Rating: 
Summary: Heroes, Comic and Real
Review: This Pulitzer Prize winner is set in pre-WWII New York City, at the dawn of the golden era of comic books. Two Jewish cousins, one a rather lonely schoolboy, the other a refugee from pre-war Prague, form an inspired partnership and create the "Escapist", a hero who fights Nazis in a time when Americans were struggling not to be drawn into the war while the President was covertly pushing the country into it. As someone not familiar with the comic book genre, I enjoyed the inside look at the business, how the characters were created, how women and sex were introduced into the mix, how community leaders objected to the corrupting influence of comics on youth--ironic given what kids are exposed to today! I found the story of Kavalier's attempts to get his brother out of Prague in advance of the slaughter moving without overwhelming this fascinating, funny, touching story. My only beef is that at 650 pages it is too long, and like many other recent American literary novels, it could have used a good editor. Think "Staggering Genius" by Eggars, "The Corrections" by Frazen, "Little Friend" by Tartt. The best and brightest of our young novelists seem compelled to show off their literary skills with multiple story lines, numerous characters, and loads of intricate background description. Kavalier's war experiences are a case in point--a story set within a story, they are a literary tour de force--incredible, imaginative, and shocking--but completely unrelated to what goes before and after. Whatever happened to the good, clean, 350 page, "couldn't put it down" novel? Having said that "Kavalier and Clay" is one of the better ones--you'll enjoy it!
Rating:
Summary: A delightful novel that will appeal to all kinds of readers
Review: When there have been over 350 reviews of a novel, there is going to be very little original that any reviewer can add. Let me focus on just a couple of questions that some prospective readers might have. Before doing that, let me emphasize what a delightful read this novel is! It is a bona fide page-turner, and despite its comparative bulk (over 600 pages), it is a very, very quick read. Despite the fact that the first several people who praised this novel to me were women, I have had some other women who are friends of mine say they wouldn't want to read it because it was about comic books, and comic books are, well . . . a guy thing. I have heard similar comments uttered about the novel I consider the best written in English in the past ten years, Don Delillo's UNDERWORLD, because it is centered on the question of what happened to the most famous baseball in history. In neither case will the superficial subject matter get in the way of the enjoyment of the volume. This novel will especially delight anyone who is a fan of popular culture in the 20th century. The novel simply drips with a host of cultural references, whether it is talking about other comic book artists or cartoonists like George Herriman or Winsor McCay or actors and actresses or radio personalities or athletes. Reading the novel is frequently like entering a time capsule. Luckily, the novel is much more than a collection of cultural artifacts. The central characters are all memorable, and many of the minor characters are superb. The novel's shifting locales are unexpectedly memorable without ringing at all false. If the novel has any flaws (and it is so enjoyable that they are easily forgiven), it is that the central symbolism of escape is all a bit too obvious. But while the many variations of "escape" are made obvious, as well as the concomitant theme of the difficulty of escaping from oneself, it isn't done in heavy-handed fashion. All in all, a great, fun read. I suspect it was the success of this wonderful novel that led to Michael Chabon's being asked to write the script for SPIDERMAN II. The cartoon stories he writes in this novel are superb, and even though a novelist, he seems to understand the logic of the comics in thoroughly insightful fashion.
Rating:
Summary: INCREDIBLE
Review: I enjoyed the immensely, I think many of the bits given in the book with the details inviloved, how Chabon addresses the time and place, Sammy's slouch, Joe's hair, Rosa's skin, are incredible and refreshing under the usual pseudo-intellectual clap-trap abound in the higher realms of fiction now. I enjoyed this book immensely.
Rating: 
Summary: Colossal Bore
Review: To be honest I couldn't even finish this book. I'm a comic book collector. My brother is a comic book writer. I know comic books. I know the history of comic books. I also know this book is boring and is uninteresting after the boys get their comic book career off the ground. Also, call me "homophobic", but does the author have to put a homosexual writer in every book? (Wonder Boys had one as well) This just didn't ring true - it had the feeling of "I need a homosexual writer" rather than Sammy NEEDING to be a homosexual writer. After it got boring, it got stupid - the entire World War 2 segment in particular. We went from quasi-realistic to soap opera mush in the span of about 10 pages. Please skip telling me that it "ended great" - because I don't care. I'm off reading GOOD books now.
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but over-appreciated
Review: I have had this novel recommended by dozens of people and it finally took me a year to get to reading it. And you know what, it was worth it. The novel is clearly powerful, entertaining, and worth the read. With that said, there are flaws to it. Chabon writes with an ostentatious vocabulary. It doesn't come off as pretentious, but there is a problem with. None of the characters are highly erudite people and it is very annoying to read a dialouge of colloquial words and then have the narrator rant on verbosely. I do recommend this book to anyone who wants to review for the SAT by simply reading this novel with a dictionary. Second, many times the novel is tacked on. About a hundred pages into it, the novel loses its punch and is dry. This happens again at the ending of the novel when the entire ending is tacked on and is frustrating because it is not within sync of the rest of the novel. Third, this is a novel of historical fiction. Usually, I can tolerate the interplay of famous people within the realms of fictitious characters, but certain scenes (the Dali party) are too over-the-top. Finally, the biggest problem with the novel is that there is no point to it. It is a wonderful story, but there are no life-changing lessons to be learned or anything to reflect on when it is finished. Despite my criticisms, I did enjoy it. This is Chabon's finest hour. I highly suggest people read this, if not for the content, but for the wonderful discussions that ensue from it. Basically, the novel is worth your time, but not deserving on the pulitzer that it won.
Rating:
Summary: A MARVEL!
Review: This book will probably prove to be the masterpiece of Michael Chabon's career. It is a monumental achievement. It is written by a man with a deep love of comics. Even if comic books are not your thing, you'll still love this book. The story opens with Sammy Clay - a streetwise dead-end kid from Brooklyn - sharing a bed with Joseph Kavalier, his refugee cousin from Prague. Sammy is a struggling teen-age writer and amateur artist. Joseph is an exceptionally gifted artist and magician. Immediately, Sammy sees the oportunity to form a partnership. Together, they create The Escapist - a smash-hit comic book character from the Golden Age. Now, exactly what their amazing adventures are is difficult to relate and impossible to predict. The book echoes the shoddy treatment that all comic book artists received back in those days - especially Siegal & Schuster, creators of Superman. Although they are plagued by disaster, the story is not a trajedy. It is a journey through New York...and a world that no longer really exists. Chabon takes us through it with the skill of a master. It is not a short book, but by the time you reach the end, you'll be sorry you can't tune in next week for the continuing adventures of Kavalier and Clay.
Rating:
Summary: An immaculately crafted piece of novel-making...
Review: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay stands tall amongst contemporary literature, knocking flat the competitors, bruising all who would suggest that American fiction has lost its edge. Chabon's novel is everything a novel should be. Literate, elegant, startling, moving, funny, exciting, tragic, redemptive, compelling. I read it breathlessly, with few pauses, and I am left with the impression that Chabon may have written the finest novel in a decade. There is little more to say, except Read This! and see what I am talking about. Wow. I don't like to throw around terms like masterpiece; even less terms like genius. This is a masterpiece. It may be a work of genius. The ultimate display of golem-making.
Rating:
Summary: Kavalier and Clay
Review: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay lives up to it's title. The story of two cousins, one from Brooklyn and one freshly escaped from Nazi occupied Prague is entertaining, humorous and well written. The two main characters make their mark on the comic book industry only to come crashing back down to Earth as quickly as they ascended. Micheal Chabon has crafted a highly readable tale, that while not quite a classic, is certainly enjoyable.
Rating: 
Summary: Could it have been the hype?
Review: Was recommended to read this book by several people, and i finally caved. Unfortunately.
It took a good 1/4 of the book to get going, and once it did, i thought i was about to embark on a very interesting voyage with these two young struggling artists, and their part in an exciting time within their business and their world. But it never went there. It peaked around the middle of the book, then took the same flat ride out that it came in with.
Chabon is an excellent word smith, and some of his passages and chapters were simply brilliant... but it was wrapped around characters who ultimately weren't that interesting in their souls, who didn't bring any insight to their place.
Overall, i found the experience to be dissapointing. People ask me if i liked it when they see it on my bookshelf. The worst thing i think i can say about a book is that i didn't like or dislike it, because it didn't resonate within me after i finished reading it.
Rating:
Summary: Eclectic, engaging, exceptional!
Review: So many novels, it's difficult to decide on one that will truly be worth your time intellectually without being some kind of brainy chore. Kavalier and Clay is absolutely amazing; it flows, it stimulates, it's so much fun to read. I loved it, and I will never look at the comic book genre the same way. READ IT!!
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