About the Author

Michael Chabon is the bestselling and Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, Wonder Boys, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Summerland (a novel for children), The Final Solution, The Yiddish Policemen’s Union, and Gentlemen of the Road, as well as the short story collections A Model World and Werewolves in Their Youth and the essay collections Maps and Legends and Manhood for Amateurs. He is the chairman of the board of the MacDowell Colony. He lives in Berkeley, California, with his wife, the novelist Ayelet Waldman, and their children.

Reviews

“The depth of Chabon’s thought, his sharp language, his inventiveness, and his ambition make this a novel of towering achievement.”—The New York Times Book Review
 
“I’m not sure what the exact definition of a ‘great American novel’ is, but I’m pretty sure that Michael Chabon’s sprawling, idiosyncratic, and wrenching new book is one.”—New York
 
“The themes are masterfully explored, leaving the book’s sense of humor intact and characters so tightly developed they could walk off the page.”—Newsweek
 
“A page-turner in the most expansive sense of the word: its gripping plot pushes readers forward. . . . Chabon is a reader’s writer, with sentences so cozy they’ll wrap you up and kiss you goodnight.”—Chicago Tribune

Narrator David Colacci delivers a lively and entertaining reading of Chabon's tale of loyalty, love, and comic books. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, the novel charts the lives of Sammy "Clay" Klayman and Josef Kavalier, two distant cousins brought together by the horrors of WWII. Clay is a New Yorker who has never ventured beyond the boundaries of his borough, while Kavalier is an amateur magician fleeing Nazi-occupied Prague. United by their shared passion for the burgeoning art of comic books, they create the Escapist, an action hero intended to strike back at the forces of fascism. Launching the successful franchise sends the pair on real-life adventures of their own, wherein they confront the underground Nazi movement, the complications of family and sexual identity, and hidden sides of themselves. Colacci moves fluidly between the many characters who populate Chabon's novel, creating voices that rely on everything from a host of foreign accents to the vernacular of New York in the 1940s. This audio edition is a great introduction to Kavalier and Clay and well worth a listen for those already familiar with the novel. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Our heroes are two Jewish comic book geniuses in New York City at the beginning of World War II. Apprentice magician Joseph uses unorthodox methods to escape Prague in the nick of time, while his family is not so lucky. He lands at the Brooklyn home of his aunt and thus begins his friendship and collaboration with cousin Samuel. Together, they develop the Escapist, a superhero to take on the worst villain of all: Hitler! They find great success, but Joseph can never be truly happy. While the Escapist may always win in his comic books, Joseph can't gain his family's freedom. He finds friendship, love, and wealth but is haunted by his inability to save his loved ones. Meanwhile, Sam struggles with his homosexuality in an intolerant world. VERDICT Consummate narrator David Colacci is the perfect choice for this 2001 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. He captures emigre Joseph's accent as well as the Brooklynese and effortlessly moves between them to give the listener a satisfying experience worth the time commitment. ["A novel of love and loss, sorrow, and wonder and the ability of art to transcend the 'harsh physics' of this world," read the review of the New York Times best-selling HarperCollins hc, LJ 10/15/00.-Ed.]-Judy Murray, Monroe Cty. Lib. Syst., MI (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.