The Amazing Adventures Of Kavalier & Clay – Michael Chabon

The Pulitzer Prize winning novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay tells the tale of two Jewish cousins, Czech artist Joe Kavalier and Brooklyn-born writer Sammy Clay, who break into comic books in the 1930s and try to change the world.  Along the way, they go from battling the Nazis on the pages of their book, The Escapist, to, in the case of European-born Kavalier, joining the army and fighting them for real following the attack on Pearl Harbor.  Following the war, as the comic book industry moved away from super heroes, they both find themselves questioning their choices and place in the world.

This one has been sitting in my to-read drawer for an awfully long time.  Obviously the subject matter is appealing, given my previous interest in comics, and I’ve read one of author Michael Chabon’s previous works, but there was something about this that put me off for the longest time.  Even when I started it, late last year, I had a hard time getting through big chunks of it in one sitting.  Not because it was bad, but because it was so dense.  This was certainly not a light read.

I still have another Chabon work, Wonder Boys, sitting in the drawer waiting to be read.  My guess is it’s going to be waiting for a while.