Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 7, 1995 TAG: 9505100013
SECTION: BOOK PAGE: D-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: REVIEWED BY NEIL HARVEY
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
In recent interviews (including the one below), author Michael Chabon has been surprisingly forthright about the conditions under which his third and latest book, "Wonder Boys," was written. After spending five years working on "Fountain City," a lengthy novel about a ballpark, he and his editor decided that the finished product was jumbled, too long and most likely unpublishable. Facing impending contractual obligations, Chabon went back to the typewriter and, in just over half a year, cranked out "Wonder Boys," a novel about ... a writer who spent five years working on a jumbled, too long, unpublishable book.
"Wonder Boys" tells the story of fictional author Grady Tripp, a hard living and easily distracted writing professor, a literary Phil Elliott with a brain that's seriously resin clogged. The book follows Grady around as he has a very bad couple of days and as he wrestles with the possibility that, creatively, he might be all washed up.
Chabon's candor aside, however, it's nonetheless painfully obvious that "Wonder Boys" is the result of pressure and a writer's frustration and anxiety. The book starts out very nicely; for the first third or so, "Wonder Boys" is like a sunny spring drive through the country. It quickly becomes clear, however, that the driver doesn't know where he's going.
The narrative rattles along uncertainly, like a Plinko chip, and the pacing runs hot and cold. The characters perform eccentric actions which aren't all that funny or even logical, but which are done only to further the downward spiral of the plot. Near the end, the book seems to be heading toward an unbelievably sappy conclusion, then it takes a sharp turn and closes on a bleak and cynical note that just doesn't ring true.
"Wonder Boys," however, does not qualify for "bad book" status, because one thing saves the book from being a huge mistake: Chabon sure can write.
He may come up short in terms of structure and plausibility, but he's a master of description and off-the-wall simile and metaphor; he writes a little like Thomas Pynchon on extra-strength anti-depressants. From the first to the last page, even when the legs of his plot buckle, even when his people need some sense slapped into them, Chabon's prose remains sharp and energetic. Even though "Wonder Boys" is not a particularly good book, it's almost always obvious that the author is a particularly good writer. He'd be wise, however, to work with more substantive plot material the next time around.
If "Wonder Boys" was a house that Chabon built, the interior design would draw rave reviews. The architecture, on the other hand, might get the building condemned.
Neil Harvey is a Blacksburg writer.
by CNB