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Check for Availabilityout of stock. Click on the button below to search for this title in other formats.  More copies of this ISBN:This title in other formats:Other titles in the Bestselling Backlist series:The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clayby Michael Chabon
AwardsStaff Pick
The story of two young comic book artists in 1940s New York City, Jewish boys, one of whom fled the German steamroller heading toward his home in Czechoslovakia in a coffin, Chabon's third and best novel is utterly original, a generous fictional addition to the literature of twentieth century New York. Chabon's agile prose guides readers through the ins and outs of comic book history; his language delights in retelling of original comic book stories about The Escapist and Luna Moth. From Prague to Levittown to Antarctica, the story spills from page to page with unbridled momentum, a war story, a romance, a fictional biography, a historical record of the comic book industry, all at the same time. Synopses & ReviewsFrom Powells.com:In 1988 Michael
Chabon published the novel he had written for his master's thesis. The
Mysteries of Pittsburgh was a critical sensation and the most talked about
novel of the year — not bad for a twenty-something grad student. After a
successful collection of stories, the "young star of American letters"
set to work on an ambitious second novel called Fountain City. A bit too
ambitious. Chabon could never quite pull the story together and eventually abandoned
the project in favor of a story about a failed academic having problems finding
the ending for a too-ambitious second novel. Wonder
Boys had all the virtues of his first novel — charming characters, flawless
prose, playful wit — with an additional dose of world-weary adult cynicism.
Still, though an excellent effort by any standard, Wonder Boys didn't quite
meet the expectations of Chabon's greatest admirers. His third novel far exceeded
them.
At the heart of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay are Sammy Clay and Joe Kavalier, two cousins who forge a comic book empire in forties New York. What's so extraordinary about Chabon's novel is how much ground he is able to cover. Sprawling across several decades and a handful of continents — from war-torn Prague to New York City, California, and even Antarctica — Chabon's remarkable characters provide a virtual tour through the classic themes of the human experience: good, evil, romance, friendship, longing, despair — the whole package. Like all artists, Chabon accesses the power of the universal through the idiosyncrasies of the particular. And it's fun, to boot. Kavalier and Clay was both a critical success, receiving the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and an international bestseller, and is widely regarded as one of the best novels published in the past ten years. Farley, Powells.com Publisher Comments:With this brilliant novel, the bestselling author of The Mysteries of Pittsburgh and Wonder Boys gives us an exhilarating triumph of language and invention, a stunning novel in which the tragicomic adventures of a couple of boy geniuses reveal much about what happened to America in the middle of the twentieth century. Like Phillip Roth's American Pastoral or Don DeLillo's Underworld, Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay is a superb novel with epic sweep, spanning continents and eras, a masterwork by one of America's finest writers.
It is New York City in 1939. Joe Kavalier, a young artist who has also been trained in the art of Houdini-esque escape, has just pulled off his greatest feat to date: smuggling himself out of Nazi-occupied Prague. He is looking to make big money, fast, so that he can bring his family to freedom. His cousin, Brooklyn's own Sammy Clay, is looking for a collaborator to create the heroes, stories, and art for the latest novelty to hit the American dreamscape: the comic book. Out of their fantasies, fears, and dreams, Joe and Sammy weave the legend of that unforgettable champion the Escapist. And inspired by the beautiful and elusive Rosa Saks, a woman who will be linked to both men by powerful ties of desire, love, and shame, they create the otherworldly mistress of the night, Luna Moth. As the shadow of Hitler falls across Europe and the world, the Golden Age of comic books has begun. The brilliant writing that has led critics to compare Michael Chabon to John Cheever and Vladimir Nabokov is everywhere apparent in The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. Chabon writes "like a magical spider, effortlessly spinning out elaborate webs of words that ensnare the reader," wrote Michiko Kakutani of The New York Times about Wonder Boys – and here he has created, in Joe Kavalier, a hero for the century. Review:"The depth of Chabon?s thought, his sharp language, his inventiveness and his ambition make this a novel of towering achievement." Ken Kalfus, The New York Times Book Review Review:"I'm not sure what the exact definition of a 'great American novel' is, but I'm pretty sure that Michael Chabon's sprawling, idiosyncratic, and wrenching new book is one." Daniel Mendelsohn, New York Magazine Review:"...a novel of love and loss, sorrow and wonder, and the ability of art to transcend the 'harsh physics' of this world... Recommended." Library Journal Synopsis:The bestselling author of "Wonder Boys" pens a novel in which the tragicomic adventures of a couple of boy geniuses reveal much about what happened to America in the middle of the 20th century.
Synopsis:This brilliant epic novel set in New York and Prague introduces us to two misfit young men who make it big by creating comic-book superheroes. Joe Kavalier, a young artist who has also been trained in the art of Houdiniesque escape, has just smuggled himself out of Nazi-invaded Prague and landed in New York City. His Brooklyn cousin Sammy Clay is looking for a partner to create heroes, stories, and art for the latest novelty to hit America the comic book. Inspired by their own fears and dreams, Kavalier and Clay create the "Escapists, "The Monitor, and "Luna Moth, inspired by the beautiful Rosa Saks, who will become linked by powerful ties to both men. Synopsis:This brilliant epic novel set in New York and Prague introduces us to two misfit young men who make it big by creating comic-book superheroes. Joe Kavalier, a young artist who has also been trained in the art of Houdiniesque escape, has just smuggled himself out of Nazi-invaded Prague and landed in New York City. His Brooklyn cousin Sammy Clay is looking for a partner to create heroes, stories, and art for the latest novelty to hit America the comic book. Inspired by their own fears and dreams, Kavalier and Clay create the Escapists, The Monitor, and Luna Moth, inspired by the beautiful Rosa Saks, who will become linked by powerful ties to both men. About the AuthorMichael Chabon is the bestselling author of Werewolves In Their Youth, Wonder Boys, A Model World, and The Mysteries of Pittsburgh. He lives in California with his wife and children. InterviewWhat Our Readers Are SayingAdd a comment for a chance to win!
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