Book # 3 THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF KAVALIER AND CLAY By: Michael Chabon

Michael Chabon published his first novel, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, in 1988 to much acclaim and success. Twelve years later, in 2000, Chabon received the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay.

The story begins in 1939 when Josef Kavalier escapes the Nazis in Prague and flees to New York City to live with his 17 year-old cousin Sam Clay in Brooklyn. The two find a common interest in drawing and together begin to create comic books. The partnership is catapoulted into success with the advent of The Escapist, a super hero who frees the world of tyranny and facism one act of heroism at a time. With the rise of comic book popularity, they piss off many people by openly making Hitler and Nazi Germany the villain in their comics. With his success, Joe Kavalier works tirelessly to bring his little brother over from Prague before more harm can befall him.

This is the ultimate epic novel, spanning decades and continents. I've never seen a novel tackle so many events and hot button topics while still managing to fully entertain the reader. The novel gracefully takes on the subjects of the Holocaust, America's entry into WWII, religious discrimination and homophobia in America, and so many others- all the while creating colorful comic book stories (rich with symbolism) that lift the spirits when the characters and countries are in their darkest moments.

Upon finishing this book, it effortlessly shot up to the top of my favorites. Michael Chabon totally deserved his Pulitzer and I cannot wait to read his work again.

Grade: A+

*Pulitzer Prize for Fiction 2001

*The Strand 80

*Entertainment Weekly's: The New Classics
*Paste Magazine, Best Books of the Decade
*Boston.com Best Books of the Decade
*Salon.com Best Books of the Decade
*AV Club, Best Books of the 00s
*BuzzFeed 65 Books You Need To Read In Your 20s