The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay in The Slash Pile

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Nov 01, 2015 Tex Reader rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: glbtq, aa-not-own, hf-n-recent-past

3.0 of 5 stars – Interesting But Heavy, Un-Amazing Read.

This was an interesting story capturing a few different themes: the graphic novel industry, the Jewish culture, two boys/men (cousins), one gay, as they grow up and age. So I saw potential in this and wanted to like it more, especially since this was recommended to me by a close friend who ranks it as one of his favorites. Alas, it was not to be for me.

This had a lot of potential for me, partly because I like historicals and graphic novels, 3.0 of 5 stars – Interesting But Heavy, Un-Amazing Read.

This was an interesting story capturing a few different themes: the graphic novel industry, the Jewish culture, two boys/men (cousins), one gay, as they grow up and age. So I saw potential in this and wanted to like it more, especially since this was recommended to me by a close friend who ranks it as one of his favorites. Alas, it was not to be for me.

This had a lot of potential for me, partly because I like historicals and graphic novels, so I got into that part of the storyline. I also like stories that include a gay MC, and like this one it doesn’t have to be just or the main focus. But in this one I thought the gay part was superficial, the struggles of the MC not fully, emotionally understood and depicted, told from, if you will, how a straight person might see it (although I have to say from my reading experience that has not limited other such authors). And while I was sympathetic and found it initially interesting, I just could not identify with the Jewish culture; so that part was not as meaningful to me as it might be to others, and thus the long story lost some of its luster as I read on.

I can see why it won the Pulitzer – which is not necessarily a compliment. It is, if you like what I call “high lit”. Michael Chabon’s style and language was prosaic, but sometimes it didn’t seem to fit (maybe trying too hard?). It was not an easy, but a heavy, read – laden with intelligent yet complex language, methodical pace, much detail even minutia, to the point where I could only take it in small chunks at a time. I got the symbolisms and themes (ok, maybe not all), and that did sustain my interest to some extent. And I liked how the characterization changed with the characters, such as capturing the suave sophisticated banter of Hollywood types as well as the dialogue and lives of the working class.

I thought the first half was much better, because of the depiction of the Jewish struggle during WWII and of the early, golden years of comic books (both the business side and how they creatively evolved at the time). There were specific scenes I found engaging, such as the creation of the Escapist, the depiction of the young men’s passion for comic books, and later, even the scene out on Fire Island. But when it started to focus on just the aging of two Jewish cousins, I lost some of my interest. That along with all the extra details and heaviness started bogging it down for me, making it just an okay read with some interesting parts. ...more

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