Sent overseas by his family, Joe feels incredibly guilty that he is free while they are not, and spends every waking moment not devoted to comic books to rescuing them. Sammy and Joe, our leads, are at once cut from the same cloth and wildly different. I’m definitely seeking out more Michael Chabon in the future. Even stray supporting characters are given the sort of fleshing out I wish main characters had in shorter novels. I’ve learned more about the Golden Age of comics and the plight of soldiers in Antarctica than I ever thought I would. When I was reading The Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, that feeling came on page four. For me, there’s an almost physical sensation when you realize you are in good hands when you’re reading a novel. The Golden Age of comics, World War II, The World’s Fair, Prague, illusions, Jewish mysticism, and even the plight of gays in the repressed atmosphere of the 1930s are all covered leisurely by Michael Chabon. It covers fifteen years of busy history and three busy lives. The novel follows Clay, Kavalier, and Rosa Saks, the inspiration for Luna Moth, through the 1930s to the 1950s, when comics are accused of corrupting the innocent minds of American children. As World War II comes closer, The Escapist takes off, becoming immensely popular. They invent The Escapist, a hero inspired by Harry Houdini, and, later, Luna Moth, a fantastical female champion by night, dowdy librarian by day.

When the cousins meet in New York in the 1930s, their combined talents make Sammy’s dream come true. Sammy, a fan of comic books, dreams of making his living in that field. Joe escapes Nazi-occupied Prague with a bit of illusion inspired by Houdini. The Adventures of Kavalier & Clay is, as advertised, the lives and times of Sammy Clay and Josef Kavalier.

That’s what came to me when I picked up The Adventures of Kavalier & Clay as I volunteered at the library this past summer. I flipped through it a lot as a wee lass, and so internalized a vague, dreamy conception of the Golden Age of comics, spanning from the late 1930s to the late 1940s–young illustrators leaning over massive draft boards, their hair falling into their face. However, my brother owns a massive tome that I believe to be Marvel: The Characters and Their Universe. My diet consists of a comic book series about literature and keeping tabs on Harley Quinn. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael ChabonĪs I’ve mentioned, I’m not the greatest comic book reader.

Michael chabon the amazing adventures