Tuesday, April 19, 2005

2005 book 44

michael chabon's the mysteries of pittsburgh
feeling a little homesick b/c i can't get home for passover, i picked this up to read, and it didn't disappoint in that regard. i got a little thrill every time some street or restaurant i knew was mentioned--which was often, since it took place near my own neighborhood. of course, the best meditation on pittsburgh is annie dillard's an american childhood, but this wasn't trying to be a reflection on the city, since it's a novel and all. it's a pretty good story--definitely there are hints of chabon's later greatness, although it's very first-novel-ish, with exaggeratedly eccentric characters dealing with coming-of-age/sexuality sorts of things, tied in with jewish gangsters (i never knew there was a jewish mob in pittsburgh).

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