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Manhood for Amateurs
A shy manifesto, an impractical handbook, the true story of a fabulist, an entire life in parts and pieces, Manhood for Amateurs is the first sustained work of personal writing from Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Chabon. In these insightful, provocative, slyly interlinked essays, one of our most brilliant and humane writers addresses with his characteristic warmth and lyric wit the all-important question: What does it mean to be a man today?
332 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 21, 2009
About the author
Michael Chabon
140 books8,551 followersMichael Chabon (b. 1963) is an acclaimed and bestselling author whose works include the Pulitzer Prize–winning novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay (2000). Chabon achieved literary fame at age twenty-four with his first novel, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh (1988), which was a major critical and commercial success. He then published Wonder Boys (1995), another bestseller, which was made into a film starring Michael Douglas. One of America’s most distinctive voices, Chabon has been called “a magical prose stylist” by the New York Times Book Review, and is known for his lively writing, nostalgia for bygone modes of storytelling, and deep empathy for the human predicament.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,171 reviews
November 1, 2020
(B-) 70% | Satisfactory
Notes: It's a competently written, yet scattershot collection of loosely grouped-together, largely forgettable magazine pieces.
Notes: It's a competently written, yet scattershot collection of loosely grouped-together, largely forgettable magazine pieces.
July 30, 2018
One thing I realised while reading these autobiographical essays was I would prefer to be Michael Chabon's daughter than his wife. This because he comes across as one of those boy men who has never quite transcended the communion he knew with childhood toys and games. In other words, he's a geek. This in turn helped me understand why his books are so uneven. There can be a strain of silliness, of immaturity in his lesser novels. He's not the most disciplined of novelists; he allows himself a fair amount of slack; he gets carried away. I've just finished Michael Ondaatje's new novel and started his family memoir. As writers he and Chabon couldn't be more different in approach. Ondaatje, you feel, only talks when he has something to say; Chabon is a chatterbox. Chabon is like the maverick relative - he might get up and perform some brilliant trick but he's just as likely to embarrass you by acting half his age. I think Chabon is younger than Ondaatje yet he's written almost ten times as many books. There's the sense Chabon writes because he enjoys it. That it's like a childhood game. And that his books represent less of a measure of his self-worth. He doesn't appear to have an overly judicial relationship with his work. He knocks them out because this is what he likes doing. This of course makes Ondaatje a much more reliable source of edification in terms of artistry. You sense Chabon would rather write three books than laboriously craft and hone one.
In general books of essays tend to clone collections of short stories in terms of quality control. You get the best at the beginning and then half way through there's a feeling inspiration is becoming harder to come by. This is the case here. There are a couple of fabulous pieces, usually involving sexual attraction (he's more interesting when seeking connection than when immersed in it: another sign he's more quintessentially son than husband or father), and then there are the essays in which he celebrates his geekiness. I struggled with these, often because I realised how thoroughly obscure to me are certain elements of American culture. Brands, products, TV shows, music and especially comics I've never heard of play a bit part in his formation. It came as a relief when he speaks of Dr Who because finally there's something I've heard of.
In general books of essays tend to clone collections of short stories in terms of quality control. You get the best at the beginning and then half way through there's a feeling inspiration is becoming harder to come by. This is the case here. There are a couple of fabulous pieces, usually involving sexual attraction (he's more interesting when seeking connection than when immersed in it: another sign he's more quintessentially son than husband or father), and then there are the essays in which he celebrates his geekiness. I struggled with these, often because I realised how thoroughly obscure to me are certain elements of American culture. Brands, products, TV shows, music and especially comics I've never heard of play a bit part in his formation. It came as a relief when he speaks of Dr Who because finally there's something I've heard of.
October 13, 2009
I've lost some respect for Chabon for dedicating an entire essay to why he started carrying a man-purse, or murse as he calls it. However, I still really enjoyed this book of his musings on how he became the 'man' he is today and how it influences his behavior as a father, husband, son and brother.
The essays are deceptively simple at first glance, but Chabon uses these stories as jumping off points for bigger ideas. His grumpy-old-man-style complaints about how complicated Legos have gotten turns into a great exploration of his kids' imaginations. Trying to draw a decent version of the Invisible Woman with his kids leads to a short history of how females have been mistreated in comic books and then his feelings about how badly he's failed to create complete female characters in his own writing. A story about briefly meeting David Foster Wallace turns into his thoughts and fears about his wife's struggle with depression.
While some of the stuff is a little darker and melancholy like a section on the ways he thinks he's failing his kids or an essay about how he gained and lost a father figure in his father-in-law with his first failed marriage, it's still an upbeat book with a lot of funny and interesting ideas of what it means to be a man in modern America.
The essays are deceptively simple at first glance, but Chabon uses these stories as jumping off points for bigger ideas. His grumpy-old-man-style complaints about how complicated Legos have gotten turns into a great exploration of his kids' imaginations. Trying to draw a decent version of the Invisible Woman with his kids leads to a short history of how females have been mistreated in comic books and then his feelings about how badly he's failed to create complete female characters in his own writing. A story about briefly meeting David Foster Wallace turns into his thoughts and fears about his wife's struggle with depression.
While some of the stuff is a little darker and melancholy like a section on the ways he thinks he's failing his kids or an essay about how he gained and lost a father figure in his father-in-law with his first failed marriage, it's still an upbeat book with a lot of funny and interesting ideas of what it means to be a man in modern America.
June 10, 2017
This collection of essays links the author’s boyhood and adult life as a father of four under a loose theme of the meaning of manhood and the good and bad changes over time. I love a lot of Chabon’s novels, so it was easy to succumb to curiosity about his personal life. That such knowledge of accomplished individuals might provide a window into the magic of their creativity was dashed, as usual. But it was comforting to learn about both his decency and ordinary fallibility and experience some of his insights about aspects of growing up that are timeless and others that are undergoing changes with the generations.
I knew zip before I read this. Somehow I even had the false presumption that he might be gay, perhaps because of his sensitive treatment of gays in “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay” and in “The Mysteries of Pittsburgh”. We learn how when his father left the family with his parent’s divorce, he adapted to housework and cooking to please his mother. That put him on a modern path of not clinging to traditional gender roles when it came to marriage and starting his own family. He shares on his introduction to sex at age 15 with an older woman, a friend of his mother. Knowledge of his own experimentation makes him wary of being a wise model for his own children. He is wary in the same way where it comes to being honest with his children over his own drug use in his youth.
We don’t learn much of his struggle with the concept of manhood in dealing with bullies or competitiveness in sports. Instead, we get a perspective on the formative influences of his readings of adventure and fantasy tales and comics and junk TV series like “The Planet of the Apes.” He feels that such fare was so open-ended that there was more room for insertion of a child’s imagination in compared to the slick, over-inclusive productions available to kids now. In the same vein, Leggo sets in his day were so simple and primitive, it took a lot of creativity to build something, whereas the current sets in his view diminish such rewards by coming with such detailed instructions for projects and a plethora of customized elements. Also, he regrets the damage that awareness of child abductions and abuse does for the freedom he had as a kid to explore his neighborhood in Baltimore at will and partake in life-changing adventures. In a scenario at the beach alone with his younger brother they got lost in the dunes. His ability to inspire and fulfill the confidence in his brother in his leadership to find their way to safety helped create a lasting bond with his brother and a sense of his own competence to pull through despite much inner fear.
Overall, I appreciated the sense of nostalgia about the times he grew up in and the family values he imbibed. And I benefitted from his optimism about the future of the next generation he is helping to launch into a rapidly changing world. In this era of tell-all drama about the lifestyles of the rich and famous, he showed worthy restraint in his exposure of the lives of his own family. But ultimately I hoped for more wisdom about the process of growing up and more trenchant social commentary over the challenges to becoming psychologically healthy and well-adjusted.
I knew zip before I read this. Somehow I even had the false presumption that he might be gay, perhaps because of his sensitive treatment of gays in “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay” and in “The Mysteries of Pittsburgh”. We learn how when his father left the family with his parent’s divorce, he adapted to housework and cooking to please his mother. That put him on a modern path of not clinging to traditional gender roles when it came to marriage and starting his own family. He shares on his introduction to sex at age 15 with an older woman, a friend of his mother. Knowledge of his own experimentation makes him wary of being a wise model for his own children. He is wary in the same way where it comes to being honest with his children over his own drug use in his youth.
We don’t learn much of his struggle with the concept of manhood in dealing with bullies or competitiveness in sports. Instead, we get a perspective on the formative influences of his readings of adventure and fantasy tales and comics and junk TV series like “The Planet of the Apes.” He feels that such fare was so open-ended that there was more room for insertion of a child’s imagination in compared to the slick, over-inclusive productions available to kids now. In the same vein, Leggo sets in his day were so simple and primitive, it took a lot of creativity to build something, whereas the current sets in his view diminish such rewards by coming with such detailed instructions for projects and a plethora of customized elements. Also, he regrets the damage that awareness of child abductions and abuse does for the freedom he had as a kid to explore his neighborhood in Baltimore at will and partake in life-changing adventures. In a scenario at the beach alone with his younger brother they got lost in the dunes. His ability to inspire and fulfill the confidence in his brother in his leadership to find their way to safety helped create a lasting bond with his brother and a sense of his own competence to pull through despite much inner fear.
Overall, I appreciated the sense of nostalgia about the times he grew up in and the family values he imbibed. And I benefitted from his optimism about the future of the next generation he is helping to launch into a rapidly changing world. In this era of tell-all drama about the lifestyles of the rich and famous, he showed worthy restraint in his exposure of the lives of his own family. But ultimately I hoped for more wisdom about the process of growing up and more trenchant social commentary over the challenges to becoming psychologically healthy and well-adjusted.
February 15, 2017
I remembered I had this on my shelf and I had previously read some of the essays in it. But promising a look into being a man and a father, I thought it was time to read the whole shebang. Because I am becoming a father. The man part may be debatable.
I say that in jest because Michael addresses this in some essays - the meaning of manhood. And he brings it back from being a 1950s stereotype. And he's not preachy. He also tackles a lot of other issues in here. It's more some snapshots from his life, from early childhood to writing time, and how he has function and not functioned.
Michael has a fairly liberal view on life, which matches mine. He's all for moving forward and progressing away from stereotypes and old norms. This is a book for similar liberal-minded people.
It's far from ground-breaking. But it's a nice read. Michael is a great writer. It's affirming. It's going to give you confidence if you're a man and it's going to sit firmly with a 21st-century mindset on manliness.
But don't read it for gender issues. Read it because Michael can tell a great story.
I say that in jest because Michael addresses this in some essays - the meaning of manhood. And he brings it back from being a 1950s stereotype. And he's not preachy. He also tackles a lot of other issues in here. It's more some snapshots from his life, from early childhood to writing time, and how he has function and not functioned.
Michael has a fairly liberal view on life, which matches mine. He's all for moving forward and progressing away from stereotypes and old norms. This is a book for similar liberal-minded people.
It's far from ground-breaking. But it's a nice read. Michael is a great writer. It's affirming. It's going to give you confidence if you're a man and it's going to sit firmly with a 21st-century mindset on manliness.
But don't read it for gender issues. Read it because Michael can tell a great story.
August 27, 2019
I'm not the sort of person who gets much out of self-help books, but Michael Chabon's erudite musings may be as close as I'm likely to get.
Much like his series of essays released last year, Pops , Manhood for Amateurs sees Chabon reflecting on oodles of life's quandaries in his typical lyrical style. I love how essays about the complexities of male-female relations sit alongside essays about esoteric DC comic super heroines, and Chabon's use of nerd terminology slots in quite nicely with the way my mind works.
I listened to this in a single extended piece of driving with nothing but Chabon's eager and boyish tone to carry me through the day. I love these essay collections of Chabon's for their profundity, but also for sheer entertainment value. It easily earns my stamp of approval!
Much like his series of essays released last year, Pops , Manhood for Amateurs sees Chabon reflecting on oodles of life's quandaries in his typical lyrical style. I love how essays about the complexities of male-female relations sit alongside essays about esoteric DC comic super heroines, and Chabon's use of nerd terminology slots in quite nicely with the way my mind works.
I listened to this in a single extended piece of driving with nothing but Chabon's eager and boyish tone to carry me through the day. I love these essay collections of Chabon's for their profundity, but also for sheer entertainment value. It easily earns my stamp of approval!
September 7, 2017
I read the audiobook, narrated by the author himself. Of course I loved the parts about Pittsburgh the most... the story about getting lost in Panther Hollow especially squeezed my heart, but I also loved anytime he talks about his wife. So grownuply romantic. You also get some glimpses into his writing process (he talks about Kavalier and Clay a few times!) and some stories from his childhood that I swear I've read elsewhere.
I think "Parenthood for Amateurs" or "Adulthood for Amateurs" would have been a more appropriate title.
I think "Parenthood for Amateurs" or "Adulthood for Amateurs" would have been a more appropriate title.
January 8, 2019
I am not a man or a father so obviously I am not the intended audience, but I thought this book was absolutely delightful. I loved Chabon's thoughts and writings on childhood and marriage and life and fatherhood. He is a very good essayist--and here is another author I love more as a non-fiction writer than a novelist. I wish he'd write more essays so I can read them
June 26, 2011
Michael Chabon is best when he soars into fantastical worlds. In his book of personal essays, Manhood for Amateurs, he rarely breaks away from melancholy musings about fatherhood and its responsibilities. But when he does slip into this other world, his essays approach awesome.
Those worlds Chabon thrives in can be the comic book history that won him his Pulitzer (The Amazing Adventures of Cavalier and Clay). He was wonderful in the weird book The Yiddish Policemen’s Union, where he imagines a Jewish Zion in Alaska, told like it was a Raymond Chandler mysteryl. Even the weirdness of academia novelists (Wonder Boys) is mystical in Chabon’s hands.
Manhood for Amateurs contains essays from Details magazine, mostly. They tell of Chabon’s ongoing struggle to be a modern dad. He rails against the low standard fathers have been measured by in history. He still feels a failure. He worries about his son, his daughter. He sometimes talks diaper bags and baby formula. Was there nothing fantastic or mysterious Chabon could find about this? It gets dull.
Then he’ll sometimes go off on a funny and entertaining tangent about how he’s passing on his geeky obsession with Dr. Who to his kids. He can even make the magical chemistry of baking seem exciting, but he’s better when he launches on his lengthy knowledge of Legos! Hilarious! He talks about what a joy it is to love the trashiness of Star Wars and Planet of the Apes. Yeah, this also means he’ll type some screed about how children don’t use their imagination any more. Hmm, tell that to your granddad who made guns out of twigs, Mr. Chabon. Grandpa didn’t even have Legos.
It’s the more common stuff that Chabon writes about that kind of put me to sleep. Chabon’s thoughts on his single, dating mother aren’t particularly new or exciting. A distant father isn’t by itself gripping enough, and Chabon doesn’t make those unique connections he does when he goes into fantasy. It just doesn’t feel like he’s challenging himself as a writer; he’s moping. The obsessive nature of his family could be interesting: I think Sedaris and Burroughs do stronger essays about this. Again, Chabon doesn’t take the risks he does in his better novels.
What Chabon soars at is fiction – inventive and wild works that borrow from pop culture in a way that “serious literature” is told it shouldn’t. I simply adore his first four novels and Yiddish Policemen’s Union. Chabon takes these chances, injecting some real depth into modes which have therwise been dismissed by our bastions of cultural worthiness. In this book, when Chabon escapes the bonds on maudlin parenthood or navel-gazing at his personal history, he is amazing. Hit’s just that he rarely hits escape velocity here.
Those worlds Chabon thrives in can be the comic book history that won him his Pulitzer (The Amazing Adventures of Cavalier and Clay). He was wonderful in the weird book The Yiddish Policemen’s Union, where he imagines a Jewish Zion in Alaska, told like it was a Raymond Chandler mysteryl. Even the weirdness of academia novelists (Wonder Boys) is mystical in Chabon’s hands.
Manhood for Amateurs contains essays from Details magazine, mostly. They tell of Chabon’s ongoing struggle to be a modern dad. He rails against the low standard fathers have been measured by in history. He still feels a failure. He worries about his son, his daughter. He sometimes talks diaper bags and baby formula. Was there nothing fantastic or mysterious Chabon could find about this? It gets dull.
Then he’ll sometimes go off on a funny and entertaining tangent about how he’s passing on his geeky obsession with Dr. Who to his kids. He can even make the magical chemistry of baking seem exciting, but he’s better when he launches on his lengthy knowledge of Legos! Hilarious! He talks about what a joy it is to love the trashiness of Star Wars and Planet of the Apes. Yeah, this also means he’ll type some screed about how children don’t use their imagination any more. Hmm, tell that to your granddad who made guns out of twigs, Mr. Chabon. Grandpa didn’t even have Legos.
It’s the more common stuff that Chabon writes about that kind of put me to sleep. Chabon’s thoughts on his single, dating mother aren’t particularly new or exciting. A distant father isn’t by itself gripping enough, and Chabon doesn’t make those unique connections he does when he goes into fantasy. It just doesn’t feel like he’s challenging himself as a writer; he’s moping. The obsessive nature of his family could be interesting: I think Sedaris and Burroughs do stronger essays about this. Again, Chabon doesn’t take the risks he does in his better novels.
What Chabon soars at is fiction – inventive and wild works that borrow from pop culture in a way that “serious literature” is told it shouldn’t. I simply adore his first four novels and Yiddish Policemen’s Union. Chabon takes these chances, injecting some real depth into modes which have therwise been dismissed by our bastions of cultural worthiness. In this book, when Chabon escapes the bonds on maudlin parenthood or navel-gazing at his personal history, he is amazing. Hit’s just that he rarely hits escape velocity here.
September 7, 2011
You know, this certainly wasn't Chabon's BEST book but it was incredibly charming and I am pretty sure that every young dad should read it. Chabon candidly admits to many shortcomings and limitations that I think most straight men (fathers or not) share and would find comfort in relating to; as a woman, not only do I find these admissions to be endearing, but it was refreshing to confirm that all the idiotic things that I have always suspected men of thinking are indeed being thought. Politically incorrect as it may be to say, as a species we often do conform to certain gender stereotypes and sometimes it can be a relief to look at our patterns in relationships (in this case specifically parenthood and marraige) in the simplest terms possible: men think this way, women think that way. And as always, the inevitable truth is that while women are being insightful and observant, and taking care of problems before they can even arise, men are thinking about... comic books. (And perhaps how to best protect their own egos.)
March 1, 2017
Video review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szEms...
So many brilliant reflections on the most different of topics, from LEGO to baseball, from growing up to children's movies. All of these takes are anchored to a specific episode in Chabon's life, so that you always feel like you're getting a story, even in the middle of the most abstract discussion.
Since it's about so much different stuff, I'd mainly suggest it to Chabon's fans, but hey, that doesn't make it any less gold.
So many brilliant reflections on the most different of topics, from LEGO to baseball, from growing up to children's movies. All of these takes are anchored to a specific episode in Chabon's life, so that you always feel like you're getting a story, even in the middle of the most abstract discussion.
Since it's about so much different stuff, I'd mainly suggest it to Chabon's fans, but hey, that doesn't make it any less gold.
February 9, 2019
Fantastic writing. Smooth, poetic, sensitive, thoughtful. Very accomplished. And it almost, but not quite, completely failed to interest me.
I think I was almost totally bored despite recognizing the artistry of the writing because I'm just not the target audience. Not a dude, I guess.
A collection of essays part memoir, part op-ed, all about being a man. Being a son, son-in-law, a father, married, divorced, a parent, a husband. Like the male counterpoint to Caitlin Moran's How to Be a Woman, only really, really relaxed and contemplative. Some bits about baseball, fandom, time, hope, memory, faith, mental illness, etc.
I definitely liked the narrator. He always had a laugh in his voice, like he had the Ministry of Silly Walks on mute in the background while recording and was reading through amusement. Then it turned out the author was the narrator! Well done.
I think I was almost totally bored despite recognizing the artistry of the writing because I'm just not the target audience. Not a dude, I guess.
A collection of essays part memoir, part op-ed, all about being a man. Being a son, son-in-law, a father, married, divorced, a parent, a husband. Like the male counterpoint to Caitlin Moran's How to Be a Woman, only really, really relaxed and contemplative. Some bits about baseball, fandom, time, hope, memory, faith, mental illness, etc.
I definitely liked the narrator. He always had a laugh in his voice, like he had the Ministry of Silly Walks on mute in the background while recording and was reading through amusement. Then it turned out the author was the narrator! Well done.
November 16, 2009
I can't believe this book was written by the same person who gave us The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay...
I know this book is non-fiction and the other is fiction - but it's exceedingly hard to wrap my brain around the fact that Michael Chabon couldn't bring his incredible story-telling skills to this work of non-fiction.
With the exception of two stories, I found the entire rest of the book to be dry and humourless. There were so many places where I found myself skipping ahead to the next sentence due to an over abundance of commas separating different examples of the same thing. After I while I found myself so exasperated I was actually saying out loud - I GET IT ALREADY, LET'S MOVE ON.
I am so disappointed.
I know this book is non-fiction and the other is fiction - but it's exceedingly hard to wrap my brain around the fact that Michael Chabon couldn't bring his incredible story-telling skills to this work of non-fiction.
With the exception of two stories, I found the entire rest of the book to be dry and humourless. There were so many places where I found myself skipping ahead to the next sentence due to an over abundance of commas separating different examples of the same thing. After I while I found myself so exasperated I was actually saying out loud - I GET IT ALREADY, LET'S MOVE ON.
I am so disappointed.
January 2, 2010
A bit uneven, but in the end, Chabon's writing craft is above reproach. Also, he admits that his wife takes chances that he might not otherwise take. Such a mensch.
And did I mention that he is dreamy?
Disclaimer:
I have a SERIOUS literary crush on both Michael Chabon AND his wife Ayelet Waldman. Sigh.
And did I mention that he is dreamy?
Disclaimer:
I have a SERIOUS literary crush on both Michael Chabon AND his wife Ayelet Waldman. Sigh.
October 6, 2013
This book, Manhood for Amateurs by Michael Chabon is a memoir written in the form of a collection of essays. Mr. Chabon writes about everything from memories of his childhood to his frustration with Legos sold today that don't encourage creativity in children;from his lifelong enjoyment of Marvel comics to his experiences as a husband and father of four. I have read many memoirs and have taken something away from each and every one of them; what impressed me most about Michael Chabon's memoir is his incredible self-awareness and how eloquently he expresses his feelings about his childhood, his first failed marriage and the grief he felt over its ending, his children and even his fears regarding his wife's battle with depression. It was clear to me that he has spent a great deal of time thinking about life... his life, in particular; and what his roles as man, husband and father mean to him and his family.
Mr. Chabon's memories about his parents' divorce and his subsequent time living/visiting with his father and stepmother in Pittsburgh were particularly poignant to me and I found that I could relate to his feelings in a personal way. It was clear to me from reading his memories of his time in Pittsburgh that he utilized these memories in writing his great novel, Mysteries of Pittsburgh. I found myself wishing that I had read Manhood for Amateurs before I read Mysteries of Pittsburgh. I think it would have allowed me some additional insight into the characters and what they were experiencing.
I especially enjoyed and found myself wholeheartedly agreeing with Mr. Chabon's musings about fatherhood and how society seems to impose a different standard to which they hold fathers and mothers. He described an incident in the grocery store.. he was struggling and trying to juggle holding one of his children and placing the items he chose on the conveyor belt. He was amazed at the praise that was lavished upon him by the women shoppers who witnessed his struggle. He asked.... why is this particular aspect of parenting EXPECTED of mothers and yet is looked upon as extraordinary for fathers? Why the double standard? Why is the bar set so low for fathers and impossibly high for mothers? He suggested some very thoughtful questions.. to which i suppose there are no real answers.
Some of the essays in this memoir were funny; some were sad but all were thoughtful and insightful. It's clear to me that Michael Chabon is a very introspective person and since that is a quality I admire , I really enjoyed reading about his memories, his life and his viewpoints on life, in general. The most important and perhaps the most comforting thing about Mr. Chabon's memoir is that he readily admits that he really, despite all of his talents and accomplishments , is still basically muddling through life .. sort of learning 'on the job'... making mistakes and learning from those mistakes. After all, isn't that what we are all doing?
If you enjoy Michael Chabon's works of fiction, you will definitely enjoy this book. I think you will find that the insights he provides are really helpful in enjoying his works of fiction even more.
Mr. Chabon's memories about his parents' divorce and his subsequent time living/visiting with his father and stepmother in Pittsburgh were particularly poignant to me and I found that I could relate to his feelings in a personal way. It was clear to me from reading his memories of his time in Pittsburgh that he utilized these memories in writing his great novel, Mysteries of Pittsburgh. I found myself wishing that I had read Manhood for Amateurs before I read Mysteries of Pittsburgh. I think it would have allowed me some additional insight into the characters and what they were experiencing.
I especially enjoyed and found myself wholeheartedly agreeing with Mr. Chabon's musings about fatherhood and how society seems to impose a different standard to which they hold fathers and mothers. He described an incident in the grocery store.. he was struggling and trying to juggle holding one of his children and placing the items he chose on the conveyor belt. He was amazed at the praise that was lavished upon him by the women shoppers who witnessed his struggle. He asked.... why is this particular aspect of parenting EXPECTED of mothers and yet is looked upon as extraordinary for fathers? Why the double standard? Why is the bar set so low for fathers and impossibly high for mothers? He suggested some very thoughtful questions.. to which i suppose there are no real answers.
Some of the essays in this memoir were funny; some were sad but all were thoughtful and insightful. It's clear to me that Michael Chabon is a very introspective person and since that is a quality I admire , I really enjoyed reading about his memories, his life and his viewpoints on life, in general. The most important and perhaps the most comforting thing about Mr. Chabon's memoir is that he readily admits that he really, despite all of his talents and accomplishments , is still basically muddling through life .. sort of learning 'on the job'... making mistakes and learning from those mistakes. After all, isn't that what we are all doing?
If you enjoy Michael Chabon's works of fiction, you will definitely enjoy this book. I think you will find that the insights he provides are really helpful in enjoying his works of fiction even more.
May 22, 2013
4.5 stars
Okay, this is kinda a propos of nothing, but bear with me...
Thursdays are Library Days for me and my daughter (now 5 years old). I sometimes feel a little...I dunno...guilty (?) for imposing my values and likes upon her, but each Thursday she'll run to the children's section, and if they haven't already been checked out, will scour the picture-book section and pull out as many of her favorite books as she can find. Invariably, three of them (which I highly encouraged her to like, and tried to kindle extra enjoyment of by really amping up the theatrics in reading them to her) are Kat Kong by Dav ("Captain Underpants") Pilkey, A Sound Like Someone Trying Not to Make a Sound by John Irving (gee, probably my favorite author...what a coincidence) and The Astonishing Secret of Awesome Man by none other than the author of one of my fave books of all time (...Kavalier and Clay), Michael Chabon. The love he has for his kids (I think, each time I open this book) is so readily apparent, I had to read his collection of essays, Manhood For Amateurs, which I (correctly) presumed, addressed many of his experiences as a Gen-X parent (four times over!) One of the essays talked about how ALL FOUR of his kids were "Doctor Who" fans (!) and I thought "How cool is that? To produce a brood of fan-boys (and -girls) all loving the same thing that you as a parent love!" it made me feel a lot less guilty for imposing upon my daughter my love for John Irving...and Chabon.
In addition to his parenting experiences, Chabon talks about love, his relationships (both present, with fellow writer Ayelet Waldman, and his failed marriage/preceding relationships), delivered with a refreshing honesty (not to mention, Chabon's verbose, droll wit that's just as fun to immerse yourself in as his best novels). (And, speaking of his novels, for Chabon fans he provides plenty of insights as to the machinations in his brain that led to his works like ...Kavalier and Clay, The Wonder Boys, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, etc.)
The collection strays a bit the few times he tries to turn events from the past into fiction-esque short stories, and one essay in particular fell kinda flat for me (predictably, a rather dour homage to the Essay King, David Foster Wallace) but all in all, this is a quite impressive collection: highly recommended if you're a Chabon fan; essential reading if you're, like me, a Chabon fan AND a Gen-X father.
Okay, this is kinda a propos of nothing, but bear with me...
Thursdays are Library Days for me and my daughter (now 5 years old). I sometimes feel a little...I dunno...guilty (?) for imposing my values and likes upon her, but each Thursday she'll run to the children's section, and if they haven't already been checked out, will scour the picture-book section and pull out as many of her favorite books as she can find. Invariably, three of them (which I highly encouraged her to like, and tried to kindle extra enjoyment of by really amping up the theatrics in reading them to her) are Kat Kong by Dav ("Captain Underpants") Pilkey, A Sound Like Someone Trying Not to Make a Sound by John Irving (gee, probably my favorite author...what a coincidence) and The Astonishing Secret of Awesome Man by none other than the author of one of my fave books of all time (...Kavalier and Clay), Michael Chabon. The love he has for his kids (I think, each time I open this book) is so readily apparent, I had to read his collection of essays, Manhood For Amateurs, which I (correctly) presumed, addressed many of his experiences as a Gen-X parent (four times over!) One of the essays talked about how ALL FOUR of his kids were "Doctor Who" fans (!) and I thought "How cool is that? To produce a brood of fan-boys (and -girls) all loving the same thing that you as a parent love!" it made me feel a lot less guilty for imposing upon my daughter my love for John Irving...and Chabon.
In addition to his parenting experiences, Chabon talks about love, his relationships (both present, with fellow writer Ayelet Waldman, and his failed marriage/preceding relationships), delivered with a refreshing honesty (not to mention, Chabon's verbose, droll wit that's just as fun to immerse yourself in as his best novels). (And, speaking of his novels, for Chabon fans he provides plenty of insights as to the machinations in his brain that led to his works like ...Kavalier and Clay, The Wonder Boys, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, etc.)
The collection strays a bit the few times he tries to turn events from the past into fiction-esque short stories, and one essay in particular fell kinda flat for me (predictably, a rather dour homage to the Essay King, David Foster Wallace) but all in all, this is a quite impressive collection: highly recommended if you're a Chabon fan; essential reading if you're, like me, a Chabon fan AND a Gen-X father.
November 6, 2009
A beautiful and touching collection of essays on what it means to be a husband, father, brother and son with a little bit of what it means to be wife and mother of his four children. The stories are sometimes told within the construct of his Jewish heritage and sometimes not but always seem universal. They are short and sweet and several touch on some of his favorite things like baseball and comic book characters. Each one is told in Chabon's usual erudite style. Eloquently written. Remember, he loves words so have a dictionary close by.
November 8, 2009
Anyone who knows me and my literary tastes pretty well (which, really, is just about anyone who takes the time to listen to my literary babble) knows that audio books and I really don't... connect. But I needed an audio book now, and I adore Michael Chabon, and when I realized he put out another book without letting me know, I went for the audio book version as it became available through interlibrary loan sooner than the actual book.
I love Michael Chabon. Have I mentioned that recently?
What was so wonderful about this particular audio CD is that he read the book himself. Now, I'm sure not every author is able to read his own work for eight hours and make it good, but Chabon was able to do that. I was transfixed every time I listened to it. Apparently he could talk to me through head phones all day every day and I would eat that shit up.
Now, about the actual book:
This is a collection of essays about Chabon's life as (see the subtitle) a husband, father, and son. It's not so much as a how-to guide to help one be a good man as the title (Manhood for Amateurs) would suggest; he focuses on his own experiences and discusses the trials and tribulations of manhood but allows that most of the said experiences have very little to do with being a man. In one of the early chapters he discusses being complimented by a stranger in a grocery store for being "a good dad", just by holding one of his kids in his arms. He spent a good amount of time talking about how unfortunate it is that wives and mothers don't get that same courtesy for doing something as seemingly trivial.
All of the essays are wonderful in their own ways. He's not apologetic for any of his beliefs, whether it's about religion (his own or others), parenting, his writing and common motifs therein, or any of his other views on life, sex, drugs or Doctor Who. It's the candidness here that I found so disarming, his willingness to be a failure at any of the above, his willingness to try it again or in a different manner so maybe, hopefully, one day he can get it right. I loved the interconnectedness of the essays, and how they all added up to basically the same thing even though they were all pretty different from one another. At times it was painful to listen to as he hit the nail hard on the head at times, but really that's what a good essayist does. Bravo, Mr. Chabon. (And I love you.)
I love Michael Chabon. Have I mentioned that recently?
What was so wonderful about this particular audio CD is that he read the book himself. Now, I'm sure not every author is able to read his own work for eight hours and make it good, but Chabon was able to do that. I was transfixed every time I listened to it. Apparently he could talk to me through head phones all day every day and I would eat that shit up.
Now, about the actual book:
This is a collection of essays about Chabon's life as (see the subtitle) a husband, father, and son. It's not so much as a how-to guide to help one be a good man as the title (Manhood for Amateurs) would suggest; he focuses on his own experiences and discusses the trials and tribulations of manhood but allows that most of the said experiences have very little to do with being a man. In one of the early chapters he discusses being complimented by a stranger in a grocery store for being "a good dad", just by holding one of his kids in his arms. He spent a good amount of time talking about how unfortunate it is that wives and mothers don't get that same courtesy for doing something as seemingly trivial.
All of the essays are wonderful in their own ways. He's not apologetic for any of his beliefs, whether it's about religion (his own or others), parenting, his writing and common motifs therein, or any of his other views on life, sex, drugs or Doctor Who. It's the candidness here that I found so disarming, his willingness to be a failure at any of the above, his willingness to try it again or in a different manner so maybe, hopefully, one day he can get it right. I loved the interconnectedness of the essays, and how they all added up to basically the same thing even though they were all pretty different from one another. At times it was painful to listen to as he hit the nail hard on the head at times, but really that's what a good essayist does. Bravo, Mr. Chabon. (And I love you.)
May 26, 2020
And now I kind of want Michael Chabon to be my father.
I read the negative reviews and sneer at every word. Dry? Humorless? Pretentious? Terrible?! What are you guys talking about? The man is brilliant, his prose is achingly beautiful, his humor is subtle and intelligent. I feel protective and think: you don’t know him like I do, you don’t own two copies of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay which you’ve read three times already, you don’t caress the covers of his books and smell their pages more often than any sane individual would, your heart doesn’t flutter with excitement by only looking at the spines of his books on your shelves.
And yet, personality-wise, Chabon and I couldn’t be more different. His warm and comfy family life is an unappealing concept to me. I have no desire to ever get married or have children. I’ll never be a wife and a mother (I’ll obviously never be a father). Most of Chabon’s worries, questions, challenges and struggles will never be part of my reality and frankly, I couldn’t care less about these trivial family matters, comic books, Legos and, least of all, baseball cards. Were this book written by someone else, it wouldn’t have worked for me. As it is, my love for the author and the palpable sense of tranquility in his writing invalidate my usual objections and make me disregard any shortcomings.
Don’t make this your first Michael Chabon book. Establish a familiarity. Read his fiction, then fall in love with him even more by reading his nonfiction.
(As a side note, I need to say that I would like to see on a future edition of Tropic of Cancer the following quote referring to the work of Henry Miller: “it´s basically one long novel about the exaltation and despair, in New York and Paris, of a little shit named Henry Miller. The Henry Miller presented in the fiction is a drunk, a cad, a loser; an angry, misogynistic fuck-up with delusions of grandeur, oceanic ambition, lamentable habits of personal grooming, and the profound detestation for money and the material world that only the born cadger can maintain.”)
I read the negative reviews and sneer at every word. Dry? Humorless? Pretentious? Terrible?! What are you guys talking about? The man is brilliant, his prose is achingly beautiful, his humor is subtle and intelligent. I feel protective and think: you don’t know him like I do, you don’t own two copies of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay which you’ve read three times already, you don’t caress the covers of his books and smell their pages more often than any sane individual would, your heart doesn’t flutter with excitement by only looking at the spines of his books on your shelves.
And yet, personality-wise, Chabon and I couldn’t be more different. His warm and comfy family life is an unappealing concept to me. I have no desire to ever get married or have children. I’ll never be a wife and a mother (I’ll obviously never be a father). Most of Chabon’s worries, questions, challenges and struggles will never be part of my reality and frankly, I couldn’t care less about these trivial family matters, comic books, Legos and, least of all, baseball cards. Were this book written by someone else, it wouldn’t have worked for me. As it is, my love for the author and the palpable sense of tranquility in his writing invalidate my usual objections and make me disregard any shortcomings.
Don’t make this your first Michael Chabon book. Establish a familiarity. Read his fiction, then fall in love with him even more by reading his nonfiction.
(As a side note, I need to say that I would like to see on a future edition of Tropic of Cancer the following quote referring to the work of Henry Miller: “it´s basically one long novel about the exaltation and despair, in New York and Paris, of a little shit named Henry Miller. The Henry Miller presented in the fiction is a drunk, a cad, a loser; an angry, misogynistic fuck-up with delusions of grandeur, oceanic ambition, lamentable habits of personal grooming, and the profound detestation for money and the material world that only the born cadger can maintain.”)
August 29, 2013
This is a delightful book of short essays on a diverse set of topics. The collection of essays serves as Chabon's memoirs--not chronological, not comprehensive, but fun and funny. Each essay begins in a simple manner, but then starts to delve into heavier matters--all while maintaining a light-hearted style.
The book uses the word "amateur" from its title Manhood for Amateurs in two different ways. Chabon easily admits that he is an amateur in the sense that he is not an expert. He freely acknowledges that he has failed on numerous occasions as a husband and a father, but not for want of trying. In the other sense of the word, he "loves" being a husband and a father, and he clearly tries his best at both. He tries his best to understand his children, and in many ways they share his interests.
Each essay is imbued with an easy-going, self-deprecating, nostalgic humor. The book is full of references to pop-culture from the 1970's, as he grew up through childhood and adolescence. I recommend this entertaining book for any fan of Michael Chabon.
The book uses the word "amateur" from its title Manhood for Amateurs in two different ways. Chabon easily admits that he is an amateur in the sense that he is not an expert. He freely acknowledges that he has failed on numerous occasions as a husband and a father, but not for want of trying. In the other sense of the word, he "loves" being a husband and a father, and he clearly tries his best at both. He tries his best to understand his children, and in many ways they share his interests.
Each essay is imbued with an easy-going, self-deprecating, nostalgic humor. The book is full of references to pop-culture from the 1970's, as he grew up through childhood and adolescence. I recommend this entertaining book for any fan of Michael Chabon.
Read
May 26, 2023Before I opened the book proper, something made me read the front inside jacket flap, in which it is pronounced that:
'As a devoted son, as a passionate husband, and above all as the father of four young Americans - ' and that's it. I'm done.
I'm hopping mad. I was admonished for swearing one day on this blog, but fuck it. I'm going to do that. The fucking Americans. How they see the world. Or DON'T see the world. Maybe it was the publisher not Chabon, but why didn't he say no? Why is the publisher so right wing nationalist that it would put call children 'young Americans' except in a context where that was relevant? And the probable answer is that they do see that is relevant. Which is such a bad answer.
The American world view is obscene, even when it's through the eyes of nice people. As I still assume Chabon is likely to be.
With a bit of luck I will come back to this book in ten years' time and forget about the dustjacket. What I can't do is throw away the jacket. Don't have it in me to deface a book, even one that deserves it.
'As a devoted son, as a passionate husband, and above all as the father of four young Americans - ' and that's it. I'm done.
I'm hopping mad. I was admonished for swearing one day on this blog, but fuck it. I'm going to do that. The fucking Americans. How they see the world. Or DON'T see the world. Maybe it was the publisher not Chabon, but why didn't he say no? Why is the publisher so right wing nationalist that it would put call children 'young Americans' except in a context where that was relevant? And the probable answer is that they do see that is relevant. Which is such a bad answer.
The American world view is obscene, even when it's through the eyes of nice people. As I still assume Chabon is likely to be.
With a bit of luck I will come back to this book in ten years' time and forget about the dustjacket. What I can't do is throw away the jacket. Don't have it in me to deface a book, even one that deserves it.
October 11, 2013
Final review coming.
March 2013:Back reading this one again:-)
So far the essays herein been very enjoyable as well as with food for thoughts. Very interesting book for me, as a "new" father.
"To the Legoland Station," was pretty funny, since Chabon discusses the difference of that very Danish product, Lego, back when he was a kid and how it is nowadays. (Basically abstraction vs. realism.) And despite his misgivings about the new bend Lego has taken (for commercial reasons, obviously), he ends up praising kids' imagination and spirit even in the face of such treats.
Okay... I'll try to review the other essays in a semi-orderly fashion;-)
JANUARY 25, 2010:
"The Wilderness of Childhood":
An thoughtful essay about the importance of kids being allowed to map their way from A to Z in physical surroundings--by doing instead of simply learning--in order to become whole persons when they grow up, and how this process is in danger nowadays. For instance, it would be better if a child actually travels the half mile (on, say, a bike), to know what's in between the points A and Z, instead of the parents taking the kid from A to Z, resulting in the places in between being empty spots for the kid. This kind of adventure, he says, is of vital importance.
I think he is right.
JANUARY 25, 2010:
"Hypocritical Theory":
The least engaging essay so far, for me. The idea is interesting enough, and deals with how the adult world has taken over and mocks the kids and their world, where in fact it should be the other way around (pertaining the specific issues he considers in the essay, mind you, not as a universal rule;-)).
SEPTEMBER 27, 2010:
"The Splendors of Crap":
A legitimate complaint about the modern, top-professionalized & streamlined "family movies." They are crap, he says, but unfortunately a worse kind of crap than crap movies have ever been before; and I think that, all in all, he is right.
What any modern children's/family movie lacks is, to quote, "the powerful quality of being open-ended, vague at its borders." (p. 80) This is to the detriment of children's imagination and, ultimately, health.
A good point.
"The Hand on My Shoulder":
About the importance of an ex-father-in-law and how strange it is to be intervowen into a family, to later on tear yourself apart from that tapestry. Melancholic. I liked it.
"The Story of Our Story":
This one is centered around being brothers--and having stories to tell each other, from childhood onwards. You know--the "Do you remember when...?" variety. Not bad, really, but in my opinion not on par with the best essays in this collection.
MARCH 24, 2013:
"The Ghost of Irene Adler":
Okay... a few years away from the book. But now I'm back;-)
This is a brief essay with reflections about the friendship between men -- and the (possible, likely) cost when the Woman enters the life of one of the guys. The point is that one never really know the other... and we don't like that idea.
"Heartbreak Kid" read somewhere between the above and the next...
OCTOBER 7, 2013:
"A Gift":
Too cheesy. And very American. About baseball cards connecting fathers and sons.
March 2013:Back reading this one again:-)
So far the essays herein been very enjoyable as well as with food for thoughts. Very interesting book for me, as a "new" father.
"To the Legoland Station," was pretty funny, since Chabon discusses the difference of that very Danish product, Lego, back when he was a kid and how it is nowadays. (Basically abstraction vs. realism.) And despite his misgivings about the new bend Lego has taken (for commercial reasons, obviously), he ends up praising kids' imagination and spirit even in the face of such treats.
Okay... I'll try to review the other essays in a semi-orderly fashion;-)
JANUARY 25, 2010:
"The Wilderness of Childhood":
An thoughtful essay about the importance of kids being allowed to map their way from A to Z in physical surroundings--by doing instead of simply learning--in order to become whole persons when they grow up, and how this process is in danger nowadays. For instance, it would be better if a child actually travels the half mile (on, say, a bike), to know what's in between the points A and Z, instead of the parents taking the kid from A to Z, resulting in the places in between being empty spots for the kid. This kind of adventure, he says, is of vital importance.
I think he is right.
JANUARY 25, 2010:
"Hypocritical Theory":
The least engaging essay so far, for me. The idea is interesting enough, and deals with how the adult world has taken over and mocks the kids and their world, where in fact it should be the other way around (pertaining the specific issues he considers in the essay, mind you, not as a universal rule;-)).
SEPTEMBER 27, 2010:
"The Splendors of Crap":
A legitimate complaint about the modern, top-professionalized & streamlined "family movies." They are crap, he says, but unfortunately a worse kind of crap than crap movies have ever been before; and I think that, all in all, he is right.
What any modern children's/family movie lacks is, to quote, "the powerful quality of being open-ended, vague at its borders." (p. 80) This is to the detriment of children's imagination and, ultimately, health.
A good point.
"The Hand on My Shoulder":
About the importance of an ex-father-in-law and how strange it is to be intervowen into a family, to later on tear yourself apart from that tapestry. Melancholic. I liked it.
"The Story of Our Story":
This one is centered around being brothers--and having stories to tell each other, from childhood onwards. You know--the "Do you remember when...?" variety. Not bad, really, but in my opinion not on par with the best essays in this collection.
MARCH 24, 2013:
"The Ghost of Irene Adler":
Okay... a few years away from the book. But now I'm back;-)
This is a brief essay with reflections about the friendship between men -- and the (possible, likely) cost when the Woman enters the life of one of the guys. The point is that one never really know the other... and we don't like that idea.
"Heartbreak Kid" read somewhere between the above and the next...
OCTOBER 7, 2013:
"A Gift":
Too cheesy. And very American. About baseball cards connecting fathers and sons.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 9, 2012
So, delving into the personal for a moment; yesterday when I started this book I was having a particularly difficult parental day. My youngest (who is never the easiest child to motivate to dress or brush teeth or shoe and head off to school) was particularly difficult. I finally got the kids in the car only 6 minutes late and dropped at school only a minute late (lots of time can be made up if one is willing to drive 10-15 miles over the speed limit) and then came home and bawled to my husband about how I cannot, absolutely cannot take the stress of the responsibility of getting them off to school. Really, I recognize that I have very few real problems and am more than anything one of the luckiest people I know (in love, finances, work, and children for the most part) BUT the passive aggressive tendencies of my youngest can make me (at times) wish not only that he was never born but that I had the where withall to just abandon the whole shebang and live in a studio apartment over a sleazy coffee shop and wait tables for a mere $20K annually. And then I settled down and did some work and picked up this book and felt not only okay for my selfish desires, but downright normal.
Clearly, I'm not a guy and while I welcome the term nerd (as in mathnerd, booknerd, foodnerd), I have never considered myself a geek (sci fi just does not do so much for me) and so could not relate to all of his stories. However, the parenthood stuff was amazingly refreshing and funny and poignant (especially for me yesterday) and touching. He is self deprecating and hopeful and hard working and optimistic and best of all WITTY.
The title is worth a comment; he spends quite a bit of time defining the term "amateur" as something along the lines of "fan" or "geek" or better yet "enthusiast". An amateur is someone who is willing and interested in a topic; as such rather than the potential self-deprecation that I had assumed "manhood for amateurs" to be I have to re-interpret it as "manhood for those of us who strive to engage life." Overall, the book's moral is simply to do your best and try to enjoy the moment...pretty good stuff.
I have a few great comments below, just gems out of context:
"I define being a good father in precisely the same terms that we ought to define being a good mother--doing my part to handle and stay on top of the endless parade of piddly shit."
"Marijuana could intensify the sunshine of a perfect summer day, but it could also deepen the gloom of a wintry afternoon; it had bred false camaraderies and drawn my attention to deep flaws and fault lines when what mattered--what matters so often in the course of everyday human life--were the surfaces and the joins."
"Adulthood has always carried a burden of self-denial, of surrendering pleasures, of leaving childish things behind."
"Like all obvious questions, none of these can be answered. All human endeavor is subject to cracking."
"The true scarcity we face is of practicing adults, of people who know how marginal, how fragile, how finite their lives and their stories and their ambitions really are but who find value in this knowledge, even a sense of strange comfort, because they know their condition is universal, is shared."
Clearly, I'm not a guy and while I welcome the term nerd (as in mathnerd, booknerd, foodnerd), I have never considered myself a geek (sci fi just does not do so much for me) and so could not relate to all of his stories. However, the parenthood stuff was amazingly refreshing and funny and poignant (especially for me yesterday) and touching. He is self deprecating and hopeful and hard working and optimistic and best of all WITTY.
The title is worth a comment; he spends quite a bit of time defining the term "amateur" as something along the lines of "fan" or "geek" or better yet "enthusiast". An amateur is someone who is willing and interested in a topic; as such rather than the potential self-deprecation that I had assumed "manhood for amateurs" to be I have to re-interpret it as "manhood for those of us who strive to engage life." Overall, the book's moral is simply to do your best and try to enjoy the moment...pretty good stuff.
I have a few great comments below, just gems out of context:
"I define being a good father in precisely the same terms that we ought to define being a good mother--doing my part to handle and stay on top of the endless parade of piddly shit."
"Marijuana could intensify the sunshine of a perfect summer day, but it could also deepen the gloom of a wintry afternoon; it had bred false camaraderies and drawn my attention to deep flaws and fault lines when what mattered--what matters so often in the course of everyday human life--were the surfaces and the joins."
"Adulthood has always carried a burden of self-denial, of surrendering pleasures, of leaving childish things behind."
"Like all obvious questions, none of these can be answered. All human endeavor is subject to cracking."
"The true scarcity we face is of practicing adults, of people who know how marginal, how fragile, how finite their lives and their stories and their ambitions really are but who find value in this knowledge, even a sense of strange comfort, because they know their condition is universal, is shared."
October 19, 2009
Here's the thing. About 95% of these essays came out of Details Magazine. Instead of spending $25.99 on a Michael Chabon book I could just become a complete goober. Then I'd probably read Details magazine because Esquire is for snobs and GQ is kinda gay. The only plus side is knowing that people who need Details Magazine (sample article:"Old Girls Gone Wild-Behind the scenes at the first national Cougar Convention.") are accidentally getting exposed to Michael Chabon, who is much better for them than, say, any single item in the monthly "Dating + Cheating" section.
If I knew now that this book was this book I would still read it. Gawker was, as usual, completely misinformed and wrong in their story on this ().
These essays are fun to read because Michael Chabon wrote them and the thing you learn from Michael Chabon is to just keep writing and realize that you're not just going to be a master novelist right out of Iowa. But knowing that some editor worked on these alongside some bullshit boxer/briefs questionaire takes the boy out of my balloon.
There are several fantastic essays about being a "good dad" which, although it is the passion of his adult life, he cleverly admits that existing makes him a good dad, meanwhile existing for a "good mom" is never enough. And that almost all mothers feel like bad mothers the majority of the time and will never have the joy of someone coming up to them alone in the supermarket just to comment on what a "good" parent they are.
If I knew now that this book was this book I would still read it. Gawker was, as usual, completely misinformed and wrong in their story on this ().
These essays are fun to read because Michael Chabon wrote them and the thing you learn from Michael Chabon is to just keep writing and realize that you're not just going to be a master novelist right out of Iowa. But knowing that some editor worked on these alongside some bullshit boxer/briefs questionaire takes the boy out of my balloon.
There are several fantastic essays about being a "good dad" which, although it is the passion of his adult life, he cleverly admits that existing makes him a good dad, meanwhile existing for a "good mom" is never enough. And that almost all mothers feel like bad mothers the majority of the time and will never have the joy of someone coming up to them alone in the supermarket just to comment on what a "good" parent they are.
October 30, 2009
michael chabon composes dazzling prose. his love for the art of storytelling is evident in everything he writes. his writing is smart, insightful, candid, funny, sympathetic, and mischievous. this gifted combination makes for one of the rare writers from whom a reader always knows to expect something altogether enjoyable. some of chabon's works are indeed gems, but all of them are great books.
manhood for amateurs: the pleasures and regrets of a husband, father, and son, is precisely what the subtitle says it is. comprised mostly of essays that were published previously in details magazine, this collection finds chabon musing on subjects as disparate as circumcision, baseball, marijuana, superheroes, menarche, captain underpants, imagination, legos, and having sex with your mom's friend when you're 15. it truly seems that chabon can take any topic, however inherently mundane or fascinating, and craft a piece that is both well written and engrossing. perhaps what is most magnificent about his writing is that it seems to come from a genuine curiosity and thoughtfulness for things, as is well evident in his fiction. manhood for amateurs contains some excellent pieces, and as a whole is about as good a collection of essays as you're apt to find amongst any of his contemporaries.
manhood for amateurs: the pleasures and regrets of a husband, father, and son, is precisely what the subtitle says it is. comprised mostly of essays that were published previously in details magazine, this collection finds chabon musing on subjects as disparate as circumcision, baseball, marijuana, superheroes, menarche, captain underpants, imagination, legos, and having sex with your mom's friend when you're 15. it truly seems that chabon can take any topic, however inherently mundane or fascinating, and craft a piece that is both well written and engrossing. perhaps what is most magnificent about his writing is that it seems to come from a genuine curiosity and thoughtfulness for things, as is well evident in his fiction. manhood for amateurs contains some excellent pieces, and as a whole is about as good a collection of essays as you're apt to find amongst any of his contemporaries.
November 4, 2012
The four-page opening essay, The Loser's Club, reminds me why I've so often felt affection for this writer. It's remarkably tender and revealing portrayal of him as a boy.
About having the daring to try something almost certain to fail, he says,
"...this chutzpah--as in all those accounts of magical chutzpah so beloved by solitary boys like me--was rewarded."
and
"Every work of art is...an act of hopeless optimism in the service of bottomless longing."
Alas, nothing else lived up to that four-page gem. The remaining essays are examples of why I give up when I try to write memoir: there's no compelling reason for them to exist. They're sweet, charming stories about a fine, caring man and his family. The writing is lovely, but the imagination he's free to bring to fiction is missing.
That said, I continue to appreciate him as a writer. I'm looking forward to starting Telegraph Avenue.
About having the daring to try something almost certain to fail, he says,
"...this chutzpah--as in all those accounts of magical chutzpah so beloved by solitary boys like me--was rewarded."
and
"Every work of art is...an act of hopeless optimism in the service of bottomless longing."
Alas, nothing else lived up to that four-page gem. The remaining essays are examples of why I give up when I try to write memoir: there's no compelling reason for them to exist. They're sweet, charming stories about a fine, caring man and his family. The writing is lovely, but the imagination he's free to bring to fiction is missing.
That said, I continue to appreciate him as a writer. I'm looking forward to starting Telegraph Avenue.
March 11, 2022
my favourite genre of books is "non-fiction written by fiction writers". it combines the typical-to-non-fiction dispassionately "think-y" nature of the content with typical-to-fiction creative prosody and personable/engaging writing style. this book is in that genre (kind of... if you squint a little).
but even outside of taxonomical considerations, this book is special because it's about masculinity, but unlike almost all other books on masculinity, it's not about toxic masculinity. it is a matter-of-fact series of essays, discussing (without meaning to) the role generally expected of men and boys in society -- but it's all in the form of personal essays; the memoirs of an imperfect son of an imperfect father, who goes on to become an imperfect father to his own children, and all the other relationships that surround it all -- his mother, his wife, his ex-wife, his ex-father-in-law, his parents divorce, his friends and best friends, and so on. the writer describes both his successes and his failings, and the broader societal context surrounding it all, without all that much whining or self-pity, or without the accusatory or defensive politics that dominates most discussions on gender nowadays. there's no feminist self-whipping or male guilt, neither is there a reactionary defensiveness about "today's men are no longer tough" nonsense, there's just a set of expectations and events and circumstances that happened in the form of Life™ and his recounting of them all.
for many boys today (especially the more conscientious and politically aware ones), we spend a lot of time disavowing (or in consternation about whether we should disavow) a bunch of mostly harmless/innocuous things that are traditionally male-coded and therefore automatically get associated with patriarchy -- beer and bro-culture, the fun angsty-edgy conversations our angsty-edgy teenage selves would regularly have with our angsty-edgy teenage guy friends, confusion and pressures about what is expected of us and what is healthy and where we fall short, and so on.
for once, it's good to read (and think and discuss) fairly common life experiences without the baggage of "wider context" and "what it says about society" and "the weight of history". in that sense, the book truly succeeds -- it's from 2008-ish and the essays are likely much older, so it preceded the great awokening of the mid-2010s, and therefore avoids a lot of the heaviness that has been characteristic ever since (just look at how many of the other reviews are analysing this book through a gender theory/critical feminist theory lens!)
and since the writer is more commonly known as a novelist, the writing is fun and engaging and very personable. not all the essays are equally good, and some tend to be too self-indulgent and navel-gazey, but the best ones are true gems. highly recommended, especially for boys who grew up in the 90s and still remember what it was like to live without an all pervasive internet telling us what our life "truly means".
but even outside of taxonomical considerations, this book is special because it's about masculinity, but unlike almost all other books on masculinity, it's not about toxic masculinity. it is a matter-of-fact series of essays, discussing (without meaning to) the role generally expected of men and boys in society -- but it's all in the form of personal essays; the memoirs of an imperfect son of an imperfect father, who goes on to become an imperfect father to his own children, and all the other relationships that surround it all -- his mother, his wife, his ex-wife, his ex-father-in-law, his parents divorce, his friends and best friends, and so on. the writer describes both his successes and his failings, and the broader societal context surrounding it all, without all that much whining or self-pity, or without the accusatory or defensive politics that dominates most discussions on gender nowadays. there's no feminist self-whipping or male guilt, neither is there a reactionary defensiveness about "today's men are no longer tough" nonsense, there's just a set of expectations and events and circumstances that happened in the form of Life™ and his recounting of them all.
for many boys today (especially the more conscientious and politically aware ones), we spend a lot of time disavowing (or in consternation about whether we should disavow) a bunch of mostly harmless/innocuous things that are traditionally male-coded and therefore automatically get associated with patriarchy -- beer and bro-culture, the fun angsty-edgy conversations our angsty-edgy teenage selves would regularly have with our angsty-edgy teenage guy friends, confusion and pressures about what is expected of us and what is healthy and where we fall short, and so on.
for once, it's good to read (and think and discuss) fairly common life experiences without the baggage of "wider context" and "what it says about society" and "the weight of history". in that sense, the book truly succeeds -- it's from 2008-ish and the essays are likely much older, so it preceded the great awokening of the mid-2010s, and therefore avoids a lot of the heaviness that has been characteristic ever since (just look at how many of the other reviews are analysing this book through a gender theory/critical feminist theory lens!)
and since the writer is more commonly known as a novelist, the writing is fun and engaging and very personable. not all the essays are equally good, and some tend to be too self-indulgent and navel-gazey, but the best ones are true gems. highly recommended, especially for boys who grew up in the 90s and still remember what it was like to live without an all pervasive internet telling us what our life "truly means".
October 6, 2022
Reading Moonglow made me really want to read his nonfiction and this definitely scratched that itch. The essays are funny and touching, and have good insights. Also when pairing the book title with the fact that it was published in 2009 I was pleasantly surprised there were no ‘YIKES that didn’t age well’ moments that stuck out to me.
October 13, 2014
(2012 review)
Having read and enjoyed three of Chabon's books already (The Mysteries of Pittsburgh: good, The Yiddish Policemen's Union: very good, and The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay: sublime), I dove into my borrowed copy of Manhood for Amateurs with a mix of expectation and wariness. Expectation, because, having seen Chabon at his best, I was curious to get inside his head and life, and wariness because of the inevitability of disappointment.
Both scenarios were realized. Manhood is a very good memoir. Actually, it's a decent memoir and a very good collection of essays. Chabon's writing style is slightly pared down but his ideas are not, and Chabon has some incidents in his past that are very interesting to read about and shed good light on his writing. But taken as a whole, the memoir feels kind of disjointed. The final essay, the one which one hopes will tie everything together, is one of the weaker in the collection and leaves the very final taste in one's mouth one of slight disappointment. Chabon has also fallen victim to the trap (that also befalls David Sedaris--actually, I frequently felt like I was reading the words of a more mature, erudite Sedaris) of snappily concluding essays by harkening back to an earlier symbol in the piece, which, when used in excess, is annoying (and it is always used in excess).
But Manhood is a worthy read. Read it and be surprised at Michael Chabon's total lack of what people euphemistically refer to as "artistic temperament." Chabon comes across as conscientious, responsible, smart, and honest--a person worthy of emulation. He could stand to lose the false modesty, though.
4/5. At some point I plan to revisit this one once I've got my own copy.
(October 2014 update)
I loved this book more than I did the first time. The remarkable thing about Chabon is his unflagging sweetness, and the sincerity of that sweetness; it never feels feigned, and it makes me happy to think of him raising his children in this affectionate, conscientious way. So often I find myself loathing the bland goodness of memoirists as expressed in their own memoirs. Chabon escapes the trap with his other hallmark traits of clear-eyed self-analysis and its counterpoint, analysis of the world. He has interesting things to say and, as could really go without saying, a stunning way of saying them. I just smiled my way through this book. Have I grown less critical in general? Or just of Chabon? 4/5, still. And I'll read it again--and make any father to my (nonexistent children) read it too.
Having read and enjoyed three of Chabon's books already (The Mysteries of Pittsburgh: good, The Yiddish Policemen's Union: very good, and The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay: sublime), I dove into my borrowed copy of Manhood for Amateurs with a mix of expectation and wariness. Expectation, because, having seen Chabon at his best, I was curious to get inside his head and life, and wariness because of the inevitability of disappointment.
Both scenarios were realized. Manhood is a very good memoir. Actually, it's a decent memoir and a very good collection of essays. Chabon's writing style is slightly pared down but his ideas are not, and Chabon has some incidents in his past that are very interesting to read about and shed good light on his writing. But taken as a whole, the memoir feels kind of disjointed. The final essay, the one which one hopes will tie everything together, is one of the weaker in the collection and leaves the very final taste in one's mouth one of slight disappointment. Chabon has also fallen victim to the trap (that also befalls David Sedaris--actually, I frequently felt like I was reading the words of a more mature, erudite Sedaris) of snappily concluding essays by harkening back to an earlier symbol in the piece, which, when used in excess, is annoying (and it is always used in excess).
But Manhood is a worthy read. Read it and be surprised at Michael Chabon's total lack of what people euphemistically refer to as "artistic temperament." Chabon comes across as conscientious, responsible, smart, and honest--a person worthy of emulation. He could stand to lose the false modesty, though.
4/5. At some point I plan to revisit this one once I've got my own copy.
(October 2014 update)
I loved this book more than I did the first time. The remarkable thing about Chabon is his unflagging sweetness, and the sincerity of that sweetness; it never feels feigned, and it makes me happy to think of him raising his children in this affectionate, conscientious way. So often I find myself loathing the bland goodness of memoirists as expressed in their own memoirs. Chabon escapes the trap with his other hallmark traits of clear-eyed self-analysis and its counterpoint, analysis of the world. He has interesting things to say and, as could really go without saying, a stunning way of saying them. I just smiled my way through this book. Have I grown less critical in general? Or just of Chabon? 4/5, still. And I'll read it again--and make any father to my (nonexistent children) read it too.
December 27, 2009
I really liked most of this collection -- a series of reflections on fatherhood/sonhood/manhood in twentieth and twenty-first century America. Even though I'm not a parent, I identified with Michael Chabon's grumpy observations about the shameless commodification of childhood, the authoritarian nature of modern Legos, and, most especially, the way that kids are no longer allowed to roam freely in their neighborhoods, which (Chabon says) represents the "curtailing of adventure" and the "closing off of Wilderness." I love this: "What is the impact of the closing down of the Wilderness of the development of children's imaginations? This is what I worry about the most. I grew up with a freedom, a liberty that now seems breathtaking and impossible ... Art is a form of exploration, of sailing off into the unknown alone, heading for those unmarked places on the map. If children are not permitted -- not taught -- to be adventurers and explorers as children, what will become of the world of adventure, of stories, of literature itself?"
I also really liked the essay about the particular cosmic optimism of the 1970s, in which Chabon refers to Carl Sagan's efforts in compiling the Golden Record that was carried on board Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 as "the greetings of an entire planet lobbed with the glee of a paperboy across a trillion miles of space that may be home to no one at all." Along those same lines, the story about the Clock of the Long Now (a giant mechanical device that's supposed to keep time for 10,000 years) laments our culture's loss of belief or interest in the Future. The point of the Clock is to get people thinking about the Future again. When Chabon tells his son about the Clock and assures him without hesitation that there will be people around when the Clock stops working 10,000 years from now, he admits he has no idea if this is true but observes that having kids pretty much requires optimism and hope for the Future. How great is this: "But in having children -- in engendering them, in loving them, in teaching them to love and care about the world -- parents are betting, whether they know it or not, on the Clock of the Long Now. They are betting on their children, and their children after them, and theirs beyond them, all the way down the line from now to the 130th century. If you don't believe in the Future, unreservedly and dreamingly, if you aren't willing to bet that somebody will be there to cry when the Clock finally, ten thousand years from now, runs down, then I don't see how you can have children. If you have children, I don't see how you can fail to do everything in your power to ensure that you win your bet and that they and their grandchildren and their grandchildren's grandchildren will inherit a world whose perfection can never be accomplished by creatures whose imagination for perfecting it is limitless and free."
I also really liked the essay about the particular cosmic optimism of the 1970s, in which Chabon refers to Carl Sagan's efforts in compiling the Golden Record that was carried on board Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 as "the greetings of an entire planet lobbed with the glee of a paperboy across a trillion miles of space that may be home to no one at all." Along those same lines, the story about the Clock of the Long Now (a giant mechanical device that's supposed to keep time for 10,000 years) laments our culture's loss of belief or interest in the Future. The point of the Clock is to get people thinking about the Future again. When Chabon tells his son about the Clock and assures him without hesitation that there will be people around when the Clock stops working 10,000 years from now, he admits he has no idea if this is true but observes that having kids pretty much requires optimism and hope for the Future. How great is this: "But in having children -- in engendering them, in loving them, in teaching them to love and care about the world -- parents are betting, whether they know it or not, on the Clock of the Long Now. They are betting on their children, and their children after them, and theirs beyond them, all the way down the line from now to the 130th century. If you don't believe in the Future, unreservedly and dreamingly, if you aren't willing to bet that somebody will be there to cry when the Clock finally, ten thousand years from now, runs down, then I don't see how you can have children. If you have children, I don't see how you can fail to do everything in your power to ensure that you win your bet and that they and their grandchildren and their grandchildren's grandchildren will inherit a world whose perfection can never be accomplished by creatures whose imagination for perfecting it is limitless and free."
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