Conversations with Michael Chabon

Brief Description: "Since the publication of his first novel, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, launched him to fame, Michael Chabon has become one of contemporary literature's most acclaimed novelists by pursuing his singular vision across all boundaries of genre and medium. A firm believer that reading even the most challenging literature should be a fundamentally pleasurable experience, Chabon has produced an astonishingly diverse body of work that includes detective novels, weird tales of horror, alternative history science fiction, and rollicking chronichles of swashbuckling adventure alongside tender coming-of-age stories, sprawling social novels, and narratives of intense introspection. Uniting them all is Chabon's utterly distinct prose style--exuberant and graceful, sometimes ironic but never cynical. His work has earned accolades ranging from the Pulitzer Prize to Hugo and Nebula Awards. Conversations with Michael Chabon collects eighteen revealing interviews with the renowned author of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, The Yiddish Policeman's Union, and other much-admired works. Spanning nearly twenty years and drawn from science fiction fan magazines and literary journals alike, these interviews shed new light on the central concerns of Chabon's fiction. These interviews are essential reading for anyone seeking a better understanding of the life and work of an author who has been instrumental in defining the landscape of contemporary American fiction"--Marc Notes: Includes index.; Since the publication of his first novel, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, launched him to fame, Michael Chabon has become one of contemporary literature's most acclaimed novelists by pursuing his singular vision across all boundaries of genre and medium. A firm believer that reading even the most challenging literature should be a fundamentally pleasurable experience, Chabon has produced an astonishingly diverse body of work that includes detective novels, weird tales of horror, alternative history science fiction, and rollicking chronichles of swashbuckling adventure alongside tender coming-of-age stories, sprawling social novels, and narratives of intense introspection. Uniting them all is Chabon's utterly distinct prose style--exuberant and graceful, sometimes ironic but never cynical. His work has earned accolades ranging from the Pulitzer Prize to Hugo and Nebula Awards. Conversations with Michael Chabon collects eighteen revealing interviews with the renowned author of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, The Yiddish Policeman's Union, and other much-admired works. Spanning nearly twenty years and drawn from science fiction fan magazines and literary journals alike, these interviews shed new light on the central concerns of Chabon's fiction. These interviews are essential reading for anyone seeking a better understanding of the life and work of an author who has been instrumental in defining the landscape of contemporary American fiction--; Provided by publisher. Publisher Marketing: Since the publication of his first novel, "The Mysteries of Pittsburgh," launched him to fame, Michael Chabon (b. 1963) has become one of contemporary literature's most acclaimed novelists by pursuing his singular vision across all boundaries of genre and medium. A firm believer that reading even the most challenging literature should be a fundamentally pleasurable experience, Chabon has produced an astonishingly diverse body of work that includes detective novels, weird tales of horror, alternate history science fiction, and rollicking chronicles of swashbuckling adventure alongside tender coming-of-age stories, sprawling social novels, and narratives of intense introspection. Uniting them all is Chabon's utterly distinct prose style--exuberant and graceful, sometimes ironic but never cynical. His work has earned accolades ranging from the Pulitzer Prize to science fiction's Hugo and Nebula Awards. "Conversations with Michael Chabon" collects eighteen revealing interviews with the renowned author of "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, The Yiddish Policemen's Union," and other much-admired works. Spanning nearly twenty years and drawn from science fiction fan magazines and literary journals alike, these interviews shed new light on the central concerns of Chabon's fiction, including the importance of dismantling the false divide between literary and lowbrow, his evolving relationship to Jewish culture and literature, the unique properties of male friendship, and the complexities of race in contemporary America. These interviews are essential reading for anyone seeking a better understanding of the life and work of an author who has been instrumental in defining the landscape of contemporary American fiction.

Contributor Bio:  Chabon, Michael Michael Chabon (b. 1963) is an acclaimed and bestselling author whose works include the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay" (2000). Chabon achieved literary fame at age twenty-four with his first novel, "The Mysteries of Pittsburgh "(1988), which was a major critical and commercial success. He then published "Wonder Boys" (1995), another bestseller, which was made into a film starring Michael Douglas. One of America's most distinctive voices, Chabon has been called "a magical prose stylist" by "New York Times Book Review", and is known for his lively writing, nostalgia for bygone modes of storytelling, and deep empathy for the human predicament. Contributor Bio:  Costello, Brannon Brannon Costello, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is associate professor of English and director of the Master of Arts in Liberal Arts program at Louisiana State University. He is the editor of "Howard Chaykin: Conversations" and coeditor of "Comics and the U. S. South", both published by University Press of Mississippi.