Rating: 
Summary: Not Chabon's Best
Review: Having read Chabon's other two novels, I feel this one is not as successful. I enjoyed The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay far more than this novel. (I liked Mysteries of Pittsburgh better as well.) I enjoyed the characters of James Leer and Terry Crabtree a great deal, but I found it difficult to feel much empathy for Grady Tripp. (Although he is likable in a strange fashion.) I am familiar with the author's style, but even so, I found sections of this plot (in particular the middle) to be terribly long-winded and rather dull and uninteresting. The Passover dinner section is torture, and I thought it would just never end. I found Grady's wife Emily to be poorly written and unbelievable. And who the heck are Deb and Phil and why are they in this novel?? All in all though, I actually did enjoy most of this book believe it or not. When it's good, it's funny and wildly unpredictable. It's just uneven and not as convincingly written. For a great read, get a copy of Kavalier and Clay.
Rating: 
Summary: Great, engaging read
Review: It was one of those nights when I had the dilemma of which book I should read next. This book was lying on the floor, I picked it up, opened it, and was instantly hooked. To say too much about thsi book would give away a tightly coiled plot that unravels (like the narrator's life)in a very satisfactory way. It's hilarious (wait until you find out what's in his car trunk) and even a bit sad at times. It's a good look at the cutthroat world of academia as well. The ending I found to be a bit too pat and tidy, as if Chabon wrapped it up very quickly (or had an editor who told him to), but all in all, Chabon is a wonderful writer and this is a great addition to his canon. The book is so well written that before you know it, you've read 100 pages and the book is almost over. Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: WONDER BOYS is WONDERFUL!
Review: It is a great accomplishment when a novelist can make you laugh out loud and Chabon made me do so on numerous occassions. WONDER BOYS is a light, humorous tale about an aging, pot-smoking, adulterer/novelist/Professor named Grady Tripp who hasn't written a book in seven years and is still working on his next one (currently over 2000 words and all over the place). Over the span of a couple of nights, Tripp gets himself into a bunch of situations that involve his agent, his student, his wife and her family, his mistress and her husband, a tuba, a dog, Marilyn Monroe's jacket, a scrappy fly-weight with a gun, and a snake -- not all at once.Does WONDER BOYS teach us anything? Not really. It is just an enjoyable quick read that will appeal to everyone, but maybe more to writers because we all may have or will suffer the agony of trying to put words down on paper and getting nothing worthwhile. WONDER BOYS is however, worthwhile.
Rating: 
Summary: Lucky Mike, no-one in America has read Kingsley Amis...
Review: Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Plagiarism is plagiarism. I am only half-way into this, but I can't seem to proceed the sense of deja-vu is so profound. The book, most amusing so far I admit and slickly written, starts with the story of a writer whom the main character Grady Tripp plagiarises for a writing course. Well, art imitates art I suppose, because with some character and technical plot modifications, I am reading "Lucky Jim" by Kingsley Amis - a very funny, very literate and much better - so far - novel. Ding, eh Mr Chabon? Dead dog in the boss's house? Read burnt sheets in the boss's house. Dope smoker? Read heavy drinker. Failing writer? Read failing academic. Smarter student? Read smarter student. Girlfriend trouble? Read girlfriend trouble. Straight steal so far. Hmm. Does it end with a lecture? I'd better find out I suppose... I had to give it one star to get this review posted; maybe I'll return after the end and vindicate Mr Chabon. Maybe not.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely hilarious!
Review: Being one of about twenty people who saw it in theaters, I had to read the book. Was not disappointed. I couldn't help but picture the actors in their roles because the casting was perfect. The situations, ranging from Codeine to tubas, dogs to snakes, pregnancies to affairs, even a Jewish Sedar dinner, everything was vivid and lifelike. It doesn't matter if you're 20, 30, 40, or 50. There's something in here for everyone. It's a mature person's delight, and never gets sappy or overly sentimental. Read it now, then see the film.
Rating:
Summary: Actually 4 1/2 stars, but who's counting
Review: This is a decidedly male book. Like a hyperkinetic boy, Grady runs dazed and stoned through his life and his latest novel. It is lucky for him that boys are good spacially or he would have died in the very beginning of the book. Can't see Michael Douglas as Grady, he's too snakelike - I'd pick him as Grossman. Oh, and there's some truly funny bits with a dead dog, too! Read some good bits by him on his website - check it out.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent characterization
Review: Chabon is a terrific writer, plain and simple. There are few young writers who are able to bring their characters to life quite like Chabon can. Scattered throughout the book are touching scenes, hilarious scenes (Tripp throwing a dead, stiff boa constrictor at his attacker), scenes that make you want to cry because you've been there, as well as wonderful dialogue. Chabon is immensely talented. Wonderboys is a quick read, but do yourself a favor and take your time with this one.
Rating:
Summary: Nothing important to say?
Review: Having just finished Michael Chabon's Wonder Boys, I dropped by to see how it was holding up among the unofficial critics here on Amazon.com. I read several of the reviews, one of which blandly states that Chabon's novel has "nothing important to say". I sat back and considered this statement, and then decided that I would feel guilty if I didn't get in my own two cents worth of criticism. So I guess I should begin with the assertion that Wonder Boys has everything important to say, and Chabon does an artful job of making sublime statements without interrupting his smooth, fluid prose. There is an underlying sense of impermanence in Wonder Boys that we experience as women, students, and ideas stream in and out of the life of Grady Tripp. Grady labors laboriously over his novel, which is supposed to be some kind of landmark for him, the anchor that will keep his world from careening out of control. The impossibility of finishing the novel, the irony of the title "Wonder Boys", carefully develop this thread without ever seeming like a platform. Each character is carefully fleshed out, encompassing bits and pieces of all kinds of people that we've known in our lives; the pompous writer, the strange kid in English class, the pimple-faced police officer. All of them are reflections, to some extent, of Chabon's audience, and they're all wonderful. Grady and James play off of each other with style and genuine humor, and learn from one another along the way. Getting lost in Chabon's graceful writing is part of the experience of reading the book; the visceral reaction to literature is as much a part of the work's core as the "message" found in the text. And "Wonder Boys" is a treat on both levels, the intellectual and the emotional. My hat goes off to the author and I encourage people to read it because the novel truly does have much to say.
Rating:
Summary: Writers, Professors, Students!
Review: I found Wonder Boys to be a truly interesting read. The author developed each of his characters very carefully and each seemed very authentic. The portrayal of the professor/writer who represented one of the major characters was indeed someone I came to observe carefully throughout my reading. While he wasn't the most attractive individual, I found him to be a struggling and real human being. He's at a difficult age in his life and some of the seams are showing. His student, also a writer is a complex character. Through the story, a kind of mystery develops that left me anticipating outcomes. This was an excellent technique used by the author.All in all, this was a very engaging story that made it easy to read to the end. Unexpected outcomes from my anticipations made it all the more intersting.
Rating:
Summary: Mostly loved it
Review: Michael Chabon has one of the most natural writing styles I've ever read, and his books carry me along effortlessly. This one had a couple of awkwark moments (like when the book pages go fluttering away in the breeze--seemed forced), but overall I love the way Chabon creates characters and grabs you with such an authoritative narrative voice.
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