The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
rating: 5 of 5 stars
After a slow start (which was down to me rather than the book), I fell into this world of comic-book writers, New York and beyond with such fervour, I was quite deflated when I finished the book. It helps that the subject matter appeals to my recent interest in comics but this by no means is a necessity to enjoy Chabon’s truly masterful prose. His writing is evocative, clear and engaging. I absolutely adored this book.
The story starts in Prague with a young Josef Kavalier who is completely absorbed by learning escapology. He performs his greatest feat in evading the Nazi invaders and in doing so, travels to New York to meet his cousin with whom he starts a long career. Although he got to safety, he has to deal with leaving behind his family and his comic book art unsurprisingly reveals his hatred of the Nazi Germans and his desire to set free all those people around the world who are in chains.
The magic of the era and the power of their stories shine through. I will definitely want to read this book again. Here is the first line to whet your appetite:
IN LATER YEARS, holding forth to an interviewer or to an audience of aging fans at a comic book convention, Sam Clay liked to declare, apropos of his and Joe Kavalier’s greatest creation, that back when he was a boy, sealed and hog-tied inside the airtight vessel known as Brooklyn, New York, he had been haunted by dreams of Harry Houdini.
