I came to this author from a critique of Haruki Murakamis After Dark, where Chabon had been presented as some modern day Steinbeck or Kerouack. I don't really know about that, one some pages yeah, but on other pages he's more like an American Ingvar Ambjørnsen, but I immediately liked the book and allthough the «one summer in which many things happen»-plot isn't that gripping, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh became a page turner for me. Through his protagonist the author describes the different characters that surround him with such admiration and tenderness it felt like I had to keep reading the book just to get to hang out with these cool people. How could they be so beautiful? How could they be so tragic?

I don't know that I learned anything from this book, but I enjoyed its company a lot. This was the only Chabon-novel on the shelf in my library, and if I see another one I'll read that too. ( )

The Mysteries of Pittsburgh: A Novel by Michael Chabon (2008)

This book makes me happy because it is not perfect, but it is good and it shows the promise of what's to come for Chabon as a writer. And that is enjoyable. ( )

Powerful imagery and crazy plot. Hope the movie works out. ( )

I don't have much to say about T.M.O.P. except that "it was okay." I didn't dislike it, but I didn't really connect with it. It didn't grab, challenge, molest, or seduce me. It was okay. ( )

In the late '80s, when brat pack lit was the rage and the likes of Jay McInerney, Bret Easton Ellis and Tama Janowitz were getting all the attention, Chabon was quietly doing the real stuff. This is his first novel and it's great. Fortunately, he has since been recognized for his talent. As a coming-of-age novel of the 1980s, you can't do better than this. ( )

The action in The Mysteries of Pittsburgh takes place the summer after Art Bechstein graduates from university. He's always led a pretty protected and risk-averse life, and he's not really sure what he wants to do, but he knows that he is looking for something bigger, wilder, more exotic. At the start of the summer he falls in with a crowd of people who seem to fulfill this need - they have all recreated themselves as Gatsby-esque Wild Young Things. But his involvement with them sets off a sequence of events - with consequences that spiral out of control.

This was Chabon's first novel, written while he was still a student, and it shows: there are signs of the style, imagination and playfulness which make Kavalier & Clay as good as it is - but this feels as if he is just trying to fit too many ideas in - and some of it (Phlox's personality, Cleveland's descent) are a bit too cartoonishly drawn. ( )

My friend and I were in the middle of a converstation about some very strange relationships we had been in with men, when she suddenly shouted "You must read 'The Myteries of Pittsburgh' by Chabon!" So I picked it up. I found it to be a light read (pretty good for the airplane). Although I enjoyed the character of Phlox, I was pretty disapointed with the rest of the book. Poor Phlox is all I can say. I don't think this is a horrible book necessarily, but it certainly does not deserve 5 stars. Basically, the characters bored me and I found myself skimming over large sections. Worth the time only if you have nothing better to do, or if you a girl who has ever lived through having your boyfriend dump you for a man and want to re-live your pain. ( )

I loved this book. I went to school at Carnegie Mellon and I can remember loking out the window in my Corporate Finance class to see the Cloud Factory hard at work. The authors' comments are eye-opening. My wife is a writer and reading Michael Chabon's comments reassured me about the processes I see her go through. ( )

While not as amazing as the two that would follow, Chabon’s first novel has its moments. Then again, it has its moments. ( )

The best parts of this book are the Pittsburgh references. Every time Chabon mentions the Cathedral of Learning, Soldiers & Sailors, and Forbes Ave, I get nostalgic. The story itself is entertaining--sort of Giovanni's Room meets 1980s Rust Belt hipster--but not staggering. I snicker when I think about Chabon naming the doomed antagonist "Cleveland"; a not-so-subtle reference to the intense rivalry between Cleveland and the 'Burgh? Very nice.

This was my first Chabon book, and perhaps not his most highly praised work. I'd like to read The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay to get a better picture of his writing. ( )

Michael Chabon is a brilliant writer: insightful and lyrical, he offers descriptions so original that, as a writer, I am simultaneously inspired and disheartened by his abilities. He reminds me of Updike, but more personal and easier to read. This book is Chabon's first. It is the flawed first book of a brilliant writer. Definitely worth reading, but the pacing was very much off, so it gets three and a half stars instead of four. ( )

Langweilig ( )

This book reminded me of the Donna Tartt book, “Secret History” we read earlier in the book club. That Chabon began writing this when he was twenty-two and published it at twenty-five as a thesis for his Master’s degree made it even more incredible for me. He develops his characters far better than many contemporary writers. This was another coming-of-age book about relationships, college, finding oneself, drinking too much, drugs, and plenty of sexual tension. The lure of intelligent, wealthy, outgoing yet disturbed friends and wild sexual liaisons. ‘Art’ enters into every one of his relationships with trepidation and anxiety. His relationship with his wealthy, critical, ‘gangster’ father was quite disturbing. I found myself cheering for Phlox as Art was contemplating Arthur or her as his true love. I was also wondering whether this was an autobiographical work and possibly mirroring his own sexual history. Chabon is married and has children but revealed that he in fact has had early sexual relationships with women and men. I enjoyed this book. I was startled that a story covering a single summer could be so packed with adventure, intensity, and drama. Possibly only published because his advisor was a novelist and sent his thesis to his publisher!? Too bad John Kennedy Toole (“A Confederacy of Dunces”) didn’t have the same advisor. ( )

I am a fan of Michael Chabon and am glad to have finally read his first published novel. I liked the book very much, but when I got to the end, I knew why he wrote it. It was so he could include the last beautiful paragraph:
"When I remember that dizzy summer, that dull, stupid, lovely, dire summer, it seems that in those days I ate my lunches, smelled another's skin, noticed a shade of yellow, even simply sat, with greater lust and hopefulness- and that I lusted with greater faith, hoped with greater abandon. The people I loved were celebrities, surrounded by rumor and fanfare; the places I sat with them, movie lots and monuments. No doubt all of this is not true remembrance but the ruinous work of nostalgia, which obliterates the past, and no doubt, as usual, I have exaggerated everything." ( )

Art Bechstein, fresh out of college, notices an attractive young man in the library, no sooner is he outside the library than this attractive young man, the very appealing and flamboyant Arthur is standing beside him. In addition the attentions of Arthur, Art struggles with his uncertain feelings for Phlox, the strange girl who works in the library. So begins a summer of friendships, sex and parties, and a beautiful relationship that eventually dispels any doubts Art might have had about his sexuality. Add to that the hint of gangsters and the mysterious smoke from a factory; it all contributes to captivating read.
This is a thoroughly engrossing and interesting story, beautifully written and full of vitality, wit and humour.
( )

From Publishers Weekly
First-novelist Chabon, with "distinctive vision" and "an elegiac, graceful style," spins a story about alienated youth that, while serving up some familiar details of sex, alcohol and drugs, "fully engages the reader in the lives of an appealing cast of characters," said PW . ( )

An absolute must-read for anyone from Pittsburgh, and definitely a joy to read even if you're not. This is one of those books that allows you to look more deeply into the characters and get to know them so well that you can see all the little parts of yourself in them. And while the journey is rather rough and confusing for the characters, it leaves the reader with a sense of calm. ( )

http://ultraelectromagneticblog.blogs... ( )

This was a fairly quick read given the subject matter; I think because it's not as meaty (and has bigger typeface) than Kavalier & Clay. Gorgeous book, though, clearly kind of autobiographical/confessional. If the plot didn't necessarily move in a straight line and actions didn't always connect to consequences (right away), well, that was part of the point. I've had summers like that. We've all had summers like that. Not necessarily the love triangle and the gangsters and the gay sex and all, but this book just captures the essence of a post-graduation summer so well that it's so easy just to slip into Art Bechstein's head and fill in the bits that aren't laid out for you. ( )

I have no doubt that Michael Chabon is a unique writer with remarkable writing style...but it's just that I couldn't understand what he was saying. Maybe I'm not familiar enough with gangster vocab and practices, but I sadly understood less than 10% of what was going on... ( )