The Mysteries of Pittsburgh by Michael Chabon

On the heels of the last sentence of my last post, I decided to read something lighter and fun. The Mysteries of Pittsburgh was just that—a real feel good story—while still possessing some serious matters. It takes place entirely in the summer, between school years for the main character Arthur. Arthur is pretty typical for his age—callow and living solely for the moment. He has a father whose line of work is incredibly dubious, yet never fully explained, a best friend, also weirdly named Arthur (I guess Chabon really likes that particular name and also American cities—hence the title and another B character named Cleveland), and he picks up a sort-of girlfriend, named Phlox, during the book.

In a nutshell, the book is all about growing up and growing into yourself. Arthur eventually succumbs to his best friend’s sexual advances even after starting to date Phlox and he can’t ever seem to figure out which flavor of ice cream he really likes. His relationship with his father is also intriguing. His father seems sincere in wanting to care for Arthur but never really lets him get too close because of his career; maybe to protect his son but maybe not. Consequently, Arthur knows father but he doesn’t really know him.

So yes, this book was fun and easy to relate to (apparently there's a film adaptation as well). The writing is sharp and witty and especially impressive considering it was written when Chabon was only 24. He’s also a pretty good friend of Franzen’s and I think they are considered among the top of American letters for their generation. The title is pretty gay, but take this book to the beach and I think you'll like it.