The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay

A mixture of a history of WWII and the comic industry...intriguing. ( )

This epic novel of the golden years of comics set in the late 30’s to the 50s is a story of not only the industry of comics but a people. The Jewish people who came to the United States or were unable to get out of Europe. It is a story of family and friendship. I think the author wrote about being Jewish and about WWII in a very unique way. While he did not depict the concentration camps and the horrible abuse he did tell the story through Joe. Joe was a young immigrant who escaped Europe by riding in a coffin with the Golem. This summarizes the book; On page 575: "Having lost his mother, father, brother, and grandfather, the friends and foes of his youth, his beloved teacher Bernard Kornblum, his city, his history--his home--the usual charged leveled against comic books, that they offered merely an easy escape from reality, seemed to Joe actually to be a powerful argument on their behalf. He had escaped in his life from ropes, chains, boxes, bags, and crates, from handcuffs and shackles, from countries and regimes, from the arms of a woman who loved him, from crashed airplanes and an opiate addiction and from an entire frozen continent intent on causing his death. The escape from reality was, he felt--especially after the war--a worthy challenge." This book won the Pulitzer in 2001 and many other wards and rightfully so. Reading this book was a visit to a time in history. It was fun to read the different brands, movies, books, etc that are mentioned. If often felt like I was reading nonfiction. I enjoyed the characters in this story, they were interesting and well developed. This will be one of my favorite books this year. ( )

This epic novel of the golden years of comics set in the late 30’s to the 50s is a story of not only the industry of comics but a people. The Jewish people who came to the United States or were unable to get out of Europe. It is a story of family and friendship. I think the author wrote about being Jewish and about WWII in a very unique way. While he did not depict the concentration camps and the horrible abuse he did tell the story through Joe. Joe was a young immigrant who escaped Europe by riding in a coffin with the Golem. This summarizes the book; On page 575: "Having lost his mother, father, brother, and grandfather, the friends and foes of his youth, his beloved teacher Bernard Kornblum, his city, his history--his home--the usual charged leveled against comic books, that they offered merely an easy escape from reality, seemed to Joe actually to be a powerful argument on their behalf. He had escaped in his life from ropes, chains, boxes, bags, and crates, from handcuffs and shackles, from countries and regimes, from the arms of a woman who loved him, from crashed airplanes and an opiate addiction and from an entire frozen continent intent on causing his death. The escape from reality was, he felt--especially after the war--a worthy challenge." This book won the Pulitzer in 2001 and many other wards and rightfully so. Reading this book was a visit to a time in history. It was fun to read the different brands, movies, books, etc that are mentioned. If often felt like I was reading nonfiction. I enjoyed the characters in this story, they were interesting and well developed. This will be one of my favorite books this year. ( )

When discussing this book, the word epic is not a trite exaggeration. Chabon pins his narrative around the lives of two cousins, Josef Kavalier and Sam Klayman, but blends into the mix war, shifting generations, journeys across continents, romance and betrayal, magic, and the rise and fall (and rise) of the comic book phenomenon. By the time the reader finishes the last word, the book has come to evince an immense complexity of life and change, a story ongoing but leaving a note of closure. Also, the book is lengthy, and the tone verbose, which only contributes to an epic feeling.

The story brings us to Sam Klayman and Joe Kavalier when they are still boys, young men just out of their youth, pushed together by tragedy. Joe had to flee his home of Prague as the Nazis increased their encroachment on Jewish territory. With horrible rumors of atrocities in other countries circling their ears, the Kavaliers used all their money and influence to send Joe to America, hoping he would be able to arrange transportation for them, in return. His departure became hopelessly more complicated than they had planned, but Joe does finally make good his escape to the new world, penniless and weary, and then treks across the country to join his aunt and her son in New York City. Sammy is nonplussed, at first, but they bond over a smoke. When he sees Joe's artistic abilities, Sammy looks at his cousin with new interest.

Sam wants to make money. He knows if he can just find the right scheme, he can pull himself and his family out of their subsistence lifestyle and join the ranks of the privileged. After attempting several get-rich-quick plans that inevitably failed, Same had set his sights on comics. He has the vision to see potential in this new media, and with Joe's artistic power, Sammy finally has his golden ticket. They convince his boss, Anapol, a business man who got rich off cheap novelty sales, to take a chance on the new craze, and he gives them a trial run. Together, Sammy and Joe dream up the Escapist, a superhero who can escape from any trap, and works to free the people of the world from the chains of tyranny and oppression.

Sam's visionary foresight proves accurate, and the Escapist is a rousing success. While Anapol and his brother-in-law rake in the profits with sole rights to the idea, Sam and Joe still make a very nice living working in their offices. Joe saves every penny, besides what he needs for the essentials of living, because he still has not forgotten his mission to save his family. Despite the increasingly futile attempts, Joe keeps trying. He even feels guilty when he begins seeing Rosa; he thinks that the euphoric feelings she inspires in him are a betrayal of his family, who are suffering under Hitler's hand. His relationship with Rosa deepens, and Sammy finds his own love in Tracy Bacon, the gorgeous actor his company hires to portray the Escapist on the radio. Despite the horrific background of ongoing war in Europe, and mounting pressure for the United States to join the conflict, the central men of this novel are happy during this, their golden period. Unsurprisingly, everything comes crashing around their heads under calamitous circumstances, and Joe and Sammy have to rebuild their lives with the pieces put together in entirely different ways than they had anticipated.

When I began reading the novel, I loved the concept, and the characters, and felt that the world was immense and vividly constructed. I was put off, however, by the writing style. Chabon uses long and elaborate sentences, with a plethora of unusual words. I admire the intelligence embedded in his syntax, and I am impressed when I have to look up so many new words (I have a decent vocabulary myself), but it was too much. His imagery is original, but convoluted. Sometimes, simple is better. Yet, as I read, this irritation wore off. Much as one adjusts to Shakespearean language, I became acquainted with his style, and so engaged in the plot and characters that I ceased to notice the intense wordiness (for the most part).

While I found the style initially jarring, I was immediately attracted to the plot and narrative themes. Chabon involves his characters in magic and comic books, two powerful forms of escapism, and juxtaposes them with oppression and cages, both literal and figurative, that menaced everyone during World War II and the Holocaust. The whimsy of comics belies a serious purpose as it becomes a tool empowering Joe and Sam, who are faced with an enemy so much larger than them that they don't know how to fight it. I loved the way the comic book motif is employed diversely: several chapters narrate the stories that are occurring in the comics, stories that parallel key points in the main characters' lives; some of the characters view themselves as comic book incarnations, giving themselves secret identities and imagining the world around them as a fictional setting; and Joe artistically frames his world as if it were a comic he were drawing, envisioning how the action and scenery around him would suit a nine-paneled page. Magic, too, has a prominent place in the story that runs deeper than mere special effects. Magic escapes and the necessity of real escapes are linked from the very beginning of the novel, and Joe's role as an escape artist surfaces throughout, especially at critical moments in the plot. With great thematic usage, strong characters, a fully realized historical background, and a unique plot, I understand why this book won the Pulitzer. If the size or style of the book is daunting, know that the finished novel is well worth the investment of valuable reading time. ( )

I FINALLY finished this book. I was expecting something better due to it winning the Pulitzer, but was disappointed. Written about the writers of comic books and spans the 50 year period between 1900 and 1950s. Touches on WWII. Main characters are Jews. The issues revolving homosexuality. I didn't really follow or like Chabons writing style. ( )