Michael Chabon

Michael Chabon is an American novelist born in Washington, D.C., in 1963 and raised in Columbia, Maryland. He studied at the University of Pittsburgh and earned an MFA from the University of California, Irvine. His first novel, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, began as his graduate thesis; Wonder Boys followed in 1995 and was later adapted for film.

Chabon moves freely between literary realism and popular genres, drawing on detective stories, comics, fantasy and adventure. His fiction often returns to Jewish life, escape and the imaginative power of invented worlds. That range runs from the alternate-history mystery The Yiddish Policemen’s Union to the children’s fantasy Summerland and the family history of Moonglow.

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, published in 2000, follows cousins Joe Kavalier and Sammy Clay as they create the Escapist during the early years of American superhero comics. Its story stretches from Nazi-occupied Prague to New York, joining artistic ambition and commercial invention to war, exile and hidden desire. The novel won the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Wonder Boys became a film starring Michael Douglas and Tobey Maguire, while The Yiddish Policemen’s Union won both the Nebula and Hugo awards for best novel.

For a first encounter, choose The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. Its combination of historical sweep, comic-book invention and intimate character drama offers the fullest introduction to Chabon’s interests and storytelling range.