It’s rare, for whatever reason, for me to read a book more than once. But I’ve read Michael Chabon’s The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay three times since it came out in September 2000. I’d been a fan of Chabon’s work for a while, having devoured The Mysteries of Pittsburgh and Wonder Boys. But this book really hit all the right notes for me. The novel spans decades in the lives of Samuel Klayman and Josef Kavalier (who later become Sam Clay and Joe Kavalier). They become comic book giants, creating the character of The Escapist during the 1930s. The novel chronicles the early years of comic books (the creation of The Escapist mirrors Batman and Superman to a large degree). The book goes on to chronicle the war, politics at home, how American changed over these years and what these two lifelong friends go through as they look for their own bit of happiness in the world. Chabon weaves this world together to perfection, so it’s no surprise the novel won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. It will hopefully make a good movie too, it’s in pre-production now and is supposed to hit theaters (with a Chabon penned screenplay) in 2009.
I chose to Geek Out over Kavalier & Clay today because Chabon has a brand new book out, The Yiddish Policemen’s Union: A Novel. It’s getting some rave reviews and I have to get a copy for myself very soon. A summer than has a new Chabon book, plus the new Harry Potter is a good summer indeed!
