Staff Pick
Although a master of the quintessential American novel, Michael Chabon's Wonder Boys is perhaps one of his lesser-known works. Professor Grady Tripp and student-writer James Leer are tied together after a series of bizarre circumstances, including sexually promiscuous affairs, a dead dog, and a Marilyn Monroe artifact. Wonder Boys is a humorous tale that should appeal to those familiar with the process of writing, and anyone who has experienced the insular world of academia. Recommended By Alex Y., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
A modern classic, now in a welcome new edition,
Wonder Boys firmly established Michael Chabon as a force to be reckoned with in American fiction. At once a deft parody of the American fame factory and a piercing portrait of young and old desire, this novel introduces two unforgettable characters: Grady Tripp, a former publishing prodigy now lost in a fog of pot and passion and stalled in the midst of his endless second book, and Gradys student, James Leer, a budding writer obsessed with Hollywood self-destruction and struggling with his own searching heart. All those who love Michael Chabons
The Yiddish Policemens Union and his Pulitzer Prize-winning
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay will find the same elegant imagination, bold humor, and undeniable warmth at work in
Wonder Boys.
“[A] wise, wildly funny story . . . Chabon is a flat-out wonderful writer- evocative and inventive, pointed and poignant.”
-Chicago Tribune
“Whether making us laugh or making us feel the breathtaking impermanence of things, Michael Chabon keeps us wide awake and reading.”
-All Things Considered
“Beguiling and wickedly smart . . . There is first-rate satirical farce in Chabons novel but essentially it is something rarer: satirical comedy.”
-Los Angeles Times Book Review
Synopsis
Grady Tripp Is A Pot-smoking Middle Aged Novelist who has stalled on a 2,611 page opus titled Wonder Boys. His student James Leer is a troubled young writer obsessed by Hollywood suicides and at work on this own first novel. Grady's bizarre editor Terry Crabtree and another student, Hannah Green, come together in his wildly comic, moving, and finally profound search for an ending to his book and a purpose to his life.