mainly because of the flashy ...review and the Pulitzer Prize stamped on the cover. I must say, I am very disappointed. First of all, the characters are just not likable. Sammy is a homosexual, while Joe is caught in the chains of the Nazis and his family's death. Next, I don't understand why Chabon uses such words in his writing that I have to look up about three for every paragraph, though some paragraphs are over a page long. Aside from Joe's escape with the Golem and his life in the Antarctic (poor Oyster), this book just wasn't that interesting. I would suggest choosing this book only if you need something to lull you to sleep at night.
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