From Publishers Weekly
Chabon, acclaimed author of The Mysteries of Pittsburgh , offers a collection of understated, ironic tales about people seeking acceptance. Nine of the stories first appeared in the New Yorker. Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From School Library Journal
YA-- Originally published in The New Yorker and other magazines, these short stories are delightful in their portrayal of characters, the light irony of the situations, and the flow of the sentences. Chabon deftly paints humorously odd people floundering for fulfillment. In the first part, readers glide into a kaleidoscope of worlds--a Jewish wedding in Los Angeles; Laguna Beach with an estranged couple; Paris with an American do-gooder; Pittsburgh with a down-and-out baseball catcher, a disc jockey, and a blundering toy maker; and finally duplicity in academe. Chabon's stories will captivate creative writing students, students of literature, and casual readers alike. --Susan Callahan, R. E. Lee High School, Springfield, VACopyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
This collection of 11 stories by the author of the well-received Mysteries of Pittsburgh (Morrow, 1988) should help cement Chabon's status as one of the best of America's young fiction writers. Each of the stories concerns an individual's adaptation to a changed relationship, be it with wife (or ex-wife), friend, lover, or parent. Particularly evocative are the five final stories which fall under the rubric "The Lost World." They deal with a boy's response to his parents' divorce and their subsequent attempts to establish new partnerships. Chabon writes with intelligence, humor, and an obvious love of language. In the first story's marvelous opening paragraph, the protagonist goes from performing his toilet "with patience, hope, and a ruthless punctilic" to sitting in the back at his cousin's wedding "awash in a nostalgic tedium . . . wishing for irretrievable things." It leaves one hoping that, like Dr. Shapiro in "More Than Human," Chabon never surrenders his love for "the soothing foolishness of words." If he keeps developing, he will become a major force in American fiction. Essential for all public and academic libraries. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 12/90.- David W. Henderson, Eckerd Coll. Lib., St. Petersburg, Fla.Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Book Description
From the wondrously talented author of The mysteries of Pittsburgh and Wonder Boys comes a magnificent collection of ironic, understated tales that confirm his reputation as "the young star of American letters." -- Washington Post Book World. Here are eleven superb stories about growing up and growing wise -- stories in which people attempt to create and inhabit their own model worlds, only to watch them collapse in the face of the real world.


About the Author
Michael Chabon was born in Washington, D.C. His first novel, The Mysteries of Pittsburg, was a national bestseller and was compared by critics to the besr of Fitzgerald and Salnger. Upon publication of his second novel, Wonder Boys, he was hailed by The Washington Post Book World as "the young star of American letters." His short stories have appeared in The New Yorker and in Gentlemen's Quarterly. He lives in San Francisco with his wife and two children.

ANNOTATION

The celebrated author of The New York Times bestseller The Mysteries of Pittsburgh presents his first collection of short stories. From the complexity and wit of "A Model World" and "Millionaires" to the wrenching emotions exposed in a series of stories about a boy whose parents are divorcing, this collection is extraordinary.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

From the wondrously talented author of The mysteries of Pittsburgh and Wonder Boys comes a magnificent collection of ironic, understated tales that confirm his reputation as "the young star of American letters." — Washington Post Book World. Here are eleven superb stories about growing up and growing wise — stories in which people attempt to create and inhabit their own model worlds, only to watch them collapse in the face of the real world.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Chabon, acclaimed author of The Mysteries of Pittsburgh , offers a collection of understated, ironic tales about people seeking acceptance. Nine of the stories first appeared in the New Yorker. (Mar.)

Library Journal

This collection of 11 stories by the author of the well-received Mysteries of Pittsburgh (Morrow, 1988) should help cement Chabon's status as one of the best of America's young fiction writers. Each of the stories concerns an individual's adaptation to a changed relationship, be it with wife (or ex-wife), friend, lover, or parent. Particularly evocative are the five final stories which fall under the rubric ``The Lost World.'' They deal with a boy's response to his parents' divorce and their subsequent attempts to establish new partnerships. Chabon writes with intelligence, humor, and an obvious love of language. In the first story's marvelous opening paragraph, the protagonist goes from performing his toilet ``with patience, hope, and a ruthless punctilic'' to sitting in the back at his cousin's wedding ``awash in a nostalgic tedium . . . wishing for irretrievable things.'' It leaves one hoping that, like Dr. Shapiro in ``More Than Human,'' Chabon never surrenders his love for ``the soothing foolishness of words.'' If he keeps developing, he will become a major force in American fiction. Essential for all public and academic libraries. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 12/90.-- David W. Henderson, Eckerd Coll. Lib., St. Petersburg, Fla.

School Library Journal