The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay

By: Michael Chabon

Narrated by: David Colacci

Length: 26 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

Pulitzer Prize, Fiction, 2001

It's 1939, in New York City. Joe Kavalier, a young artist who has also been trained in the art of Houdiniesque escape, has just pulled off his greatest feat: smuggling himself out of Hitler's Prague. He's looking to make big money, fast, so that he can bring his family to freedom. His cousin, Brooklyn's own Sammy Clay, is looking for a partner in creating the heroes, stories, and art for the latest novelty to hit the American dreamscape: the comic book.

Inspired by their own fantasies, fears, and dreams, Kavalier and Clay create the Escapist, the Monitor, and the otherworldly Mistress of the Night, Luna Moth, inspired by the beautiful Rosa Saks, who will become linked by powerful ties to both men. The golden age of comic books has begun, even as the shadow of Hitler falls across Europe.

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay is a stunning novel of endless comic invention and unforgettable characters, written in the exhilarating prose that has led critics to compare Michael Chabon to Cheever and Nabokov. In Joe Kavalier, Chabon has created a hero for the century.

©2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc. (P)2000 Michael Chabon

Critic reviews

"Michael Chabon can write like a magical spider, effortlessly spinning out elaborate webs of words that ensnare the reader with their beauty and their style." (Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times)

Astounding and real!

Amazing book. Story was engrossing. Performance was perfection. Feel like I know this family and the slice of the lives they led.

Excellent ... but there's just one thing.

Chabon creates a story and characters that are so real and so richly fleshed out that you are drawn into their lives and left hanging on his every word. Against an existential backdrop that would be more appropriate to a Gothic novel if it weren't true, his characters are almost Zelig-like in their interaction with historical events.

Many of my friends who read the book had a difficult time dealing with the sentences that seem to go on as long as the trials and tribulations of the characters. But the audio version makes it not only an easy, but an emotionally compelling, way to spend 26 hours and 20 minutes of your life.

I couldn't decide whether the narrator was terrific or terrible; and decided that he was a bit of both. On the one hand, it is generally quite enjoyable listening to him and he easily handles the frequently-convoluted prose in a way that mades it simple to follow the story. However, his accents are too often cringe-worthy. Joe Kavalier's Czechoslovakian accent, sounding more like a bad caricature of a Russian cab driver, almost ruined this richly drawn, romantic, character for me. Even worse, what the narrator did to Yiddish is what Hitler did to the Jews of Czechoslovakia. Chutzpah (which I am sure the narrator would have pronounced "joots-puh") can be a good thing, but trying to bluff/wing his way through "bubeleh", "kenehora", et al? Not so good.

Memo to Audible - your narrators don't have to be fluent in all the languages appearing in a book, but they do have to have the common sense to ask for help when they encounter unfamiliar words.

Outstanding Book!! But not for me.

This book about two men who create a well read comic book hero is really about too men who go through unusual and challenging lives. For example, Joe is trained as an escape artist and is able to escape from the persecution of the Jews in a casket holding a statue disguised as a person. These childhood events shape the rest of these men's lives.

While this book is engaging and actually quite moving, it was too heavy for me. This was not the kind of escapism for me as it has too much pain and not enough fun or mystery. Not that this book was full of sorrow, there were some fun moments, like the excitement in creating their first comic book.

I am better off sticking with mystery, thrillers, sci-fi and fantasy. But I recommend this to anyone who likes books that build fascinating if slightly tortured characters. Too much like real life for me.

Incredible performance of an amazing story

What made the experience of listening to The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay the most enjoyable?

The voice actor doing this book is phenomenal, especially his Brooklyn-Jewish accent. Very authentic and conversational, and reads at the perfect pace: fast enough to hold your attention, but slow enough that you can listen to it during a commute and not be thrown off.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Sammy Clay: good guy, can't say much more without giving stuff away.

What does David Colacci bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He is phenomenal. Great performance of 1940s Jewish New York accents, and lively well-paced narration. One of the best readers out there.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

This is probably the most enjoyable book I've ever listened to, and I've listened to quite a few.

Any additional comments?

Highly recommend.

It punched me right in the nerd - heart!

I really loved this story. While it was fictional it revolved around a subject that I have dearly loved: comic books. I know about the history of comics and have studied art and recognize some of the names so the story had meaning for me that someone who may not have as deep a devotion would have. Listening to it I can literally feel the rush of finding my older sisters box of comics in the garage, stored away like a secret treasure trove. The smell of a comic, in your hand, the mix of newsprint and ink and best of all the familiarity of the titles so when you were sent to visit a relative you could always find a bit of home to hold on to and take you to your special place. This story evoked all these feelings for me. I really liked the part where Sammy took the time to notice Joe's work. How with the absence of ink "he used different weight leads to convey depth" or when Joe is looking at Rosa's dream diary. The description is simply magnificent and inspiring. I loved this story because it spoke to me, it punched me right in the nerd - heart!

brilliant

sorry to have heard it end. Well written and well performed. Will be listening to this one again.

No wonder this was Michael Chabon’s Breakthrough book

The characters are likable and rounded. The adventures are amazing indeed but mixed in with regular life of the last of the depression and the beginnings of WWII. One sees from the less-common vantage point of Jews in New York City who knew more of the seriousness sooner than those who wanted to ignore the threats. And he makes a heck of a case for comic books!

Good until it wasn’t

I liked this until I started to hate one of the characters towards the end. I felt the other characters reactions to the situation in question were unrealistic and quite infuriating. It sort of ruined the book for me. Other than that the rest of the book was good.

super great

it said I wouldn't have to write anything but it's making me. I liked the book.

AMAZING

loved this novel. lovable characters, fun and captivating plot, outstanding style.
and the performer of this audio version has got real talent. LOVE