This one, by Michael Chabon, is definitely a favorite, and is a favorite of many of my friends. It's a perfect novel in a lot of ways: memorable characters, sharp plotting, originality in spades, and a storyline that creates a compulsive page turner. This is probably my favorite novel of the past 7 or 8 years.
The plot involves the story of Joe Kavalier, a Jewish teen who escapes from Prague and lands in New York where he hooks up with his cousin Sammy Clay. Sammy, an idea man, is excited to learn that Joe is an artist of some talent, and together they immerse themselves in the world of a beloved 1940s American development: the comic book. Clay remains rooted to his love of the comic, superheroes, and his own 'secret identity', while Kavalier takes a rockier path in his relationships and his own quest to find himself.
While ultimately it is the story and the characters that make this novel so compelling, it really is just a big long love letter to America, and more importantly, the ideal of America; that two kids, one an immigrant, the other an all-American nobody, could transcend class and station to become American success stories. The novel also examines the tricky territory of identity in America, and how individuals can reinvent themselves as they see fit. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay is an affirmation of the American dream, and a memorable example of a novelist working at his prime. Chabon won the Pulitzer Prize for this book, and in my opinion deserved it.
2 comments:
I loved the first half, when they're getting into comics, but I thought the second part--when the one guy is in the Arctic or something--slowed down considerably.
Elise has a point. It's a tour de force opening that labors a bit in the unraveling. But still, one of the best novels to come along lately, and one I dearly love.
Post a Comment