Patrick and Katie gave me a copy of Pops: Fatherhood in Pieces for Father’s Day. Since it’s a short book, I read Pops immediately. I’ve read several of Michael Chabon’s books over the years. Chabon won a Pulitzer Prize for The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. Wonder Boys is a pretty good novel and a pretty good movie. The essays in Pops cover a lot of ground. I was especially impressed with Chabon’s tale, “My Son, the Prince of Fashion,” of taking his son, Abraham, to France for the Paris Men’s Fashion Week as a bar mitzvah gift. Chabon’s son loves fashion and Chabon shows that feeding a son’s enthusiasm pays off. I was less impressed with Chabon’s recollections of playing baseball as a kid in “The Old Ball Game.” But, the most moving piece in this collection is the final one: “Pops.” Chabon’s father was a physician and would occasionally take his son on his patient visits. You’ll see fairly quickly why Chabon didn’t follow in his father’s footsteps. Chabon manages to hit the right notes in these essays. I’m sure Pops will become a steady seller around Father’s Day for the next decade. GRADE: B+
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction: The Opposite of Writing 1
Little Man (aka, “My Son, The Prince of Fashion,” GQ) 15
Adventures in Euphemism (aka, “The Unspeakable in Its Jammies,” atlantic.com 45
The Bubble People (aka, “One of Us,” Details 53
Against Dickitude Details 63
The Old Ball Game Details 77
Be Cool or Be Cast Out Details 93
Pops 107
I seem to recall Chabon’s wife, Ayelet Waksman, stirred up some controversy a few years back when she published an essay in which she said she loved him more than she loves their kids. (She’s also had Twitter meltdowns about not being nominated for a National Book Award and why she had to pay when one of her kids used a pay-as-you-go game on her phone, with her permission, but without her checking out the pay structure first.) I sure hope Chabon’s a bit more stable than the mother of his children.
Ayelet Waldman, sorry.
Deb, complaining about not getting an Award is almost a sure strategy to never get the Award.
Deb, Chabon talks about his first wife in POPS, but doesn’t say much about his second wife. Twitter seems to be prone to meltdowns by many people. I, of course, don’t use it.
I have it on my table from the library.
Patti, I found POPS to be a quick read.
I have it on reserve. I loved WONDER BOYS – as George said, it made a pretty good movie; Tobey Maguire was perfect casting – and enjoyed tTHW YIDDISH POLICEMAN’S UNION (not home; I think that’s the title) and his stories. I tried to read one of Waldman’s books but couldn’t get into it.
Right now I’m reading a terrific book, ALL THE PIECES MATTER : THE INSIDE STORY OF THE WIRE.
Jeff, I have ALL THE PIECES MATTER on order. I also need to find my copy of WONDER BOYS and watch it again. Great soundtrack!
Read All the Pieces Matter. Great book if you liked The Wire.
Steve, I loved THE WIRE!
PAAAASS!
THE FINAL SOLUTION by Chabon remains a favorite.