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spinstah's review
4.0
A really great collection of stories - including a few linked stories at the end that form a kind of novelette.
margyly's review against another edition
3.0
He's a very good writer, so the writing itself saved these for me. The stories are simultaneously quotidian and strange.
koreilly's review against another edition
3.0
This is late 80s to early 90s Chabon and sometimes it reads less like a collection of short stories and more embarrassing draft for an MFA class (which I'm sure is where some of these were born honestly).
Chabon's portrayals of those free flowing and loving 90s bohemians tends toward the embarrassing but his second half of the book, a series of stories chronicling the coming of age of a Jewish boy on the East Coast are much better.
Overall, it's a short collection of stories and you can use your own gut to skip the fat and get to the meat. Chabon has always shined when writing about family life and jewish quarrels more so than his writing on romance and women.
Chabon's portrayals of those free flowing and loving 90s bohemians tends toward the embarrassing but his second half of the book, a series of stories chronicling the coming of age of a Jewish boy on the East Coast are much better.
Overall, it's a short collection of stories and you can use your own gut to skip the fat and get to the meat. Chabon has always shined when writing about family life and jewish quarrels more so than his writing on romance and women.
bryce_is_a_librarian's review against another edition
3.0
The short stories in the book are underwhelming. The literary equivalent of Chabon cracking his knuckles. They’re small and minamalistic, two adjectives I never thought I’d use for Chabon and not in a good way either. They’re like Raymond Carver if Carver was a really bad novelist. Just when I was about to right the whole thing off as a loss though, the nigh unbearably wistful novella that ends the book came and saved the day.
booktothefuture's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
siria's review against another edition
3.0
A collection of Chabon's early short stories, A Model World is something of a mixed bag. The first few are the earliest, and to my mind the weakest—they felt more like writing exercises than anything else, frameworks rather than stories—but the last half of the book, the linked stories about the Shapiro family, show promise and the beginnings of the voice that made The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay such a wonderful read. Unpolished, but worth the read if you're a fan of Chabon's later writing.
jennie_em's review against another edition
5.0
Hard to discern whether it was the specific chapter of my life that I read this book or the book itself, but definitely one of the handful of books I bring with me to the deserted island. This book began my life-long love affair with short stories - Chabon does them beautifully here.
elise81729's review against another edition
4.0
Honestly was really unsure when I started reading whether I enjoyed it or not, however the second half of the book, particularly the story about Kim and the story about Nathan...SO GOOD. Both were so realistic, and the nathan storyline, especially the halloween party, was my favorite. Great quick read, and I enjoyed how every story was just short enough to not get boring.
corpsewhale's review against another edition
3.0
Three of the stories had a male protagonist who was interested in or involved with an older woman. It kind of makes me wonder about the author...