Maps and legends : reading and writing along the borderlands (edition 2008)

Because I've read more of Chabon's later books than his earlier ones I was less intrigued by the essays here that look at his own work, but he's very persuasive about his own literary enthusiasms, and the pieces dealing with those were the ones I enjoyed the most. My "to read" list is getting a lot longer as a result of reading this collection! ( )

Fabulous, as all Chabon is...this is an exploration of the spaces between: fiction/non-fiction as well as "Literature" and genre fiction. Insightful essays, well-craftedand thought-provoking. ( )

Not all of this was new to me, but I've got somewhat of a soft spot for Chabon's ruminations on genre fiction. The man makes a good argument about how foolish it is that some writing can be considered Literature, while other writing is condemned to be thought of as little more than a childish diversion, merely because of the subject matter.

Nevertheless, he feels a bit like a mad prophet shouting in the desert. Capital-L Literature ain't going nowhere.

As the book proceeds, the essays become more and more personal, as Chabon comments on his own writing, fears, hopes, and dreams. At times, this seems to stretch the boundaries of his self-defined "Maps and Legends" framework (intentionally, perhaps?), but it also renders the book more effective and affecting.

The essays are all pretty short, which does offer the advantage of keeping the author from belaboring his points overmuch, but at the same time, I would have liked him to comment in more detail on some of his thoughts. ( )

At their best, these essays are superb. Would particularly cite the opening essay ("Trickster in a Suit of Lights" which focuses on the modern short story, and laments the increased divergence from its roots in ghost stories, adventure stories, and the like) and the closing essay/fiction ("Golems I Have Known" which seamlessly weaves autobiography with invention to describe Chabon's encounters with three golems that shaped his subsequent life and trajectory, with a particularly richly drawn fraudulent writer/Holocaust survivor).

In between, many of the essays focus on particular books or authors. When you have read/like them, they can be extremely good (the essay on His Dark Materials is fascinating, describing it as coming from the Christian tradition while most other fantasy is from the Norse), in some cases they serve as a good introduction to an author you may read little or none (e.g., "The Other James" about M.R. James), but in many--especially the ones about comic books I have never read--it is less interesting.

Overall, the goal of the book is to defend genre fiction--and especially comic books--celebrating the "trickster" in literature who entertains with well shaped stories with good plots, interesting characters, and leaving the reader uncertain what is real and what is a trick. And it was successful in achieving this goal. ( )

I love Michael Chabon novels, so I had high hopes for this collection of essays. I loved this book best when he wrote about his own evolution as a reader and a writer. The genesis of his works is apparent. ( )