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| (Thank you to the publisher and TLC Book Tours for providing me with a copy of this book!) |
As the summer of 2004 draws to a close, Archy Stallings and Nat Jaffe are still hanging in there—longtime friends, bandmates, and co-regents of Brokeland Records, a kingdom of used vinyl located in the borderlands of Berkeley and Oakland. Their wives, Gwen Shanks and Aviva Roth-Jaffe, are the Berkeley Birth Partners, a pair of semi-legendary midwives who have welcomed more than a thousand newly minted citizens into the dented utopia at whose heart—half tavern, half temple—stands Brokeland.
When ex–NFL quarterback Gibson Goode, the fifth-richest black man in America, announces plans to build his latest Dogpile megastore on a nearby stretch of Telegraph Avenue, Nat and Archy fear it means certain doom for their vulnerable little enterprise. Meanwhile, Aviva and Gwen also find themselves caught up in a battle for their professional existence, one that tests the limits of their friendship. Adding another layer of complications to the couples’ already tangled lives is the surprise appearance of Titus Joyner, the teenage son Archy has never acknowledged and the love of fifteen-year-old Julius Jaffe’s life.
my thoughts:
OMFG! Telegraph Avenue is epic! It is one of the BEST books I've read in quite some time. Actually, I'm still reading the book. Its about 500 pages long, which normally would take me 2 days to read, but truthfully, I don't want this book to end. So, instead of just reading straight through, I have been parceling out pages for days and just letting myself get a taste of the story each day. Isn't that crazy!?! Well, I can't help it. The book is just so damn good - it needs to be savored!
I'm serious. This book is hella good. Michael Chabon has created a story that is the perfect example of what a good book should be. Its true. His book is just AMAZING!!! I would even go so far as to say that Telegraph Avenue is the epitome of what a literary novel should be - brilliant writing, a cast of diverse and complicated characters, multiple story lines that are rich and layered, and a time and setting that you can easily melt into. This book has it all in spades!
In fact, reading this book has been quite an eye-opening experience for me. Its made me feel as if I'm reading for the first time and I am loving it! Cripes! That just goes to show how longs its been since I've read a truly great piece of work - think Lahiri, Murakami, Rhys, Vonnegut, and Ogawa. I'm just marveling at the way Chabon is able to utilize the written word to create such a thoroughly engaging and enriching story - he is just blowing my mind!
So, even though I'm not done with this book, I would definitely recommend it based on what I've read so far. And, yes that does include the one chapter that is comprised of one sentence - I know! One sentence!! How crazy brilliant is that!?! Anyhow, I'm off to read some more of the book. Hope you pick up a copy and enjoy it as well!
Here's the link to the TLC Book Tour schedule for: Telegraph Avenue
5 comments:
Wonderful! I'm a Chabon fan and can't wait to read this!
This is so refreshing to hear - I love your enthusiasm. I've had an ARC of this on my shelf since BEA last year, and haven't gotten to it yet because of some of the early mixed reviews. Your review is moving it back up my priority list!
Wow, that is one heck of a review! I'm so glad that this book was such a success for you! Thanks for being on the tour. I'm featuring your review on TLC's Facebook page today.
jenclair, yay! I'm positive you are going to love this one :)
Greg, thanks! I really LOVED this one and just couldn't help but be so effusive about it :) Hope you enjoy it!
Heather, thanks!
I've read three Chabon books now and this one, honestly, was my least favorite but not because of the writing which was brilliant. I just couldn't make myself care about any of the characters. Even though it was my least favorite Chabon, it was certainly well worth the reading!
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