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The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay

Michael Chabon

Discussion: Themed Reads

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Themed Reads

* List of Suggested Themes
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last updated Aug 06, 2016 06:17PM

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What Members Thought

Feb 27, 2022 Heather(Gibby) rated it really liked it

Shelves: 1001-to-read

This novel starts our really strongly and ends really well, but some of the middle stuff felt like I was caught circling a drain.
The historic references to the development of comic books is quite detailed and well laid out, and the relationships between the character is really well crafted,

Reading this though is quite the commitment --i took breaks from it and read other stuff in between.

2 likes · Like · see review

Oct 12, 2020 Lauren rated it really liked it

I can't stand superhero anything, and I don't like comic books (or even graphic novels), but I loved this book. ...more

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Dec 31, 2022 Pamela rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: boxall-1001-read, guardian-1000-read

Stunning epic novel that follows the fortunes of Jewish cousins Joe Kavalier and Sam Clay as they create a popular comic strip called The Escapist with a superhero who fights the Nazis and saves the people of Europe. Joe is desperate to gather the funds to bring his family to safety from Prague, and Sammy needs to come to terms with his own family problems and make his true path in the world.

This was a fascinating and compelling story, full of complex emotions and brilliant historical detail. ...more

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Jan 10, 2015 Irene rated it really liked it

It took nearly the entire book before I received my glimpse of clarity regarding the meaning behind this novel. On the surface, this is the story of two young Jewish men, cousins in the 1940s who have a remarkable talent for creating comic books. With careful listening and patient probing, I felt the tumblers of this story begin to fall into place as the door to a deeper meaning opened for me. This is a story about the many locks that chain people and the heroic strength, the superhuman courage ...more

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Oct 24, 2011 Alasse rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 1001-books, metafiction, comic-books

This was a pretty cool reading experience, if only because it's been the first book in a while that I've read properly, respecting the pace and the flow of the story instead of reading it all in 10-minute periods. So I'm rather happy about that.
The book itself is great too, though I liked the second half (which is less about comic books and more about the characters themselves) more than I did the first one. That's odd, because I'm a comic book fan myself; but the second half felt tighter and mo ...more

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Jan 24, 2018 Lori rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: z-reviewed, modern-history, zy-own, fiction, literature, america, historical, 20th-century, zy-calibre

More like 2 1/2 stars. It was well-written, but I had trouble picking it up again, night after night. Maybe because it was a sad story overall and I kept dreading the next bad thing that was going to happen.

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