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Product Description
Independent
'A wonderfully teasing comic novel . . . Chabon juggles all these preoccupations with a quirky deftness he employs in his first novel.'
Sunday Times
'Wonder Boys is a superb creation, a raucously comic yet deeply lyrical work. Chabon has evolved into a seriously funny writer, a master of the comic set-up.'
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I nearly always read a book first and then watch the film, usually tutting throughout that `it's not like that in the book'. With Wonder Boys however the process has been reversed as I am a big fan of Curtis Hanson's fabulous film which I have seen several times but have only just read the book.
Whether it was my love for the film or Chabon's cold writing style I'm not sure but I never really got into Wonder Boys. Chabon is undoubtedly a gifted writer but always, to me at least, seems to have the knack of writing unlikeable characters. Michael Douglas made Grady Tripp almost loveable in the film, here he's a bit unfathomable and the key relationship with Crabtree (done so much better in the film) never convinces.
I never thought I'd say this but, given the choice, watch the film.
Whether it was my love for the film or Chabon's cold writing style I'm not sure but I never really got into Wonder Boys. Chabon is undoubtedly a gifted writer but always, to me at least, seems to have the knack of writing unlikeable characters. Michael Douglas made Grady Tripp almost loveable in the film, here he's a bit unfathomable and the key relationship with Crabtree (done so much better in the film) never convinces.
I never thought I'd say this but, given the choice, watch the film.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
In this farcical send-up of academia and the writing life, author Michael Chabon focuses on forty-ish author Grady Tripp, an aptly named writer/professor who is so often stoned that after seven years he has written two thousand pages of a book that is not even close to being finished. Grady's book, Wonder Boys, is much like his life--lacking in focus, fixated on the moment, and completely empty of goals or a sense of direction. His third wife has walked out on him; he's been carrying on a five-year affair with Sarah Gaskell, the Chancellor of the college, who is now pregnant with his baby; his editor is pressing him for a final draft of his unfinished book; and his publisher and everyone at the college are wondering if he will ever duplicate the success of his first novel.
During a writer's conference at the college, Grady "saves" one of his students, James Leer, from a possible suicide attempt, but his "mentoring" of James leads to hilariously absurd disasters for both of them. Grady's editor Terry Crabtree, the tuba-playing transvestite "girlfriend" he has brought with him, a collector of memorabilia from the marriage of Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio, Grady's estranged wife, the pregnant Chancellor, and the violent owner of a car that Grady was given to settle a debt, flesh out the characters and keep the reader amused and laughing almost non-stop.
As the weekend progresses and Grady's personal life further unravels, he finds himself driving around with the transvestite's tuba, the Chancellor's fatally shot malamute, and an equally dead ten-foot boa in the car's trunk. Scenes in which he tries to prevent the trunk from being opened are worthy of the Marx Brothers.
The dialogue is snappy, the narrative speeds along, the word play and humor never flag, and the satire of academic life and the world of writers shows the stamp of familiarity and the author's own wacky sense of perspective. A grand farce which carries the bite of satire, Wonder Boys avoids the arch self-consciousness of so many novels of academia and comes across instead as pure, unadulterated fun. n Mary Whipple
During a writer's conference at the college, Grady "saves" one of his students, James Leer, from a possible suicide attempt, but his "mentoring" of James leads to hilariously absurd disasters for both of them. Grady's editor Terry Crabtree, the tuba-playing transvestite "girlfriend" he has brought with him, a collector of memorabilia from the marriage of Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio, Grady's estranged wife, the pregnant Chancellor, and the violent owner of a car that Grady was given to settle a debt, flesh out the characters and keep the reader amused and laughing almost non-stop.
As the weekend progresses and Grady's personal life further unravels, he finds himself driving around with the transvestite's tuba, the Chancellor's fatally shot malamute, and an equally dead ten-foot boa in the car's trunk. Scenes in which he tries to prevent the trunk from being opened are worthy of the Marx Brothers.
The dialogue is snappy, the narrative speeds along, the word play and humor never flag, and the satire of academic life and the world of writers shows the stamp of familiarity and the author's own wacky sense of perspective. A grand farce which carries the bite of satire, Wonder Boys avoids the arch self-consciousness of so many novels of academia and comes across instead as pure, unadulterated fun. n Mary Whipple
12 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
What I loved about Wonder Boys is its droll expansiveness, the way our narrator manages to be hilariously self-deprecating, while Chabon himself uses extended metaphor and Homeric simile (and that`s as rare as hens` teeth in the modern novel) with extravagant relish. Just as certain actors look like they`re thoroughly enjoying themselves (Nicholson, for example), Chabon reads like he`s having a great time. All this in a novel about a man who`s trying hard (not) to finish a novel - called Wonder Boys!
This is in certain ways quite an old-fashioned novel, like a contemporary version of the 19th century picaresque tale. Oh, and it made me laugh out loud.
Pretty damn wonderful.
This is in certain ways quite an old-fashioned novel, like a contemporary version of the 19th century picaresque tale. Oh, and it made me laugh out loud.
Pretty damn wonderful.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A book without much of an understandable plot
I may be going out on a limb here - given that the other reviews on here are largely positive - but I'm afraid to say I didn't like this book at all. Read more
Published 6 days ago by Mr. Robert F. Hicks
opens really well but does not sustain the pace
I thought the opening section of this novel - the first third of it or so - was really great as Grady Tripp moves from one disaster to the next, barely but just barely sufficiently... Read more
Published 2 months ago by William Jordan
Extremely well written
Michael Chabon really is a fantastic writer. This really was a pleasure to read.
It's not that often that I reread chapters of a book just to savour the writing. Read more
It's not that often that I reread chapters of a book just to savour the writing. Read more
Published 11 months ago by The Emperor
Wonderboys Review
This is another novel that proves that Michael Chabon is one of the greatest writers of our generation. Read more
Published 20 months ago by ISeeMountains
Funny, charming, enlightening...
A great read. Charming, humorous, very readable, and yet very telling in its analysis of the human condition and what people will do to get where they want to get in life. Read more
Published on 4 May 2010 by Nicodemus Jones
Will disappoint fans of 'Kavalier & Clay'
The story goes that Chabon composed Wonder Boys in a few weeks, after getting stuck on a 1,000 page tome. Read more
Published on 22 May 2008 by reader 451
Mid-life crisis and writers block make a fertile ground for drama here
A fine amalgam of several American themes into one, Wonder Boys successfully combines elements of the campus novel with those of writer's block and family get-togethers for holiday... Read more
Published on 11 April 2008 by Annabel Gaskell
Seen the film? - read the book
The story ostensibly centres on Prof Grady Tripp's attempts at completing his increasingly out of control follow up novel of the title, Wonder Boys; yet as is not surprising with... Read more
Published on 13 Dec 2006 by Benjamin
Strongly recommended
First I watched the movie, then I read the book. Dont miss it..Great novel..
Published on 5 Jan 2004
Great! Dark and Rich Humour
Michael Chanbons prose is delightful. Jam packed with detail and wit, this is the perfect book for someone who enjoys good wholesome humour. Read more
Published on 15 July 2001
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