The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon's
third novel, won almost unanimous critical praise. The exhilarating story
of comic book creators in mid-20th century New York City, the book is a
paean to the American Dream as it is pursued through the imagination and
a life-and-death struggle with the Nazis during World War II. New York
magazine wrote, "I'm not sure what the exact definition of a 'great American
novel' is, but I'm pretty sure that Michael Chabon's sprawling, idiosyncratic,
and wrenching new book is one." Time magazine asserts the book contains
"the kind of prose that leaps 600 pages of fantasy and social history in
a single bound . . . never before told with as much imagination, verve
and affection."
In addition to Kavalier & Clay, Chabon has written two other
novels. His first book The Mysteries of Pittsburgh (1988) was written
as his MFA thesis while he was a student at UC Irvine. Chabon received
a book contract for the manuscript even before he earned his degree. He
labored on his second novel, feeling somewhat burdened by all the praise
heaped upon his debut. He finally abandoned a lengthy manuscript, Fortune
City, that in part dealt with the building of a downtown baseball stadium
in the style of old parks (an idea that has since been realized in many
cities, including Baltimore and Pittsburgh). Instead, he wrote a novel
about an author struggling to write his second book, the lauded Wonder
Boys (1995), which was adapted into the highly praised film starring
Michael Douglas, Toby Maguire and Robert Downey, Jr.
Chabon's just published Summerland is a children's book on steroids,
bursting with imagination for its 500 pages. A rich mix of Native American
folklore, a flying Saab, nasty monsters, a kindly Sasquatch, a talking,
prophetic clam and all the joys and horrors of Little League baseball,
Summerland
is a sure hit for both adults and children. The San Francisco Chronicle
writes, "The power of Chabon's verbal and storytelling power delivers in
the clutch."
In addition to his novels, Chabon has published two collections of short
stories, Werewolves in Their Youth (1999) and A Model World and
Other Stories (1990). His story, Son of the Wolfman, was chosen
for the 1999 O. Henry collection and for a National Magazine Award. He
lectures regularly on the imagination, the art and craft of writing, the
tradition of Jewish fiction and other topics. A familiar name in Hollywood,
he is adapting The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay into
a screenplay for producer Scott Rudin and has delivered lectures to the
creative teams at Pixar Animation Studios and Industrial Light and Magic.
He was recently selected to write The Amazing Spider-Man sequel
to Columbia Pictures' box office smash.
To read more about and by Michael Chabon, see his website Bumps on
My Head: Underpinnings, Recurring Subjects, Passing Fancies and a Smattering
of Random Reading Material at http://www.michaelchabon.com. |