Andrew K. (kuligowskiandrewt) -
Rising author Michael Chabon is spending the last days of his grandfather's life with the dying man. The old man has finally relented to telling some of the stories of his unique life to the young man. How much of the tale is augmented and adjusted by time, how much by the powerful prescription painkillers keeping the cancer's wrath at bay â and how much by telling one's life story to a man who makes his living telling fantastic moralistic tales?
Author Chabon makes no secret of the fact that this life story of his grandfather blurs the line between fact and fiction, but rather weaves the two components into a touching salute to the man who provided his greatest influence in life. How much is fact, and how much is simply invented? We'll never know. What we DO find out is that a number of influences in the old man's life combined to form, mold, and evolve him - Wernher Von Braun, Alger Hiss, Nevermore the Night Witch of late night Baltimore TV, and some documentary on feral animals in Florida, for example.
Chabon is not above picking on himself, as well, as when Grandfather admonishes the young man to tell his story in chronological order rather than that âjumping then and nowâ style the boy employs. (NOTE: Chabon does NOT follow this advice in the book â and he revels in it.)
All in all, a loving tribute not only to family, BUT to the America of the 20th century. For Grandfather's tale, triumphs and failures, IS the tale of the United States from the 1930s through the 1990s
RATING: 5 stars
DISCLOSURE: I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book in a random draw without obligation, although it was suggested that an honest review posted promptly would be greatly appreciated.
Author Chabon makes no secret of the fact that this life story of his grandfather blurs the line between fact and fiction, but rather weaves the two components into a touching salute to the man who provided his greatest influence in life. How much is fact, and how much is simply invented? We'll never know. What we DO find out is that a number of influences in the old man's life combined to form, mold, and evolve him - Wernher Von Braun, Alger Hiss, Nevermore the Night Witch of late night Baltimore TV, and some documentary on feral animals in Florida, for example.
Chabon is not above picking on himself, as well, as when Grandfather admonishes the young man to tell his story in chronological order rather than that âjumping then and nowâ style the boy employs. (NOTE: Chabon does NOT follow this advice in the book â and he revels in it.)
All in all, a loving tribute not only to family, BUT to the America of the 20th century. For Grandfather's tale, triumphs and failures, IS the tale of the United States from the 1930s through the 1990s
RATING: 5 stars
DISCLOSURE: I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book in a random draw without obligation, although it was suggested that an honest review posted promptly would be greatly appreciated.
