Rating: 
Summary: Yay this book was fun
Review: The enjoyment I got out of this book may be because Art has the maturity of someone my age and I felt I could relate to him well. The way the book was written, full of wit and humor, definitely made it pleasurable. Some readers may disagree with how the story was told. Chabon makes sure to keep Art a shy and secretive character. Because of this, the reader is informed little of his past. The mysteries surrounding his troubled youth, namely the death of his mother and the frequent absence of his father, have clearly left him scarred and in need of answers. It is obvious that his father's line of work bothers him ' so much that he despises even talking and thinking about it. It seems every time his father is mentioned it's in a negative context. Every conversation that takes place between the two ends in either an argument, tears or both. Readers could argue that the vagueness of this whole side of Art makes the story an unfulfilling one, but I feel that it made it more intriguing. Not knowing everything left me to come up with my own ideas and opinions on what had happened and what was going on.
The combination of author Michael Chabon's witty humor and the feeling of youthful insecurity made this a story that was both fun and relatable. Art's confusions towards everything makes this a book that adolescents can appreciate and relate to very well. Art is trying to find his true identity as an adult and so far hasn't succeeded at doing so. He has no true friends and his self esteem is low because of his overall uncertainty in his life. His ability to trust people, coupled with his questions about his rabid sexual habits and orientation have left him as a complete mess.
Overall, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh is an entertaining ride all the way through. You can tell that it's a first novel, but nonetheless Chabon did a good job with it. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys witty humor and a more lighthearted style of writing.
Rating: 
Summary: Great debut novel.
Review: If you've read or seen Michael Chabon's "Wonder Boys," you know that Grady Tripp, the author at the center of that book, had written one masterpiece of a debut novel and was unable to finish a second book that he considered a worthy follow-up. Well, Chabon's writings are all a bit autobiographical and since "Wonder Boys" is his second novel, I decided to track down his debut piece, the one that set Chabon's own bar so high. And after reading "The Mysteries of Pittsburgh," which is still one of my favorite novels, I can see why it would be so hard to follow.Though elements of the plot are, as with most books, a bit preposterous (for the lead character Art is the "son of a gangster" you don't usually find on the street), "The Mysteries of Pittsburgh" cements these elements in the real emotions and situations surrounding a coming-of-age. In the summer after you finish college, you do find all of these confusing choices in front of you: what you want to do with your life, how you want to fill your time, who you want to sleep with, what your relationship with your parents should be and where you stand among your friends. None of these choices, in life or in this book, are easy ones. Often, the decisions Art makes have heartbreaking consequences. Sometimes, he operates on a whim that doesn't make sense to him. He lies, he deceives, he hurts himself and others, but he's young, he's learning and he means well. Chabon's complex and poetic sentence structure, his somewhat-bisexual hero, his approach to the coming-of-age novel and his sense of humor were on full display in "The Mysteries of Pittsburgh," which signaled the arrival of an important literary talent.
Rating:
Summary: Not his best effort
Review: I love most of Chabon's works (Cavalier and Klay and Wonder Boys are favorites), but I found this earlier work to be less focused and more reliant on cookie-cutter characters. A rambling tale with some interesting points, but none of the characters drew me in the way his later works have. I've also found his similies/metaphors with smells and tastes to become distracting.
Rating:
Summary: I read this in 36 hours
Review: Great book. many a showstopper sentence. readers who like this might also like Tim Sandlin
Rating:
Summary: A great book.
Review: No messing around here: The Mysteries Of Pittsburgh is a great read. It's very funny, elegant, touching and inventive, and the characters are as finely drawn as any I have ever come across in any book. Chabon should be very proud of this, his debut, because it is everything a good book ought to be. I loved Art and Arthur, didn't like Phlox (but then, that's the point, eh?), and thought Cleveland was perhaps the best tragi-comic character I have encountered since Bunny Corcoran. A splendid book, and one which remains with me like the bittersweet aftertaste of fine dark chocolate...yum.
Rating:
Summary: A surreal tale of summer
Review: Chabon's first effort is at once seductive and amaturish. Dickensian characters with names like Phlox and Cleveland, weave a fabric around the story of Art Bechstein in a tapestry so rich and playful, you will hope for a sequel. If Holden Caulfield grew up to be a writer, this is what he would have penned. I loved it as much for its shortcomings, as I did for brilliance. I don't have the ability describe either here, but Chabon is the kind of writer that immediately inspires you to write yourself, and frustrates with the knowledge you couldn't do it as well as him. This book needs to mentioned more frequently and prominently in discussions of the classics of contemporary fiction. Think Nick Hornby and Tom Perrota with a higher IQ. Richard Russo with a more prominent sense of humor.
Rating:
Summary: nostalgia, sex, vandalism
Review: The Mysteries of Pittsburgh might not have the well-laid plot and intricate twists of MC's later stuff, but I fell in love with this novel. The language is fluid and witty. The characters are some of the most complicated and intelligent and fun to watch of any i've seen recently. Set in the strange summer right after college graduation, this novel takes place in the time of life when old illusions and newfound freedom converge, and relationships are suddenly epic and intense. Chabon really allowed himself to adore everyone in the small circle of friends that constitutes this book's characters. He has a gift for drawing not just characters but relationships between characters so finely that you can feel them changing every time a word passes between them. I put this book down wanting to go out and find my own romantic adventures. A wonderful, energetic novel about the rush and longing that immediately precedes sexual and emotional self-discovery. Which can't last, alas...
Rating: 
Summary: Only mystery is...
Review: ...how this book found a publisher. I used to live in Pgh, so I thought this book might capture some of the unique flavor of that city. It doesn't. The author's powers of observation are illustrated in a passage where the narrator, who is visiting Lake Erie, remarks on the tidal movement of that body of water.
Flat characters. Contrived plot. Goes nowhere. This is one "coming of age" novel that remains stuck in adolescence.
Rating: 
Summary: No Wonder Boys
Review: I found this book to be very well written. Chabon is a brilliant writer but I didnt care for the lead character. I agree with one review that stated his venture in homosexuality was cliched and predictable. Cahbon did the same thing to another troubled youth in Wonder Boys (Much better book, I loved it.) Unlike James Leer, Art is too much of a wimp and a loser and he is just not very interesting. If Chabon wasnt so brilliant or if the book was written by another writer, no one would have paid much attention
Rating:
Summary: Stunning and compelling
Review: Chabon may not have won the Pulitzer for Mysteries, but that doesn't mean that it does not deserve your attention. This book, in my opinion, is far superior to Kav. and Clay. The characters are so realistic and, though the book was written over ten years, still feasible when pictured today. Chabon has a wonderful ability to weave a breathtaking story out of events that would seem common and everyday without his touch. This book, my favorite of Chabon's catalogue, is a wonderful piece of literature.
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