Rating: 
Summary: oh boy
Review: As I am sure many of you know of the film that is due to come out soon, and therefore may be resistant to reading this book (many book snobs fear being seen as trendy,) but do yourself a favor and read it anyway. It is good. It should not be missed. Tell you what, let's make a bet: if you're not laughing by page 25 of "Wonder Boys," then I will come to yout house and cook you dinner. (See amazon.com disclaimer for additional details.)
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Summary: college writer
Review: I'm a college student taking Writing Workshops... this amazing novel had me hiccupping with laughter. the dialogue is right off the street and the descriptions allow the reader to see mundane objects in the twisted sight of Grady Tripp. a perfect novel. the choice of locales from a college to the summer home of Korean Jews to back alleys balanced the tight time constrictions since the novel only spans a little over 48 hours... read it! ... especially if you're a novice writer staying up till 2 a.m. trying to finish that first manuscript and wondering if you too have fallen prey to the midnight disease...
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Summary: Superior Book
Review: One of my favorites. I stumbled onto Chabon browsing a few years ago and I've read this one three times over the past several years. A rare find. His 'Mysteries' book is a great read as well.
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Summary: Best book I've read in a long time
Review: I'm not much of a reader but when I find a good book that I have a hard time putting down, I know other people will like it. Through out the whole book I kept wondering what happens next to Grady Tripp, James Leer and the others. It keeps your attention which is hard to do with some of us generation Xers! At times I felt that I could connect with almost everyone in the book! Chabons writing is so descriptive that you almost feel apart of this terrific story! It's a quick read, and I was almost disappointed to finish it. I can't wait to read his next books! Chabon's writing has definetly sparked my interest in reading again. This is the best book I've read in a very long time.
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Summary: We Will Now Take An Intermission -- Remain Seated
Review: As an aspiring writer, I have to say the career I hope to have for myself would be nothing like that of Grady Tripp's. Sheesh, man, take a nap! It's a good book, well told, and an interesting story, but watching Grady abuse himself all weekend was exhausting and, after a time, a little frustrating. I'm not suggesting the story should have been any other way, however -- this is the story that is told, these are perhaps even the emotions targeted and I applaud it all. Just warning you: it's a wild weekend; the kind of weekend books are written about. Yet as ruthless as his adventures are, my main criticism of the book is the most sedate part of his weekend. I won't ruin it for anyone, but suffice it to say, it's somewhere around the middle, it's long, it's tedious, and, yes, in this case I am suggesting the story should've gone some other direction. YAWN! Books should not have intermissions, but that's what the middle of this one was -- you're just not allowed to leave during it. I also felt Chabon didn't know what to do with James Leer. After being set up as one of the more interesting characters, Leer remained almost always present but, more often than not, passed out or spaced out. However, the beginning and end of the book form worthy entertainment (albeit of no great social importance), in a writing style that makes the book worth a couple reads. It's the kind of book movies should be made from and I look forward to the theatrical release without fear that the story will be compromised beyond its original message. Will definitely read Chabon's first book now.
Rating: 
Summary: Appreciate the book for what it is.
Review: Allright, I'll admit it - I'm one of those horribly critical academic literary types that most people loved (or learned) to hate in college. But I like Chabon's work, I really do. For me, the real pleasure of reading Chabon is having the opportunity to experience his elegant turns of phrase; no other writer I'm familiar with can mobilize colloquial English with Chabon's finesse and polish. Take, for example, Chabon's portrayal of Grady Tripp's thoughts on stripping Sara Gaskell: "She imprisoned her glorious hair within its scaffolding of pins, painted a thin copper line across her lips for makeup, and aside from her wedding ring the only jewelry she generally wore was a pair of half-moon reading glasses tied around her neck with a length of athletic shoestring. Undressing her was an act of recklessness, a kind of vandalism, like releasing a zoo full of animals, or blowing up a damn." (pg. 34) It's really great stuff. I'm inclined to agree that the previous criticisms of Chabon's work (particularly that it reads like a workshopped MFA thesis) are unwarranted. Chabon has produced a vivid, unpretentious piece of writing. He's not aspiring to revolutionize American letters, and he's not attempting to secure his work a place in the Western Literary Canon. If we appreciate his work for what it is - a piece of fin-de-siecle minor Americana - it's hard to come away disappointed or unhappy with Chabon's performance. Buy the book, read it, and if you're unfortunate enough to be an academic type like myself, file it away with rest of your 'guilty pleasures' you won't be mentioning to your colleagues in the English Department.
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Summary: Rock On Chabon!
Review: This book is amazing. I'm so glad I read it before I saw the movie
Rating:
Summary: Memorable, engaging and honest
Review: I don't quite understand many of the negative reviewshere. People describe his writing as adolescent or reminescent of a story from a writer's workshop. I was an English major in college and realize that to go after one's dreams in the literary field is not easy, simply because of the quirky characters you get involved with. Chabon is not trying to mold profound statements even close to the same league as Chekov or even Updike, but otherwise he works in the same atmosphere as early Philip Roth. He simply describes characters so easily and with such fruition (without overembellishing them) that we are hooked. "The Wonder Boys" is truly about the the emotional atmosphere of the literary world. Unlike medical or law school - writer's are encouraged to stay young - Grady's problem is that he's forty years old, holding on to youth is killing him. The Wonder Boys is not a light a read as I've heard many label it so. It's truly about that gray line between youth and maturity - and within that line resides hundreds of English majors. I loved it, read and enjoy - definitely not a book for anyone who thinks Nabakov is the beginning and end of the artistic plane.
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Summary: Thank you, Michael Chabon...
Review: for a story I loved --- because your writing is lyrical, humorous, and memorable.
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Summary: Involving characters on a downward spiral to nowhere.
Review: And an indulgent downward spiral, at that. (Perhaps the lesson here is that potheads are, by definition, too passive and relaxed to be Main Characters in full-lenghth novels?) Also, on a personal note, even the most casual sports fan must know that Joe Dimaggio wore #5, not #3. Talk about taking the reader out of the story... [This text refers to the hardcover edition of this title.]
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