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Suzanne
Rating:
Review
In spite of Michael Chabon’s good writing, and some very funny lines, Wonder Boys just didn’t appeal to me as much as I thought it would. Maybe it’s more of a guy’s book? The main character, Grady, is a middle-aged pothead professor who just can’t seem to stay faithful to his wife and who scarcely cares that his mistress is pregnant. He’s quite self-indulgent. For the life of me I don’t see why so many women in the book found him attractive. The whole book only covers about two days in his life, and boy are they long and crazy days, as he, his editor, and his talented student go off on a bender of sorts. I must admit their little adventures and fiascoes were entertaining. Grady’s life is slowly disintegrating all around him, but it doesn’t seem to bother him much, except for his inability to complete the ridiculously gigantic novel he’s been working on for seven years. This is his main preoccupation, besides getting stoned. I’d recommend Chabon’s The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay instead.
Best Line:
“Jesus, Doc", she said. "How do you manage to fuck things up so good?" (page 196)
Kim
Rating:
Review
This novel was quite the ride. The narrator is writer Grady Tripp, aging pothead, soon-to-be thrice divorced and sufferer of constant self-doubt, paranoia and serious errors in judgment. I liked him. His editor, Terry Crabtree plays a big role in this story, along with one of Grady’s students, James Leer, an aspiring writer with a fascination for Hollywood suicides. The entire story takes place on one event-filled weekend around a Pittsburg college where Grady teaches, James attends and Grady’s mistress is the Chancellor. I assumed early on that the characters in this book might be on the colorful side. They are and I liked them too. As a side note, I saw the movie version of Wonder Boys a few years ago, and liked it, though it’s vastly different from this book. I recommend both. This book is witty and entertaining, and the movie has songs by Bob Dylan.
Best Line:
“Every writer has an ideal reader, I thought, and it was just my good luck that mine wanted to sleep with me.”
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