Rating: 
Summary: An epic (literally, and literarily)
Review: As in Homer's Odyssey, this is not just a story about "amazing adventures," it is a story about stories. Josef Kavalier, the hero (or one of them), is essentially Homer's Odysseus, the "man of many twists and turns." He escapes from the impending doom of WWII concealed in a wooden crate, a veritable Trojan horse! His craftiness is his key to survival, and he finds himself washed up on the shores of a strange land (America). In New York, he is welcomed into the home of his distant relative, Sammy Clay. Like Odysseus, he repays the hospitality by telling stories--more precisely, by bringing to life the stories of his cousin. Chabon puts his finger on the exaggerated, fantastic quality which the comic book heroes of the 1930's shared with their mythic models. Such larger-than-life figures can only exist within the realm of fantasy and entertainment. More poignantly, while Josef his telling the tale, he is desperately longing to be reunited with the family he left behind. The success of the comic book is a means, not an end. After much effort, Josef comes within sight of his goal, only to have it suddenly slip from his grasp. This propels the rootless hero back to the shifting seas, taking him ultimately to the furthest ends of the earth where he encounters a character who is a barbaric, monstrous conflation of Polyphemus and Circe. (I'm not sure where Calypso is: Josef is startlingly chaste.) Meanwhile, Rosa waits at home for him. She goes from Dadaist party girl and artist (and friend of an unforgettable Dali) to suburban wife and mother. To protect her young son (Tommy/Telemachus?), she makes compromises, tells little and big lies. What keeps her alive during this separation are her own stories: like Penelope, she weaves her tales, waiting each day for the unlikely return of her love. The ending is sadly sweet, far from a comic-book triumph. By the end of the epic, the reader feels exhausted. But that is what Chabon's story is about: finding one's way home. Or at least, in part: for Josef's return then propels Sammy, his alter-ego, upon his own quest beyond the western horizon. What will become of him? One is reminded of Nikos Kazantzakasis' modern Odysseus, who won't stay put. We can only hope that Sammy's stories will leap--in a single bound--off the page and onto the screen. The adventure continues.....
Rating:
Summary: A new golden age?
Review: I'll admit to being a bit uncomfortable with young writers, their thrift with words, their homage to the simplicity of Hemingway, their neurotic sef-centeredness and the limits of contemporary culture which commonally inspires so much prose. Mr. Chabon is something completely different, at least in this novel. The language is lush, befitting the extraordinary tale he tells - both recognizably human and simultaneously surrealistic. Its comfortably set in a past that is probably the most romantic American age so far, it describes the creation of a generally despised yet authentically American art form only now getting the attention it deserves, and it introduces characters that are as achingly human yet as vivid and lively as some of Dickens' folks. The Escapist, the comic book character the heroes create, suffuses the novel and serves as a metaphor for all these people go through. Escape - from the ghettos of Europe, the choking boundaries of ordinary life, the lies that a lot of us have to live with. The Escapist also suggests survival after all these coils have been recognized, analyzed and loosened. Its ultimately a larger-than-life novel about ordinary people. I'll confess to blubbering through the last 2 hours of the story. Chabon and his style are completely new to me. I would never have believed that a young man could write a tale as compelling and real and moving as this one. While I admire spare, lean prose like Hemingway's and the electric vividness of Kerouac, I am more pleased than I can say to witness the beginnings of a new kind of American literature. An involving, human and glorious yarn that can illuminate so much of contemporary life, contemporary angst. If the late 30's - 40's and early 50's never really happened this way to ordinary Americans, then it should have. These are, indeed, (all of them) super-heroes in a time when we need them more than ever. To Mr. Chabon, I have no idea how you got this way; to other young writers all I can say is "why not"? How interesting if we are embarking on another golden age of the American novel. This one is certainly one for the ages and yet also amazingly reflective of the 21st century. I look forward to sharing "Kavalier & Clay" with my friends and to re-reading for years to come.
Rating: 
Summary: memory redux
Review: For those of us willing to admit that we remember any part of WWII and the comics of the period, this novel is a gem. Yes, there are one too many plot lines, and the characters - fictional and non - tend to blend together to a fault (even Judge Learned Hand makes an appearance, not to mention Senator Kefauver (remember when we wore Davy Crockett hats?), the artists Joseph Cornell and Salvador Dali (among many others), Governor Al Smith - but this just makes the story more readable. The superheros are there in abundance - both in the comic books - and what a misnomer the word "comic" is! - and in real life. This novel could also be considered an education in the early history of the comic book art form - and make no mistake, it is an art form. I especially enjoyed the accounts of "Kavalier"s early history in the art of magic. A story of love and loss - tragedy and sure comedy - a real treat for most readers.
Rating:
Summary: A Love Story
Review: The love abounds in this wonderful novel, but the most shining love story is Chabon's obvious love for the Golden Age greats: Siegel and Schuster, Simon and Kirby, Gil Kane, Shelly Moldoff, Joe Kubert, Will Eisner. Love for men who didn't know the art that they were making, and how they were changing the face of the world. Chabon's style is lyrical, and not strictly my cup of tea. But the passion he has for these characters and these stories leaks off the page, and absolutely pulled me in. The epic sweep of this book is always anchored by the characters that compel you to read further, and the love that wracks your heart. If you're not a comic fan, worry not. This book is for you as well. It's simply a wonderful, engaging novel, regardless of subject matter. But if you read carefully , you might learn why the Golden Age of Comics had it's luster.
Rating:
Summary: Joy
Review: The first thing I had trouble with is how to title this review. Mr. Chabon's new book is too good for adjectives, and well, "amazing" is already in the title. So let it stand at "Joy" because this astonishingly beautiful and thoroughly novel came as close to producing that rare commodity in me as anything I've read in a very long time. Let me confess, I read a lot. I read for entertainment, information, education, and just to pass time. I read on subways, in chairs and beds and buses, and just walking on the street. I read and write for a living as well. So, the point is, among other things, I've read a lot of novels. This is one of the five best books I've ever read. It is a book that, very early on, took on that rarest of bittersweet airs: the sad knowledge that one day, this book would come to an end, and that never again would I be able to experience the joy of reading it for the first time. Chabon has shown his talent before. *The Mysteries of Pittsburg* and *Wonder Boys* were both fine novels. Everyone who has read him knows that this guy can write sentences. But more than that, he has always been able to draw a character with love, and to weave around that character the mysterious virtues of compassion and hope. He makes us love them as he clearly loves them. More than that, Mr. Chabon is a great story-maker. He never fails to surprise. His vision of the human condition is both substantial and loving. What I mean is, his fiction is not sugar-coated, but it does most definitely do what Auden recommends for any work of art: it "shows and affirming flame." So I came to this book with expectations that I would be entertained and even moved. As soon as I found out about it, I bought it. But none of Chabon's fine books prepared me for this one. An abiding sorrow is already present in the first sentence -- you know that you are going to fall in love, you know that your heart will be broken, and you know that the experience will make you a better person. This book does all those things and more. It is, fundamentally, a *human* novel, which places it alongside the great novels in our language. Many reviewers tell the story in their reviews. The Amazon editorial did enough of that, so I won't go on about that. I will say that heroism is this book's sustaining theme, and the faith and hope that the book's heroes not only inspire but repay, also rub off. Reading this book made me a better person. There is no higher praise.
Rating: 
Summary: A disappointment
Review: I bought this book solely off the enjoyment I had in reading Chabon's "Wonder Boys". When it arrived, I quickly dove into it, and for the first half of the book, was engrossed (I am somewhat of a comic book fan, and the subject matter was extremely interesting and well presented). Then enter the predictable and trite parts of the book. As soon as the "Ark of Miriam" was sunk, this book went down with it. It became a labor to finish, and when I was finished, I felt like I had been cheated off of a promise. The book just ended. I was left wondering whether or not a chapter was left off of the book accidently. After reading "Wonder Boys", I was thoroughly disappointed with this book and I am left wondering whether it is worth going back to read some of Chabon's earlier work. I think not!
Rating:
Summary: Read Me
Review: Michael Chabon is a wonderful writer and this book is impeccably researched. I recommend it with few reservations. You'll find yourself swept away with the story of Joe Kavalier in the first third and captivated by the Alger-like rise of Kavalier and Clay in the middle. The plot wavers significantly, though, when Chabon drops in what appears to be a nifty short story about Antarctica he really wanted to tell. Unfortunately, the dramatic change of venue fails to add character depth. One other word of warning: Chabon is a sesquipedalian. Even above average readers will find themselves reaching for the dictionary more often than usual, but given Chabon's masterful command of the language, it's fully forgiveable. Again, this is a top-notch work. Don't hesitate to read this work from one of the strongest novelists working today.
Rating:
Summary: A fine third outing
Review: This novel, Chabon's third, is without a doubt his most ambitious, and that ambition pays off in wonderful ways. This story of two Jewish young men who are early progenitors of comic books manages to tap into some of the major themes of mid-20th-century American life. Chabon's use of comic books is wonderful: the medium is both honored and parodied in the cleverest ways. The characters are wonderfully drawn, and this insightful work, like the comic books it loves, touches upon major social issues and shows both human greatness and human suffering. I think Chabon could have trimmed this book down a bit - some passages go on for a little too long, and he seems a little bit in love with his own dexterous wordsmithy. On the other hand, if he is trying to do with words what comic books do with images, then he is remarkably successful. Comic books, after all, are known to be self-indulgent even while they are being effective. In short, Chabon has managed to produce a vivid and wonderfully human novel. I suspect he may feel that this is the book he has been working toward his whole career, but I think it promises even better things to come.
Rating:
Summary: A well-written, tho overambituous, book
Review: Michael Chabon is an amazing writer. I loved "Mysteries of Pittsburgh," and I greatly enjoyed "The Adventures of Kavalier & Clay," though with some reservations as explained below. Written in a swirl of intertwining conflicts between sex, art, love, war, hope, and comic books, "The Adventures of Kavalier & Clay" delighted me to no end. Chabon's depiction of the comic-book scene of the late '30s and early '40s feels very authentic, and his weaving of comic plot into the novel was as effective as it was entertaining. The details of Joe Kavalier and Sam Clay's lives growing up in Prague and New York, respectively, glowed with vivid imagery: carnivals, escape artists, tiny strong men, and Nazis all conspired into a gaudy kaleidoscope that fueled the imaginations of the two future artists. But what was the book about? It was like a series of sketches loosely tied together. Was it about Sam's homosexuality? Or was his sexuality just a convenient plot twist to allow Joe to get his woman in the end? Was it about revenge? Joe's on the Nazis, Sam's on poverty? I never could tell, and I suspect Chabon didn't know either. Sure you could argue that the novel, like a series of comics, was full of soap-opera-like twists and turns, was simply mirroring the structure of its subject. But I doubt that. Chabon was overambituous. Nonetheless, it was a great book.
Rating:
Summary: Amazingly adventurous!
Review: Like his superheroes, author Michael Chabon has pulled off an amazing feat of his own, challenging the dark forces of intolerance and elevating and empowering the little man in this terrific novel. Set in the late '30's and early '40's, the novel follows Joe Kavalier, a young Jewish refugee from Czechoslovakia, and his cousin Sam Clay, creators of superheroes and producers of comic books which attack the Nazis and inspire those who oppose them. As the reader learns about the comic book industry and the sociological conditions which made comics so popular, s/he also experiences the cousins' personal frustrations as they work to gain freedom for Joe's family, deal with industry "moneymen" who take advantage of them, and search for enduring love. No brief summary of the action, however, can begin to convey the depth and scope of this imaginative and original novel. Chabon manages never to lose sight of the Nazi menace while putting it into completely new contexts, including magic, superheroes, Houdini-like escapes, golems, and comic book characters, and ranging from Prague to New York and Antarctica. It is a novel of huge scope--and it is hugely entertaining! One of the best novels of the year, it should certainly be a candidate for a major literary award.
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