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A review by annepw
Manhood for Amateurs: The Pleasures and Regrets of a Husband, Father, and Son by Michael Chabon
4.0
(2012 review)
Having read and enjoyed three of Chabon's books already ([b:The Mysteries of Pittsburgh|16697|The Mysteries of Pittsburgh|Michael Chabon|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1406253539s/16697.jpg|243634]: good, [b:The Yiddish Policemen's Union|16703|The Yiddish Policemen's Union|Michael Chabon|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1386925449s/16703.jpg|95855]: very good, and [b:The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay|3985|The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay|Michael Chabon|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1355094690s/3985.jpg|2693329]: sublime), I dove into my borrowed copy of Manhood for Amateurs with a mix of expectation and wariness. Expectation, because, having seen Chabon at his best, I was curious to get inside his head and life, and wariness because of the inevitability of disappointment.
Both scenarios were realized. Manhood is a very good memoir. Actually, it's a decent memoir and a very good collection of essays. Chabon's writing style is slightly pared down but his ideas are not, and Chabon has some incidents in his past that are very interesting to read about and shed good light on his writing. But taken as a whole, the memoir feels kind of disjointed. The final essay, the one which one hopes will tie everything together, is one of the weaker in the collection and leaves the very final taste in one's mouth one of slight disappointment. Chabon has also fallen victim to the trap (that also befalls [a:David Sedaris|2849|David Sedaris|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1213737698p2/2849.jpg]--actually, I frequently felt like I was reading the words of a more mature, erudite Sedaris) of snappily concluding essays by harkening back to an earlier symbol in the piece, which, when used in excess, is annoying (and it is always used in excess).
But Manhood is a worthy read. Read it and be surprised at Michael Chabon's total lack of what people euphemistically refer to as "artistic temperament." Chabon comes across as conscientious, responsible, smart, and honest--a person worthy of emulation. He could stand to lose the false modesty, though.
4/5. At some point I plan to revisit this one once I've got my own copy.
(October 2014 update)
I loved this book more than I did the first time. The remarkable thing about Chabon is his unflagging sweetness, and the sincerity of that sweetness; it never feels feigned, and it makes me happy to think of him raising his children in this affectionate, conscientious way. So often I find myself loathing the bland goodness of memoirists as expressed in their own memoirs. Chabon escapes the trap with his other hallmark traits of clear-eyed self-analysis and its counterpoint, analysis of the world. He has interesting things to say and, as could really go without saying, a stunning way of saying them. I just smiled my way through this book. Have I grown less critical in general? Or just of Chabon? 4/5, still. And I'll read it again--and make any father to my (nonexistent children) read it too.
Having read and enjoyed three of Chabon's books already ([b:The Mysteries of Pittsburgh|16697|The Mysteries of Pittsburgh|Michael Chabon|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1406253539s/16697.jpg|243634]: good, [b:The Yiddish Policemen's Union|16703|The Yiddish Policemen's Union|Michael Chabon|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1386925449s/16703.jpg|95855]: very good, and [b:The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay|3985|The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay|Michael Chabon|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1355094690s/3985.jpg|2693329]: sublime), I dove into my borrowed copy of Manhood for Amateurs with a mix of expectation and wariness. Expectation, because, having seen Chabon at his best, I was curious to get inside his head and life, and wariness because of the inevitability of disappointment.
Both scenarios were realized. Manhood is a very good memoir. Actually, it's a decent memoir and a very good collection of essays. Chabon's writing style is slightly pared down but his ideas are not, and Chabon has some incidents in his past that are very interesting to read about and shed good light on his writing. But taken as a whole, the memoir feels kind of disjointed. The final essay, the one which one hopes will tie everything together, is one of the weaker in the collection and leaves the very final taste in one's mouth one of slight disappointment. Chabon has also fallen victim to the trap (that also befalls [a:David Sedaris|2849|David Sedaris|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1213737698p2/2849.jpg]--actually, I frequently felt like I was reading the words of a more mature, erudite Sedaris) of snappily concluding essays by harkening back to an earlier symbol in the piece, which, when used in excess, is annoying (and it is always used in excess).
But Manhood is a worthy read. Read it and be surprised at Michael Chabon's total lack of what people euphemistically refer to as "artistic temperament." Chabon comes across as conscientious, responsible, smart, and honest--a person worthy of emulation. He could stand to lose the false modesty, though.
4/5. At some point I plan to revisit this one once I've got my own copy.
(October 2014 update)
I loved this book more than I did the first time. The remarkable thing about Chabon is his unflagging sweetness, and the sincerity of that sweetness; it never feels feigned, and it makes me happy to think of him raising his children in this affectionate, conscientious way. So often I find myself loathing the bland goodness of memoirists as expressed in their own memoirs. Chabon escapes the trap with his other hallmark traits of clear-eyed self-analysis and its counterpoint, analysis of the world. He has interesting things to say and, as could really go without saying, a stunning way of saying them. I just smiled my way through this book. Have I grown less critical in general? Or just of Chabon? 4/5, still. And I'll read it again--and make any father to my (nonexistent children) read it too.