Reviews

Telegraph Avenue by Michael Chabon

spikeanderson1's review against another edition

2.0

Some good writing but the plot just could not keep my interest. I won't finish this book

michaelwong's review against another edition

adventurous challenging funny sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

travint's review against another edition

Trying way too hard to be verbose. No characters caught my attention. No thread to which I could tug to firm a hole into the story. 

cassandralovesfeta's review against another edition

4.0

It took me a 100 pages to get into this novel and I'm happy I stuck with it. The descriptive writing is outstanding and the many family dynamics are interesting. Entertaining read. Warning: there is a single paragraph that covers 10 pages.

duparker's review against another edition

4.0

Chabon is a great writer, no matter the style. I always enjoy the way he is able to engage the reader and connect the time, place and culture of the surroundings the characters in habit. Chabon is a talented storyteller giving life to his characters and making them feel real, as well as reading them real.

lilly_haferkamp's review against another edition

challenging slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

alisonjfields's review against another edition

3.0

So I tend to quietly revise opinions when I revise opinions, but this book really fell apart for me upon reflection. A couple of times I've overestimated a thing on initial wave and though this is not the worst case (that would be my first impression of Jonathan Franzen's "Freedom," which I have since come to near-despise) my early feelings about "Telegraph Avenue" stood in rather stark contrast to the widely held notion that this book was a travesty of some kind. It wasn't, in my opinion. Even now I don't think it was as horrible as its reputation. Moments are rapturously written and richly imagined. There are the bones of something ambitious amid the clutter and kitsch. But great? No. not at all.

ovaltineplease's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

bsidetracked's review against another edition

This is only a review of the first 55% of the book. I'm a big Chabon fan but nothing about this book worked for me. I felt nothing for any of the characters and after a week and a half of struggling to get through one chapter I've come to the decision that I don't care at all what happens or how the book ends. Maybe at some other point in time when I don't have a huge stack of books to start and hopefully finish I'll come back to this but for now I give up.

krobart's review against another edition

3.0

See my review here:

https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2015/10/12/day-786-telegraph-avenue/