Every August, my family heads out to Bethany Beach, DE for some serious rest and relaxation; I usually attempt to tackle two novels during our week of vacation. This summer, that plan worked beautiful - I rediscovered an old favorite, and finally found time to read a book that had been sitting on my shelf for a very long time. I'm sharing these novels (both published nearly a decade ago) because they are two of the most stunning novels I've discovered in a very long time, devoid of marring movie adaptations or lackluster sequels. The literary power of both Michael Chabon and Ann Patchett is truly remarkable.
Michael Chabon won his Pulitzer Prize with the sprawling American novel
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, published in 2000. When Josef Kavalier arrives in New York City in 1939, Sammy Klayman's entire life is turned upside down; the two Jewish cousins bond over their interests in drawing and the masterful escape art of Houdini. Kavalier had just made his own escape from Prague, WWII closing in, leaving behind his family to find success in America. Klayman, renaming himself Clay, assembles a band of teenagers to put together a new comic book series, centered around masked hero The Escapist; comic books were just beginning to boom, found in the recent creation of Superman. However, things don't come easily for the cousins, as the world begins to slowly fall apart around them. Chabon wrote an epic piece of literature, mixing elements of American history, Jewish mythology, comic book dazzle, and the powerful grip of family. Chabon has a gift at developing characters, using meandering subplots to flesh out the semi-fictitious world he has created. The reason
Kavalier & Clay succeeds is because Chabon slowly transforms his novel from a witty, whip-smart adventure tale to a moving meditation on self-discover and everlasting relationships.
Ann Patchett's
Bel Canto is loosely based on real events - The Lima Crisis from 1996. Set in an unnamed country in South American, the novel begins at the birthday party for Katsumi Hosokawa, a Japanese chairman from a giant electronics company; this South American government hopes Hosokawa will open a plant in their country. Hosokawa was lured to this strange celebration by the promised performance Roxane Cross, the world's most famous opera singer. However, the party goes horribly awry when terrorists invade the vice president's elaborate home, taking the entire party hostage. As the hostage situation stretches on, odd relationships form, and love is found in the most interesting places. Patchett writes in beautiful prose; the novel is filled with endless arresting quotes, and Patchett unfolds the novel's events at a pitch-perfect pace.
Bel Canto shines because it is a beautiful testament to the prevailing power of love, and music. It is rare to find a literary plot so inseparable from an understanding of music, as the novel is rife with references to many famous operas. The novel truly dazzles in its finale, which is all at once heartbreaking, startling, gorgeous, and truly operatic.
Michael Chabon won his Pulitzer Prize with the sprawling American novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, published in 2000. When Josef Kavalier arrives in New York City in 1939, Sammy Klayman's entire life is turned upside down; the two Jewish cousins bond over their interests in drawing and the masterful escape art of Houdini. Kavalier had just made his own escape from Prague, WWII closing in, leaving behind his family to find success in America. Klayman, renaming himself Clay, assembles a band of teenagers to put together a new comic book series, centered around masked hero The Escapist; comic books were just beginning to boom, found in the recent creation of Superman. However, things don't come easily for the cousins, as the world begins to slowly fall apart around them. Chabon wrote an epic piece of literature, mixing elements of American history, Jewish mythology, comic book dazzle, and the powerful grip of family. Chabon has a gift at developing characters, using meandering subplots to flesh out the semi-fictitious world he has created. The reason Kavalier & Clay succeeds is because Chabon slowly transforms his novel from a witty, whip-smart adventure tale to a moving meditation on self-discover and everlasting relationships.
Ann Patchett's Bel Canto is loosely based on real events - The Lima Crisis from 1996. Set in an unnamed country in South American, the novel begins at the birthday party for Katsumi Hosokawa, a Japanese chairman from a giant electronics company; this South American government hopes Hosokawa will open a plant in their country. Hosokawa was lured to this strange celebration by the promised performance Roxane Cross, the world's most famous opera singer. However, the party goes horribly awry when terrorists invade the vice president's elaborate home, taking the entire party hostage. As the hostage situation stretches on, odd relationships form, and love is found in the most interesting places. Patchett writes in beautiful prose; the novel is filled with endless arresting quotes, and Patchett unfolds the novel's events at a pitch-perfect pace. Bel Canto shines because it is a beautiful testament to the prevailing power of love, and music. It is rare to find a literary plot so inseparable from an understanding of music, as the novel is rife with references to many famous operas. The novel truly dazzles in its finale, which is all at once heartbreaking, startling, gorgeous, and truly operatic.
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