Comments on: http://www.michaelchabon.com/

http://www.michaelchabon.com/

herc — Tue, 04 Mar 2003 23:32:14 -0800

Author Michael Chabon makes a fair amount of his work available on the web. In addition to presenting pieces originally published elsewhere, he offers up a treatment for the original X-Men movie FOX asked him to write, a couple of television projects that never made the airwaves, as well as the usual I have a website and this is what I like . Something to read since so few Metafites own televisions...

By: davidmsc

davidmsc — Wed, 05 Mar 2003 06:21:27 -0800

Would I have to have seen this movie called "X-Men" to appreciate this...? Heh. Interesting treatment of the X-Men script...

By: Shane

Shane — Wed, 05 Mar 2003 07:43:08 -0800

Chabon is a man who likes commas and a looooong sentence. I remember reading Kavalier & Clay and counting sentences of 60 words+ on almost every page. But hey, he likes comics. And the Pulitzer folks like him.

By: yerfatma

yerfatma — Wed, 05 Mar 2003 08:02:03 -0800

Is this something you'd have to be literate to enjoy? Thanks for the link: I liked K&K except it made me want to start collecting comics again. Or writing them. Would anyone be interested in a series comprised entirely of origin stories?

By: Mid

Mid — Wed, 05 Mar 2003 08:04:38 -0800

I just finished K&C last week. Fantastic -- but sort of lost steam in the last 150pgs or so. I almost wonder if the end is intentionally drawn-out and boring. Sort of like the comic book world gives way to the real world of suburbia, jobs, mortgages, etc. Some of his loooong sentences, though, are laugh-out-loud funny. Especially in the first half of the book. Anyone read his other stuff? Reccos?

By: me3dia

me3dia — Wed, 05 Mar 2003 08:23:41 -0800

Would anyone be interested in a series comprised entirely of origin stories? Actually, I think there'd be a pretty strong audience for that. Call it "In the Beginning..." or something, get a really good artist, make the stories first person on occasion, and you've got a winner.

By: Shane

Shane — Wed, 05 Mar 2003 08:33:27 -0800

M Knight Shyamalan likes comic book origin stories. Oops--I guess the link wasn't Unbreakable.

By: turaho

turaho — Wed, 05 Mar 2003 09:13:48 -0800

Mid: Definitely pick up Wonder Boys, but stay away from Mysteries of Pittsburgh (it's an earlier work, and I think Chabon was still looking for the right material to go with his distinct voice).

By: padraigin

padraigin — Wed, 05 Mar 2003 10:58:17 -0800

I tried sooooo hard to read Summerland, because it sounded like a great premise, and I'm a huge fan of children's literature. I couldn't make it past the first chapter. Bummer.

By: Shane

Shane — Wed, 05 Mar 2003 11:14:50 -0800

I couldn't make it past the first chapter. Shhh! I'm going to criticize a Pulitzer winner (again). I think Chabon's prose is often unwieldy and stilted (despite the opinions of people who think a huge sentence is impressive due to its size, complexity and large words). You don't have to look far in one of his monolithic paragraphs to find a misplaced (or at least unclear) modifier. You could remove 25% of the words in Kavalier and Clay and lose absolutely nothing but dead weight. If his prose were more accessible I think you and I might enjoy him much more. [/cocky, amateur (but honest) opinion] (heck, I never want a Pulitzer anyway...)

By: vito90

vito90 — Wed, 05 Mar 2003 19:09:03 -0800

Anyone read his other stuff? Reccos? posted by Mid An absolute second on the Wonder Boys recommendation. I also loved loved loved Kavalier and Clay, and I dig his flowery prose. Mysteries of Pittsburgh and Werewolves in their Youth were the product of a more amateur writer. Incidentally, the movie Wonder Boys does the book no justice. Chabon's one of my favorites, thanks herc!!!

By: Mid

Mid — Wed, 05 Mar 2003 19:30:31 -0800

vito -- thanks. I was thinking I was not going to read Wonder Boys because I have seen the movie already, which usually diminishes a book for me. So what's the deal with all the gay themes in Chabon's books (at least K&C and Wonder Boys)? From the back-of-the-book bio and his website, it appears that Chabon is straight. Not that a straight writer can't or shouldn't write about gay characters, but it does strike me as an odd recurring theme. I know writers write outside of their own experience all the time, but this strikes me as more than just creating a character who is a different race/gender/orientation than the writer. It's more like being a closeted gay man is a central theme of his work.

By: vito90

vito90 — Thu, 06 Mar 2003 06:40:27 -0800

Mid - no question. That is something I've wondered about, as that theme permeates every book he writes. He is married with children, but seems to have a soft spot for "the gay". Maybe it's the way his creative mind works, because the way he uses it in the stories makes for a more interesting tale (like how Sammy ends up marrying Joe's girl in K & C and Terry ends up bedding Grady's student in WB). If anybody can shed light on why Chabon does this I'd be interested.