Telegraph Avenue by Michael Chabon
The time: summer, 2004. The
Place: Northern California, in the adjoining communities of Berkeley and
Oakland. In this distinctive setting, Michael Chabon once again summons his
incredible gifts for electric prose and sympathetic characters to weave
together an immensely entertaining and moving tale.
At the heart of Telegraph Avenue is Brokeland Records, a
beloved used vinyl shop in danger of getting wiped out by an incoming big-box
superstore. Its co-owners, Archy Stallings and Nat Jaffe (a black man and a
white Jewish man, respectively), are forced to face this fresh threat along
with the pains and regrets of their shortcomings as husbands, fathers, and
sons. In the meantime, their wives Gwen and Aviva, themselves partners in their
midwifery business, handle their own challenges and frustrations.
Fragile yet crucial stakes
bound to faded hopes and broken promises are stubbornly fought for and held
onto throughout a deliciously concocted ode to music, cinephilia, American race
relations from the 1970s to the present, nerd culture, Quentin Tarantino, Bruce
Lee, teenage longing, and nostalgia. Brimming with genuine emotion, humor, and
sincerity, Telegraph Avenue is one
beautifully rewarding book—as one can safely expect from Chabon, who has never
been anything less than generous to his readers.
- Marc Saint-Cyr
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