Short stories aren't Chabon's strength - he's such a richly detailed writer that you've barely got an idea of who's in the story and where it is before it's over - but anything he writes is a treat and better than most anything else out there. ( )

Short stories aren't Chabon's strength - he's such a richly detailed writer that you've barely got an idea of who's in the story and where it is before it's over - but anything he writes is a treat and better than most anything else out there. ( )

Short stories aren't Chabon's strength - he's such a richly detailed writer that you've barely got an idea of who's in the story and where it is before it's over - but anything he writes is a treat and better than most anything else out there. ( )

I think I've figured out what I like about Chabon's style--he creates these anachronistic characters and voices, but places them in obviously contemporary settings. ( )

A collection of Chabon's early short stories, A Model World is something of a mixed bag. The first few are the earliest, and to my mind the weakest—they felt more like writing exercises than anything else, frameworks rather than stories—but the last half of the book, the linked stories about the Shapiro family, show promise and the beginnings of the voice that made The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay such a wonderful read. Unpolished, but worth the read if you're a fan of Chabon's later writ...more A collection of Chabon's early short stories, A Model World is something of a mixed bag. The first few are the earliest, and to my mind the weakest—they felt more like writing exercises than anything else, frameworks rather than stories—but the last half of the book, the linked stories about the Shapiro family, show promise and the beginnings of the voice that made The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay such a wonderful read. Unpolished, but worth the read if you're a fan of Chabon's later writing. ( )