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The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon

2 reviews

thecriticalreader's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I picked up The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay while browsing at Barnes & Noble, not knowing much about it except that it was historical fiction.

Blurb:

One night in 1939 Brooklyn, an imaginative and ambitious young Jewish man named Sammy Clay meets his Czech cousin, Joe Kavalier, for the first time. Joe fled from Europe to escape Nazi persecution, but he had to leave his family behind. Resolving acquire enough power and wealth to bring his family to America, Joe joins his cousin, Sammy, in creating a comic book series centering around a superhero called the Escapist. Their wild success as comic book creators launches them into a future, filled with joy, hope, tragedy, and adventure.

Review:

If I had to sum up The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay in one word, it would be “expansive.” Chabon goes above and beyond in every possible way, mostly to the benefit of the book. The plot, as the title hints, is imaginative, improbable, and highly entertaining in a manner somewhat similar to Forrest Gump. It follows primarily Joe Kavalier, but also his cousin and business partner, Sammy Clay, as well as several other characters who come into their lives. The writing style is clever, verbose, entertaining, and full of obscure and big words. Throughout the book, Chabon indulges in enthusiastic descriptions of any detail that strikes his fancy, whether that be a setting description, the history of some obscure pop culture item or material object, or a side character’s backstory.

If Chabon’s writing was weak, such expansiveness would have been insufferable. Luckily, Chabon proves himself to be a skilled writer and storyteller. He excels at writing tender moments between his characters, which form the heart of the story, and an exciting plot, which forms its backbone. All the extraneous details, although mostly unnecessary to the plot in any way, are mostly fun divergences. Occasionally, I found his level of detail to be mildly irritating, but I know many readers have, and will, absolutely love every word of it.

My biggest problem with the book was that I often struggled to fully understand its characters. I get the sense that Chabon has an astonishingly deep and complete understanding of his characters, right down to their individual habits, contradictions, and proclivities. This comes across in his writing, but it can be difficult for someone not inhabiting his headspace to keep up, especially since he dips in an out of the lives of multiple characters across a long span of time. What seems like a natural character progression or action to him at times feels contradictory or confusing to the reader. I often felt like I was playing “connect the dots” with the characters and their developments—if I thought hard enough, I could start to make sense of their actions and characterizations, but if I just read to enjoy the story, I felt disconnected from them on a broader level. Eventually, I stopped trying to understand the characters in their full complexities and focused on enjoying their individual moments with each other, which are beautifully written.

Despite its quirky title and fun subject matter (comic books), Chabon explores themes of queer and Jewish identity, grief, love, and the human need to escape from the realities of the world with sensitivity, dexterity, and profoundness. It is this exploration of themes that elevate the book from a fun historical fiction novel to a book worthy of the Pulitzer Prize.

The Run-Down:

You will probably like The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay if:

· You enjoy learning and/or reading about any of the following subjects: superheroes and comics, magicians and escape artists, Jewish history, New York City, mid-twentieth-century American pop culture.

· You like well-written, fun, epic, and adventurous stories that go in surprising directions.

· You are studying for the GRE verbal exam and want a fun way to practice your vocabulary.

· You enjoy (or at least don’t mind) stories with lots of detail.

You might not like The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay if:

· You get annoyed by information or storylines not relevant to the main plot.

· You hate it when authors use unnecessarily big words.

· You are looking for a simple, intimate, slice-of-life story.

A Similar Book:

The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden by Johann Jonasson. Similarities between these books include:

· Clever, talented, “underdog” protagonists who transcend the circumstances of their youth

· Epic, improbable, and exciting plotlines

· Clever and at times humorous writing

· Themes of justice and compassion

Content Warnings

yavin_iv's review

Go to review page

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

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