Rating: 
Summary: a fine book
Review: I really like this book. So good to read something with AMBITION, with scope, rather than these niggling New York yuppie novels the bookstores seem to be full of nowadays. If you're looking for something similar to AMAZING ADVENTURES, check out Brady Udall's THE MIRACLE LIFE OF EDGAR MINT. This book will knock your socks off, I guarantee it. Thank heavens that there are writers like Chabon and Udall to keep the literary scene from imploding with small-mindedness and self-importance.
Rating:
Summary: You won't be the same person...
Review: Warning: Paragraphs 1 and 2 preamble the review that beings in Paragraph 3. Though somewhat well-written, these opening remarks meander slightly and might irritate those who like to "get to the point." But, be advised, those who skip to paragraph 3 will miss the full scope of this otherwise impressive review and will, perhaps, psychically offend its author.The process for a nonreader forced to read a book is, for the most part, a numeric one. Page numbers cast their dark shadows on lumps of oatmeal-dolluped text. And for me, reading books in middle school--most horrifically, Jack London's The Sea Wolf--was a process best approached with a calculator. 246 pages divided by 7 days divided by 24 hours mapped exponentially on the x-axis yields 4 pages a minute with 245 to go. All this is to say that a reader is born the moment the shadow is no longer cast. When page numbers disappear, the drugs have kicked in. Perhaps it's most like Super Mario Brothers 3, when Mario is on top of a white hill, you can hold the down button and, after a few seconds, he falls behind the scenery and you can clear the board (and get a flute, or something, I forget). Reading is like that. If you hold the down button long enough and patiently enough, you'll fall behind the scenery of your world and get a flute. Or, in the case of Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay: a golden key. First of all, there are two right-off-the-bat reasons to read this book: (1) it's by the same author as Wonder Boys, and (2) it just won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Now if 1 doesn't impress you, 2 should. And vice-versa. But, if neither impress you, allow me to prompt you further: I dare you to read The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay and NOT to love it. This is a book with a heart that fuses with your own. You will know these characters and share their memories. You will live their lives with them. By its end, you will have come two steps closer to Nirvana as you will have lived 2 extra lives vicariously. "So," you ask, "what's with this book? What's it about?" "Ha!" I answer. "I dare you to read this book and to answer that question yourself!" I say this because: (a) I'm a bit melodramatic, and (b) this book meshes and moshes together the Holocaust, comic books, World War II, magic, escapism, the Empire State building, business ethics, Judaism, romance, art, the World's Fair, homosexuality, heterosexuality, Superheroes, fathers, mothers, Golems, children, Antarctica and in doing so it produces a pungent potent polymorphic elixir that will leave you changed...or your money back! (Well, not really). But, to put it best, I'll quote one of the book's protagonists, Sam Clay (from page one): "To me, Clark Kent in a phone booth and Houdini in a packing crate, they were one and the same thing...You weren't the same person when you came out as when you went in." And for that, Michael Chabon, I'll be forever grateful.
Rating:
Summary: Treat, No Trick.
Review: When a book is deemed worthy of an award as esteemed as the Pulitzer, it is only human nature to try to find faults which might make it less deserving. We are extra critical of a prizewinner and would probably appreciate it more if we came to the piece with fewer preconceptions. Michael Chabon`s work stands up admirably to the hype as well as onus of the Prize. Does it captivate? Yes! I barely have time to keep up with the front page, but managed somehow, to read from cover to cover, this full-fledged novel in less than a week. In the microcosm that is New York, he elaborates on the human condition, and makes us aware of our common humanity. For who, at some point in their life has not wanted to escape? To what do we escape? And do we really succeed? Despite the questions, there is an underlying optimism, perhaps because of the everpresent love among the characters, that I often find missing in "great" books. A novel needn`t be depressing to be good. This really was a treat.
Rating:
Summary: Speechless
Review: This was fantastic read. The only other Chabon I've read was the Wonder Boys, and regrettably, after I saw the film. Chabon exquisitely humanizes the characters of Joe, Sammy, Rosa and Tommy, much as Joe and Sammy bring their own idols and ideals to life in comics. Joe Kavalier was a wonderful character to follow throughout all his journeys. My only complaint is the complexity of the writing, with its massive sentences and footnotes, but for the first time in a long time, I slowed myself down while reading to grasp what Chabon was painting with each word. A great story, and beautifully written. I definitely recommend this novel!
Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly funny
Review: Given that this book won the Pulitzer for fiction, I expected beautiful writing. What surprised me was the amount of laugh-out-loud humor, much of it based integrally in the well-drawn characters and their interaction with each other. This book's wide scope reminds me of the best John Irving, without Irving's occasional lazy habits. First-rate.
Rating: 
Summary: Noble semi-success
Review: Some vivid writing, and it's wonderful to see Chabon tackling very different books each time -- the sign of a novelist who is growing, willing to take new risks. I'll spring for the hardcover of anything he writes, the minute it's out. But...this book was problematic for me. The comic book milieu bored me, but I'm willing to admit that's just a matter of taste. The real lack at the heart of it, for me, was in the relationships. (Plot spoilers ahead, beware.) Rosa and Sammy's marriage especially was a source of puzzlement. Does she know about his "proclivities"? Do they share any kind of intimacy? Unhappiness and frustration are suggested strongly -- when Tommy runs into his mother going into NYC on a train wearing her best clothes, the implication is that he has saved her from an affair. I wanted to zoom in close on the daily accommodations, disappointments, semi-truths, etc. going on in this little suburban tract house.To sum up, the book achieves quite a lot on the grand scale: its imaginative vision, its sweep of big cultural and historical themes. But up close and personal it's a letdown; the characters at times, especially after Joe's return, seem to flounder around like actors uncertain of just how they should play their improvs.
Rating: 
Summary: This was a Pulitzer?
Review: I was extremely disappointed with this novel. In a nutshell, Chabon took the movie Chasing Amy, stripped away the sharp dialogue and provocative examination of courtship and sexual politics and managed to walk away with a Pulitzer. Intriguing themes such as Holocaust survivor's guilt and homosexuality / family values in the 40's and 50's ran throughout the novel. Chabon, however, failed to explore these themes with the thought and insight worthy of a Pulitzer. Time and time again, pivotal life-altering decisions made by the characters were summarized in a few pages, or glossed over entirely leaving the reader with 500+ pages of filler material. The result is a book with a hollow plot and lackluster character development that was difficult to finish.
Rating:
Summary: These ARE Amazing Adventures
Review: Well, it looks like I, too, am joining the A&K-This-Book-Is-Amazing bandwagon. This is a long book, far longer than the 640 pages would indicate. By this I do not mean to say, by any stretch, that it's *too* long. What it is, is so densly plotted, so filled with memorable characters and, well, adventures, that you get a lot more out of it than even the length would lead you to believe. It is in turns joyful, sad, funny, heartbreaking, exciting and vastly entertaining. I took this book with me everywhere, something I am loathe to do with a hardcover book. They weigh too much, take up too much space. I didn't care. I'd have carried this around in a wheelbarrow if it meant I could steal a few minutes time reading it on the bus downtown. This is the only book I've read by Chabon. On the basis of it, I plan on reading everything the guy's ever written. Kavalier & Clay are not the only Amazing people in this equation.
Rating:
Summary: Not Just for the Highbrow
Review: Disregard the comments of "A Reader" from Cambridge, Mass. This is a wonder of a book. Ignore its serious literary pedigree. It's an incredible amount of fun! Highly recommended for the most sophisticated reader or the most serious comic book fan, or for those who can embrace both of those titles. This is "The Origins of Marvel Comics" written by John Steinbeck, with advice from Scott McCloud, set in the Golden Age. Quit reading reviews & start reading the book.
Rating:
Summary: FOLLOW THE ESCAPIST INTO YOUR OWN LIFE
Review: Chabon strikes again. Plain and simple, this is one of the best books I have ever read in my life. When I finished it and set it down on my bed I felt as if I had finished something profound. Chabon, always one to make wonderful observations, takes that a step farther in a book about what makes us do the things we do. What drives us whether it be love or sex or creativity or the times we live in! At times the book has an absurd feel to it. As if Chabon is saying, yes, this is a little fantastic but bare with me for you will see why I do this. He is a writer of confidence and, because of that, you can't help but rest in his palms comfortably and know that you are in good hands. Read this, it's that simple. Don't dismiss it because it may have to do with comic books or that it's set in the time of World War II when there are a million books out there about that war. Don't dismiss it at all until you have tasted what Chabon has to offer you: one of the most fantastic books you will ever read.
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