A review by missyjohnson
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon

4.0

My rating is 4.5 stars. Started reading a hard copy of this book that had been on my TBR shelf for quite a few years. Accidentally left the book in the travel trailer and had to get a kindle edition to finish. Glad for the kindle edition because there were so many words that I had to look up the definition for. I love books that challenge me to learn new words and at the same time tells a good story. This book was a good one to end the year with. The story begins in the 1930’s. Sammy Klayman lives with his mother and grandmother in NYC. Josef Kavalier lives in Prague with his parents, younger brother and grandfather. Hitler has begun his takeover in Czech. and the moving of Jews to specific neighborhoods. Josef is able to make his way to NY to live with the Klaymans with the help of his old teacher of magic tricks. Sammy and Joe hit it off with each other immediately and together offer up the idea of a new comic book hero “the Escapist” to Sammy’s employers. Joe draws beautifully and Sammy has the imagination to write the stories for the subsequent comic books. Joe tries to get his family out of the danger of Hitler but keeps hitting hurdles. Joe meets Rosa. Sammy knows that he is attracted to men but cannot let anyone know due to negative reactions and consequences. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, and Joe discovering that a German u-boat sunk the ship that was carrying his brother Thomas to safety, he joins the Canadian Navy. He is stationed in Antartica, there is a tragedy with a gas stove, he abandons all communication with anyone and ignores letters from Rosa. Rosa gives birth to Joe’s son and names him Thomas. She marries Sammy because that helps her to not be discriminated against for being an unwed mother and helps Sammy because he cannot come out of the closet.
Sammy and Joe’s stories are funny, sad, heartbreaking and frustrating.