Read from Monday, January 3rd to Wednesday, January 12th.
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, by Michael Chabon. This book, another from my haul from that used book store in Asheville, North Carolina, is widely considered to be Chabon's masterpiece. I had previously read Gentlemen of the Road, by Chabon, and I was not very impressed. But this epic story of two cousins, Josef Kavalier and Sammy Clay, truly lived up to the expectations. It was a very long story, but it was well written, defied standard formulations, and constantly kept surprising me.
A brief synopsis: Josef (Joe) Kavalier is a Jewish boy from Prague, growing up in the 1930's under growing German authority. He studies both art and magic, mainly how to be an escape artist, like Houdini. However, under threat of war, his parents secure passage for him to America. The Germans stop him at the border, so he hides in the coffin of the Golem of Prague, and finally escapes to New York City, where he stays with his aunt and cousin he just met, Sam Clay. In New York, he resolves to get a job to save up enough money to get all the rest of his family to America. Sammy is an aspiring graphic designer and he longs to get rich and escape his family and city. Sammy quickly discover that Joe can draw really well. At this point, Superman is starting to take off, and Sammy and Joe resolve to create their own comic book, based on their own character, the Escapist. Joe draws the comics and Sammy writes the stories. Through the help of Sammy's boss, they are able to publish their stories, and it is a big hit.
Newly rich in New York, the boys live a good life. Joe begins a relationship with Rosa, and they work on saving enough money to secure passage for Joe's brother Thomas on a ship to America. Joe takes up performing magic shows at bar mitzvahs. They create new characters and comic books, and their characters are turned into a radio show, and later a movie. However, Sammy discovers he is homosexual, and begins a covert relationship with the star of the radio show, Tracy Bacon. And Joe encounters many bureaucratic nightmares trying to get Thomas to New York. The war is growing, and Joe fights as many Germans as he can provoke. He is upset by his inability to do anything to save his family. Finally, Sammy is forced by the police to give up his relationship with Tracy, and on the same night the ship that is carrying Thomas is sunk by a German U-boat. Joe runs away and joins the navy that same night.
The next chapter is dark and surreal. Joe is stationed in Antarctica. But due to carbon monoxide poisoning, all his fellow soldiers and dogs are killed at the station, except for the pilot. They stave off cabin fever all winter, and then set off to kill a lone German scientist stationed at the other end of the continent. Joe does kill him, although he immediately regrets it. He is brought back to the States, but he remains alone. He hides from Sammy and Rosa, who meanwhile have gotten married, although it is a marriage of convenience. Rosa was pregnant when Joe ran off, although she hadn't revealed it yet. She named her boy Tommy, and Sammy felt it his duty to stay and help raise him. Finally, eleven years after Joe had run away, he reveals himself to Tommy in a comic book shop. Tommy eventually lets his secret escape, and Sammy and Rosa bring Joe back home with them. There are many awkward exchanges, and reconciling the past with Tommy. Sammy and Joe talk of grand new plans to buy a publishing house and create a whole new line of comics aimed toward adult audiences. But Sammy runs off this time, heading to California, finally accepting his sexual identity. Joe and Rosa are free to resume where they left off.
Kavalier and Clay is a grand tome that fits the character's lives snugly into the history of the country, both in the political and military history, and the cultural and comic book history of that golden age. Chabon treats the book as if it is an historical novel. He acts as a reporter and researcher, even including footnotes about certain artifacts and documents, even though they never existed. Along with the time line of actual facts, it gives the book a real authenticity. There are many interesting recurring themes and symbols. The theme of escape is ever-present. Everyone is escaping from something, whether it is Prague, New York, family, responsibilities, or death. As well there are many symbols of Jewish mythology, such as the Golem of Prague, a superhero in its own right. Comic books are given their deserved rights as a legitimate form of media and art. The superheroes represent everything that the characters, and we the readers, aspire to be. They unleash their frustrations on Hitler, they do good and they act, they are not passive observers.
The chapters on Antarctica were some of my favorites. There was a whole new tone in those chapters, and it was very surreal. It was a psychological adventure, and it reminded me of Kafka and Jorge Luis Borges. Chabon definitely experimented in this book, and it paid off. His masterful attention to detail, and his beautiful imagery worked exceptionally well in this book as well. This book exceeded my expectations. Four and a half out of five stars.
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