The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay (with bonus content) - Michael Chabon

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay (with bonus content)

By Michael Chabon

  • Release Date: 2000-09-19
  • Genre: Action & Adventure
Score: 4.5
4.5
From 324 Ratings
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Description

WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE • NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The epic, beloved novel of two boy geniuses dreaming up superheroes in New York’s Golden Age of comics, now with special bonus material by the author

“It's absolutely gosh-wow, super-colossal—smart, funny, and a continual pleasure to read.”—The Washington Post Book World

One of The New York Times’s 100 Best Books of the 21st Century • One of Entertainment Weekly’s 10 Best Books of the Decade • Finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award, National Book Critics Circle Award, and Los Angeles Times Book Prize

A “towering, swash-buckling thrill of a book” (Newsweek), hailed as Chabon’s “magnum opus” (The New York Review of Books), The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay is a triumph of originality, imagination, and storytelling, an exuberant, irresistible novel that begins in New York City in 1939.
 
A young escape artist and budding magician named Joe Kavalier arrives on the doorstep of his cousin, Sammy Clay. While the long shadow of Hitler falls across Europe, America is happily in thrall to the Golden Age of comic books, and in a distant corner of Brooklyn, Sammy is looking for a way to cash in on the craze. He finds the ideal partner in the aloof, artistically gifted Joe, and together they embark on an adventure that takes them deep into the heart of Manhattan, and the heart of old-fashioned American ambition. From the shared fears, dreams, and desires of two teenage boys, they spin comic book tales of the heroic, fascist-fighting Escapist and the beautiful, mysterious Luna Moth, otherworldly mistress of the night. Climbing from the streets of Brooklyn to the top of the Empire State Building, Joe and Sammy carve out lives, and careers, as vivid as cyan and magenta ink.
 
Spanning continents and eras, this superb book by one of America’s finest writers remains one of the defining novels of our modern American age.
 
Winner of the Bay Area Book Reviewers Award and the New York Society Library Book Award

Reviews

  • Not for me…

    1
    By tsaloo
    Not for me… which Is ironic because I love comics, old New York, a solid friendship, queer discovery, and history. However this book took me forever to finish, just something I couldn’t get into. Jumping timelines, and flashbacks, and random stories drove me nuts. Let’s just say I’m happy it’s over, and maybe I’ll watch the show.

  • Pulitzer? Felt endless

    1
    By AlejoEsq
    There is nothing “amazing” about the character adventures and the only aspect about comics is the historical background. Almost by the end of the book - which had almost a thousand parts belabored by details upon details concerning the character’s personal struggles - there is focus on the group thet composes the fictional heroe created by the main characters. All to end on a unoriginal note concerning the character’s lives. This book should not even be part of the 100 must reads during a lifetime.

  • It's over,

    1
    By Terapintpaf
    Finishing this. Ok was one of the most painful reading experiences I have ever had

  • Long, but excellent story

    4
    By MWO 2012
    If you'd enjoy a reliving of NYC in the 1930's and at the birth of comic books, this book is for you. It is brilliantly written, chock full of delicious metaphors and descriptions. Know that the story is involved and detailed, so be prepared for a long read. But ultimately worth it. Enjoy

  • 100 Words or Less

    4
    By JRubino
    A mash-up of characters, perspective, plot, and focus that shouldn’t work at all – comic book creators during WWII? Oh please! Ah, but it does work. The main driving force behind its success is the likeable, detailed characters. While I didn’t always enjoy the multiple plot twists, I kept wanting to learn more about these people. They’re unique enough to be interesting, but familiar enough to recognize. My only (minor) complaint is the first half is better than the second half, but even with that, this is a good (sometimes brilliant) novel that deserves attention. Fun. Interesting. Clever. A good read.

  • Required reading for Comic fans!

    5
    By JMeyers211
    If you love Golden Age comics this is a great read. The characters of Kavalier and Clay serve to show how guys like Siegel and Shuster created the industry we have today and how ultimately they were seduced into signing their creations away for next to nothing. But enough of the indictment of comics and the corporations. The characters of Kavalier and Clay live and breathe thanks to Chabon, and their character of the Escapist and company read so well that I keep expecting to see someone publish an Escapist ongoing series.

  • Wonderful Book

    5
    By Marens33
    I just finishe ethics book and it's such a beutiful story except that there were some missing pages and duplicates.

  • Finally!

    5
    By tylerwyler
    I don't understand what took so long. Clearly the author/publisher hates making money. I've been waiting to buy this for my iPad for nearly two years. I wonder how many people just "bought" the version that's been up on Pirate Bay, when they saw that this novel, universally recognized as one of the great American novels of the 21st century, was not for sale in any digital format. Even now, we have to wait for a June release?!? What good reason could they possibly have?

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