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192 reviews for:
Manhood for Amateurs: the Pleasures and Regrets of a Husband, Father and Son
Michael Chabon
3.69 AVERAGE
192 reviews for:
Manhood for Amateurs: the Pleasures and Regrets of a Husband, Father and Son
Michael Chabon
3.69 AVERAGE
I really like Chabon as a novelist, but this book does nothing for me. it's too simple in terms of what Chabon is setting out to do, and it comes across and lazy and on occasion, reactionary.
Dull and misguided.
Dull and misguided.
An entertaining and at times enlightening collection of essays on a broad range of topics related to gender and family roles. All of them are well-written and thoughtful. They are at their strongest when Chabon focuses on social commentary. Some of his personal anecdotes really resonated with me, but many are too particular and situated to his unique context to feel like they connect universally; and, for reasons I can't quite name, his confessional moments never felt truly vulnerable enough to me. Still, I appreciated all of them even when they didn't strike an emotional chord, and really enjoyed the ones that did.
Mostly good, and occasionally great, essays. Chabon has some worthwhile insights about modern parenting and recounts some interesting anecdotes from his childhood and young adulthood. A fast read.
This book is a mixed bag and the essays range from touching to maudlin and from sharp to fuzzy. Chabon is a terrific writer and I've enjoyed several of his novels, but he does tend toward the purplish end of the prose spectrum and I wanted to take out a red pen and mark out some adjectives.
The essays in this collection attempt to outline, in no specific order, Chabon's journey from childhood to manhood: father, husband, professional writer. I loved reading about his successful efforts to teach himself to cook as a young teen, after his parents divorced and his mom went back to work. One essay used the piles of art projects children create as a metaphor for childhood itself, and I think I am not the only parent who would read it with damp eyes. I also loved Chabon's explanation as to why mp3s of one's choice are not the same as randomly hearing your favorite songs on the radio.
Chabon also reminisces about his days as a pothead and after reading some of these essays, I wondered if he was dipping back into the weed. Some of them seem convoluted and his writing about his daughters, while clearly heartfelt, ventured a bit into trite. I think even the best writer would struggle to fill a book of essays about his or her personal reflections without getting too sentimental and in a way, it is reassuring to see that even Chabon falls down a bit on the job. Hard to know whether to recommend this book--the pieces I loved were worth reading the book to find them, but I didn't like a lot of the essays.
The essays in this collection attempt to outline, in no specific order, Chabon's journey from childhood to manhood: father, husband, professional writer. I loved reading about his successful efforts to teach himself to cook as a young teen, after his parents divorced and his mom went back to work. One essay used the piles of art projects children create as a metaphor for childhood itself, and I think I am not the only parent who would read it with damp eyes. I also loved Chabon's explanation as to why mp3s of one's choice are not the same as randomly hearing your favorite songs on the radio.
Chabon also reminisces about his days as a pothead and after reading some of these essays, I wondered if he was dipping back into the weed. Some of them seem convoluted and his writing about his daughters, while clearly heartfelt, ventured a bit into trite. I think even the best writer would struggle to fill a book of essays about his or her personal reflections without getting too sentimental and in a way, it is reassuring to see that even Chabon falls down a bit on the job. Hard to know whether to recommend this book--the pieces I loved were worth reading the book to find them, but I didn't like a lot of the essays.
Chabon dissects the good, the bad, and the ugly of being a man in modern America in this engaging collection of essays. Even when discussing less than savory, or downright uncomfortable, topics, Chabon is just so damn likable and fiercely smart.
Well worth it, for the essay on Lego architecture in Finland, and the phenomenon of the Manpurse.
I liked the diversity of essays in this book and the overarching themes were very powerful, and absolutely love Chabon's prose.
These essays aged well (minus a couple of uses of the "r" word.) Chabon is brilliant.
Nice sentences, quirky author, but the material already seems dated ten tears later. Re-read Kavalier and Clay instead.
Michael Chabon is witty and humerous in little tidbits from his life strung together to create this wonderful insight into the mind of a man. I really enjoyed his humor in this book.