The Mysteries of Pittsburgh
by Michael Chabon

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Book Reviews of The Mysteries of Pittsburgh

Book Review: A confident first effort by a skilled writer
Summary: 5 Stars

The book has been called a "coming of age" novel, and the bookjacket has comparisons, which I suppose are apropos, of Fitzgerald's "This Side of Paradise." But while Fitzgerald's book can get a little tiresome and stodgy, with the author periodically stopping to show off his writing talents at the expense of his story, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh is always a fun, enjoyable read that the reader can effectively breeze through.

Narrator Art Bechstein is recently graduated from college, a likeable, educated but unmotivated guy who takes a job at a dreary bookstore and waits to see what the summer after his graduation has in store for him. Going back to the school library to finish some work necessary to get his degree, he catches the eye of Phlox, an oddly-named girl with overdone makeup and dress but who has a certain attractive charm. He also soon meets Arthus Lecomte, a young gay man who wants to be a foreign diplomat, and who has a knack for getting housesitting jobs. Soon he is in a convertible with Arthur and the cheerful Mohammed, driving too fast in a small convertible that Art is careful not to fall out of, on their way to a party that effectively kicks off the action of the novel.

The entire novel takes place in the course of the summer after Art's graduation, and there is a sense that the events of those few months will define Art as a person - his relationship with his gangster father, his ambiguous sexuality, and his relationship with the troubled and fascinating character Cleveland are all put to the test. Without giving away too much of the plot, I was surprised by many of the plot turns and got very wrapped up in the characters, all of whom I thought were well-developed by Chabon.

Perhaps the greatest joy in reading the novel to me was humor and dead-on accuracy of the observations and descriptions interspersed throughout the book. One reviewer hit the nail on the head when he said there was a precious little nugget of wit or wisdom on every page. When describing the soulless bookstore where he takes a summer job, Boardwalk Books, narrator Art tells us the owners have no interest in the books they are peddling, that it is just "merchandise" to them, and he imagines conversations between the owners along the lines of "What are we going to do with all these books?" You can imagine an antiseptic Book Warehouse, with fifty copies of Vanna White's autobiography or the latest John Grisham thriller stacked to the ceiling. When Art is inside quirky Phlox's apartment, with its crude cat sculpture and its cheap French prints, he decides to rejoice in its bad taste, like bowling alleys and Elvis.

Chabon has a keen eye and a skill at storytelling which shines through on every page of this very successful debut novel.

Summary of The Mysteries of Pittsburgh

Literature & Fiction Books

• Subjects > Literature & Fiction