The Amazing Adventure of Kavalier and Clay

Welcome to 1939 and the city of New York!  This is the date in which today’s RA favorite book is placed, called The Amazing Adventure of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon.   This is the tale of two cousins who are brought together by the early stages of World War II.  Josef (Joe) Kavalier is a refugee who escapes from Prague to live with his cousin Sammy Clay.  Joe is able to be transported to NYC by a coffin with the help of his mentor, the magician Kornblum.  Joe knows something is not right in Prague as the Germans begin to take over more and more locations in the adjacent countries and Joe leaves his parents and his kid brother Thomas behind.  Sammy is working at Empire Novelty, a place that creates comics and other adventure characters.  When Sammy realizes his cousin is a talented artist, he gets him a position in the office.  Together the two create a character titled “The Escapist” (an anti-fascist superhero!), bringing to life Joe’s concerns with what is happening in Europe. The character is an instant success.  The remainder of the book explores issues of sexual identity (Sammy’s), the sadness associated with losing a loved one (Joe’s brother gets killed in transport trying to escape from the Nazis) and dealing with covering up a pregnancy out of wedlock (Joe’s attraction – Rosa Saks), and the guilt that is caused by feeling you caused your brother’s death (Joe’s escape to the Army).  The relationship between the two cousins is at the core of the story as is Joe’s response to the take- over of his homeland.  Sammy’s desire to cover his sexual orientation with the marriage of Rosa to raise Joe’s son further illustrates the times.  There is a number of moving parts in the book and all make for an interesting read, albeit there is way too much detail at times – the story line with Joe serving in the Army does nothing to advance the story at all… I would say this is a strong read, though I wouldn’t say there was really anything “amazing” in the adventure. It is a good solid book, but certainly the title gives the reader some idea that there is amazing adventure… which I didn’t find.  The complexity of the times are captured and I really liked the setting of the “comic book” world as a backdrop  (I was a young avid comic book reader, though less in the past two decades – reading and collecting Spiderman – which I have a rich collection of about 200 early editions of the comics).   Again, good read, but not so amazing.  Have a little extra time, as this is not a short book.