Synopses & Reviews
Michael Chabon's sparkling first book of nonfiction is a love song in 16 parts — a series of linked essays in praise of reading and writing, with subjects running from ghost stories to comic books, Sherlock Holmes to Cormac McCarthy.
Throughout, Chabon energetically argues for a return to the thrilling, chilling origins of storytelling, rejecting the false walls around "serious" literature in favor of a wide-ranging affection. His own fiction, meanwhile, is explored from the perspective of personal history: post-collegiate desperation sparks his debut, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh; procrastination and doubt reveal the way toward Wonder Boys; a love of comics and a basement golem combine to create the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay; and an enigmatic Yiddish phrasebook unfurls into The Yiddish Policeman's Union.
Review
"A writer of prodigious literary gifts, Chabon brings the velocity, verve, and emotional richness intrinsic to the best of short stories to his exceptionally canny and stirring essays....[A] truly entertaining collection." Booklist
Review
"Chabon's 16 essays...argue the merits of reading, writing, and storytelling, breaking down the barriers between so-called genre writing and 'serious' literature. Affectionate and funny; a welcome and necessary addition to all collections." Library Journal
Review
"Michael Chabon's first collection of nonfiction, makes an inviting case for bridging the gap between popular and literary writing....Vital energy and a boundless appetite for risk give these essays their electric charge." O, The Oprah Magazine
Review
"[A] fascinating volume....Maps and Legends aptly demonstrates that Chabon is a gifted and thoughtful writer, who two decades after his extraordinary debut has not lost his ability to delight and provoke." San Francisco Chronicle
About the Author
Michael Chabon is the bestselling author of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, which won the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for fiction. He lives in Berkeley, California, with his wife, the novelist Ayelet Waldman, and their children.