Rating: 
Summary: Wonder Boy
Review: Although not as ambitious in scope as "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay," "The Mysteries of Pittsburgh" is a great first effort by Michael Chabon. The twentysomething coming-of-age tale isn't exactly the freshest genre out there, but Chabon manages to bring humor and insight to territory that has been covered many times before. There's much raw energy and heart here, and much that hints at what Chabon will go on to accomplish.
Rating:
Summary: A confident first effort by a skilled writer
Review: Chabon's first novel perfectly embodies the sharp wit and developing writing style of Michael Chabon. I had read a few of his stories, but this was the first novel of his I have read and I am a new Chabon fan. The book has been called a "coming of age" novel, and the bookjacket has comparisons, which I suppose are apropos, of Fitzgerald's "This Side of Paradise." But while Fitzgerald's book can get a little tiresome and stodgy, with the author periodically stopping to show off his writing talents at the expense of his story, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh is always a fun, enjoyable read that the reader can effectively breeze through. Narrator Art Bechstein is recently graduated from college, a likeable, educated but unmotivated guy who takes a job at a dreary bookstore and waits to see what the summer after his graduation has in store for him. Going back to the school library to finish some work necessary to get his degree, he catches the eye of Phlox, an oddly-named girl with overdone makeup and dress but who has a certain attractive charm. He also soon meets Arthus Lecomte, a young gay man who wants to be a foreign diplomat, and who has a knack for getting housesitting jobs. Soon he is in a convertible with Arthur and the cheerful Mohammed, driving too fast in a small convertible that Art is careful not to fall out of, on their way to a party that effectively kicks off the action of the novel. The entire novel takes place in the course of the summer after Art's graduation, and there is a sense that the events of those few months will define Art as a person - his relationship with his gangster father, his ambiguous sexuality, and his relationship with the troubled and fascinating character Cleveland are all put to the test. Without giving away too much of the plot, I was surprised by many of the plot turns and got very wrapped up in the characters, all of whom I thought were well-developed by Chabon. Perhaps the greatest joy in reading the novel to me was humor and dead-on accuracy of the observations and descriptions interspersed throughout the book. One reviewer hit the nail on the head when he said there was a precious little nugget of wit or wisdom on every page. When describing the soulless bookstore where he takes a summer job, Boardwalk Books, narrator Art tells us the owners have no interest in the books they are peddling, that it is just "merchandise" to them, and he imagines conversations between the owners along the lines of "What are we going to do with all these books?" You can imagine an antiseptic Book Warehouse, with fifty copies of Vanna White's autobiography or the latest John Grisham thriller stacked to the ceiling. When Art is inside quirky Phlox's apartment, with its crude cat sculpture and its cheap French prints, he decides to rejoice in its bad taste, like bowling alleys and Elvis. Chabon has a keen eye and a skill at storytelling which shines through on every page of this very successful debut novel.
Rating: 
Summary: A Promising Start
Review: Chabon's first novel is extreme, over-the-top... and a sign of the brilliance to come in his career as a novelist. On top of that, Mysteries of Pittsburgh is a fun and funny book. In true Chabon form, it's hard to tell what to expect or what will come next -- is this a story about college friends, or a summer of partying, or budding bisexuality, or gangsters and gunfights? The answer: Yes. All of these elements are stirred together in this short book that can be read in an afternoon, and relatively successfully. While there are bumpy and awkward moments, Mysteries of Pittsburgh will please anyone who enjoyed Kavalier and Clay or who saw the film of Wonder Boys and wants a taste of the novelist who penned its inspiration.
Rating:
Summary: Not an Action Thriller
Review: A young man just out of college shares his strangley wild summer with us. I found the confused, somewhat scared, and sexually undeclared Art to be sympathetic and believable. I may have met people like him- I'm not sure. Many passages evoked appreciative laughter, whether from absurdity or poignancy. Reading that Jane did so, I started using curry and nutmeg together in my salad dressing. (Also in vegetable juices.) It's great.
Rating:
Summary: fun and painless young writing
Review: The book transcends anything limiting like being a 'gay novel' or a 'Pittsburgh novel.' And sure, it's a coming of age novel, one of many. What is most classic about the protagonist though is his passivity or ambiguity: he's like a Hamlet or a Julian Sorel. All three of them are mediocre young men who have found themselves in an august, difficult situation. Hamlet was noble and his father had been controversially murdered; Sorel could regurgitate the Bible in Latin verbatim, which catapulted him from the peasantry to Paris Society; and Art is attractive as well as a gangster's son, earning him a new group of friends, plus pleading from the wild Cleveland. These characters that are so common in classics have always bothered me. Part of me relates to Art and just loves the story. Another part of me hates Art's character: he's afraid of his father, he lets Cleveland drag him around, he goes from Arthur to Phlox again and again, and his job is a drag. Everyone seems to be debating whether or not this is a Gen X novel, and, as far as I'm concerned, it's Art's wimpy lethargy that makes him SO Gen X. There is no message here, moral or otherwise, and no notion of success or failure lie within. If his gayness must be an issue, then we should question why Chabon was so deliberate with Art's sexual transformation and/or ambiguity. The writing was charming; however, it was littered with akward metaphors or just absurdity. For example, Chabon writes: Small groups of kids called and ran on the concrete down below, obviously heading somewhere, in the way that made me think of getting something to eat. (p. 12) I wrote a big "What?" in the margin after reading that one. The critics baffle me when they associate a 'good ear' or a 'perfect pitch' with TMOP. I saw syntax problems not poetry. The writing must have improved though, by the second half of the book I'd put my pen away and lost myself in the narrative. Good writers aren't usually so unpolished. But then again, what young writer wouldn't die for Chabon's charm and clarity?
Rating:
Summary: Give Michael a break or find a new reason to dis him
Review: First novels written by kids in their early 20s who mine their college experience for material are easy targets, especially among other kids in their early twenties who think writing a witty novel about your experiences is as easy as it looks. But Chabon's talent is no longer in doubt and it is time to go back and appreciate the book for what it is: a fun, slightly dangerous romp through a fun, slightly dangerous city. Funny, at the time there was talk that this was "the" gay coming of age novel. Chabon at the time in interviews admitted to being as undecided about his own sexuality as his protagonist. Approaching middle age, Chabon appears to have settled into a heterosexual relationship. This begs several questions: (1) Was Michael posing as a bisexual to boost his clout? (2) Are those mysteries of his youth completely solved?
Rating: 
Summary: Utter...
Review: The only mystery to me is how this book got so many great reviews... Pittsburgh is more than a city - it is a culture unto itself - but adding a 'yuns'and throwing-in geographic references to this...text in no way reflects this culture. He could have done so much more with this book. Pittsburgh: a steel mill mentality of polishing-off a case of rolling rock in your rowhouse with the buds watching a Steeler game while being surrounded by high tech businesses, one of the finest orchestras in the country,and prestigious universities and teaching hospitals. Pittsburghers are friendly, generous, and family-oriented; they are also content to stay in Pittsburgh their entire lives regardless of education, wealth, or opportunity. Like pigeons, people home to Pittsburgh sometimes not even realizing why. This book could have been incredible, especially from a Gen Xer's point of view... These characters were so shallow, so one-note....I guess he does get brownie points, though, for using the current mandated number of 'f' words.
Rating:
Summary: A literary darling's first novel
Review: Chabon hit the big time with this one, and has had some leeway with the critics since then. Depending on how much modern fiction you've read, this book will either seem (1) very simple, but well-told, (2) surprising, groundbreaking, and really cool, or (3) subversively seductive. I've loaned my copy out to a number of people, and it is amazing the range of responses. Especially so compared to the wow-factor that the critics appeared to award this book when it first came out.
Rating: 
Summary: Overrated 80's angst
Review: I read this book a couple of times in my early bookstore days when it first came out. I can't remember why I read it twice. I wasn't particularly enthralled by it. My husband and I watched "The Wonder Boys" last night and enjoyed it. After the movie I was trying to descibe "Mysteries of Pittsburgh" to him and found I couldn't remember any of the details. For some reason I thought both of the main characters were named "Art". Guess I was wrong. My point is, this book was an okay diversional sort of read. It in no way deserves comparison to "The Catcher in the Rye". The characters in this book where a too precious and forced. Most of us know folks with quirky behaviors and habits but it takes more skill than Chabon had at this age to create believably and engaging characters. I never got involved with Art and his friends. For me, reading "The Mysteries of Pittsburgh" was like sitting through a well-intentioned indie film. You want to like it but.... A superior novel in a similar vien is "The Object of My Affection". The quirks and foibles of its characters were (generally) far more real. Avoid the movie!!! Good casting, bad script.
Rating:
Summary: Prententious tripe
Review: This was such a precious, pretentious, contrived piece of self-absorbed twaddle, I can't comprehend the high ratings for this book. I fear that everyone who liked this book is as self-absorbed and precious as the characters in it. If so, then a law should be passed that those who loved this book she be required to wear a hat reading "I loved THE MYSTERIES OF PITTSBURGH" on airplanes, so that people like me will know whom not to sit next to, and avoid tedious conversations.
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