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)

I keed, I keed! It's a brilliant novel.

Kavalier & Clay is possibly the best modern Bildungsroman I've ever encountered. The story and character development are gloriously nuanced, taking the two main characters from Prague to Brooklyn and then from Manhattan to Antarctica and back again, all the while describing personal evolutions that are neither neat nor linear. It is the sort of book that I plan to re-visit.

When I do, I'll probably buy the print version. This has everything to do with David Colacci's reading. While he is great at pacing and expression, his voice for Joe Kavalier makes him sound exactly like Triumph, The Insult Comic Dog.

It's an image I couldn't get out of my head while listening: All I could imagine is Joe as a rubber hand puppet. And frankly, that kind of distraction does a terrible disservice to Chabon's text.

Very weak story

I was very disappointed in this book. It received such rave reviews. It started out very strongly with the first 1/4 but then it fizzled. The book should have been a novella. The beginnings of the comic book industry and how comic book stories are conceived was really interesting and exciting. But then the story began to sway from sub story to sub story with no apparent reason. Why was it important to spend so much time on Joe's time in Antarctica and why was there such an emphasis on the dog relationship. It seemed to me that Chabon had made up a story board like they do in comic books and tried to fit them all in to the book. Some parts of the book seemed like it was trying to be a True Romance comic. My overall feeling is that the author was trying to hard to write a really powerful book but just didn't have the story upon which to hang it. I couldn't wait for it to be over.

Favorite Novel Now A Favorite Audiobook

I'll be honest upfront: I'm biased. I first read Kavalier & Clay while studying abroad in Spain--many evenings were spent turning the pages of Chabon's masterful prose in a little apartment over a cobblestone street in Sevilla (no joke). This novel changed my life and influenced me to pursue my passion for writing. It spoke to me in profound ways. It prompted me to first embrace (at that point in time) my sexuality and my identity. It is still, to this day, my favorite novel.

All that being said (quite unnecessarily, as I'm sure you'd agree), I had high expectations for this audiobook, and I'm so happy to say that it did not disappoint. Of course, it helps that Chabon's writing is already very cinematic, but Colacci does a wonderful job of breathing life into Kavalier and Clay's colorful cast of characters. His voice does require an adjustment period--it's a bit monotone at first--but he surprises you with his passionate intonation, his ability to diversify and distinguish between individuals. Despite this audiobook's length and rich, multilayered content (Chabon's narrative spans a coming-of-age story, a coming-out story, the history of comic books and an exploration thereof, romance, adventure, and family...the list goes on), it never FEELS tedious or uninteresting. If you've never experienced the treasure that is Kavalier and Clay, I urge you to do so--I'm so thankful that I gave this a listen, and I most certainly will again in the future.

Touching story and educational historical fiction about the US thru wwii

The story of the two boys, Sammy Clay and Joe Kavalier, as they grow up together, forming a creative duo of comic writers and taking on the entertainment industry against the backdrop of WWII America, is an inspiring one that will make you want to dust off any old creative projects of your own and reach out to friends for bouncing ideas off of. It evokes that creative energy, makes it come to life. And shows, with such detail and realism and historical authenticity, the bohemian lifestyle of its characters. Their motivations and interior emotional lives feel so grounded, even when they are cold and cruel. I’ve always been interested in comics and this builds upon that and adds kindling to it and sets it ablaze. The amount of knowledge woven seamlessly into this narrative makes you come away more knowledgeable about the era, the movements from one style of expression to the next, without feeling like you were dumped with exposition, because the characters live through it and are reflected upon it and influence it in return. You feel like you are participating in the history as it is happening all around you.

Too long

Would be better as 2-3 books. Tedious when 1 continuous read. I finally elected to stop reading when the thought of more became too much. Rating would have been higher if the book had ended at one of many natural endings earlier. Became too repetitive as one long story.

A Magical Book

A magical book. Beautifully written and crafted, carefully weaving together history, magic, family, and tragedy.

Terrific

This is one of the best books I have had the pleasure to listen to. Everything about this book is fantastic.

Remarkable novel, perfectly performed

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Klay is a joyful, witty tour de force on the page, and this narrator brings it to life with a pitch-perfect interpretation of the characters and story. Bravo!

Absolutely Stunning

Couldn't stop listening to this beautiful, compelling book. Immediately became one of my all-time favorites.

Wasn't hooked at first

This one did not catch me at the beginning. It took a bit longer to get me interested but I'm glad I gave it that chance. By a third the way through I was enjoying the story more than I realized. I am glad I finished the listen.