Customer Reviews

A Model World and Other Stories

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

When I first came across this book in it's initial paperback printing, I was excited by his blend of outrageous humor and insightful prose. Especially hilarious is the story about two friends, one of whom plays with things for a living. He looks for the "intrinsic ludic value" of ordinary household items, or rather, would they make good toys. He had one relationship end because of the natural similarities between the shape of a flying saucer and the shape of a birth control pill dispenser. On a whole, it reminded me of Raymond Carver but without the suicidal tendencies. More mature (but not as funny) as his wonderful first novel _The Mysteries of Pittsburgh_, I am looking forward to his next volume of short fiction as it seems to me that the short story is his true gift.

Sometimes I read reviews of records, etc. where the reviewer states, before anything else, that they shouldn't be reviewing the record, etc. because they're too close to it. I try to avoid writing anything about the records, books, etc. that I really love, since I can't be objective.

This is probably my favorite collection of short stories. My copy has been following me around since it came out and I have read and re-read every line of this thing many, many times. The Nathan Shapiro stories are so carefully written; each sentence seems constructed, each word perfectly placed. These stories are too accurate, too true to be sentimental. Art. This stuff is art.

I have a difficult time believing that everyone doesn't already have a copy of this. I'd recommend this collection to anyone, escpecially those who are familiar with Ethan Canin, Thom Jones (although Jones may seem a little "tougher"), and (maybe) late Richard Ford.

The modern sentence as art.

Objective? No. Not at all.

Chabon is amazing. His metaphors are more than literal - they give yout the ability to conjure up thoughts and ideas you didn't know you had. Impossible to put down, I give this book 5+ stars.

Michael Chabon is about as good a short story writer that you are going to find today. This is unfair because he is also America's best new novelist. Nobody has any business writing novels and short stories equally well. This is Chabon's first collection of short stories and it is not quite as good as his subsequent collection, Werewolves in Their Youth, but it is still excellent.

The book is divided in halves - A Model World and The Lost World. Ultimately, the second half of the book is better because it is a series of connected stories about Nathan Shapiro, a boy growing up and dealing with divorce.

If anyone is interested in the craft of short story writing, A Model World is a model collection.

I was shocked that some reviewers do not idolize this collection but then Melville and James are always hated by the majority of readers who are honest. Here I find the rejection even harder to bear since Chabon's prose is so intent on being joyful at the semantic and syntactic levels. He is a word dandy (like Stevens) who enjoys not just the mot juste, but the play and excitement of expression. These qualities alone would make him exceptional in world where the minimalism of paucity is mistaken for existential restraint. However he has as great a grasp of the lexicon of social expression as he does of word wealth. He is a fabulous observer and is able to register and decode more nuance in a paragraph than most in a book. The "action" then is not in the physical space but in the constant adjustments and misdirections of inter-personal association. At this, Chabon is more talented than any and all.

Michael Chabon once again proves why I believe he is America's premier living author. In this collection of short stories, he presents many normal circumstances, every day sorts of things, but he gives them to us with such captivating, realistic characters that you must turn the page to find out how everything ends. Now, this is not the stuff of thrillers, mind you, but rather, his collection is the stuff of life. These characters are your friends and family, and Chabon treats them with both reverence and brutality. Such is life.

Chabon's writing is unassuming and wildly intelligent. There is much at the surface of his work, but it is so pleasing to plunge into the depths of analysis if one feels so inclined. Just as I always have, I highly recommend you read Chabon's work.

~Scott William Foley, author of The Imagination's Provocation: Volume I: A Collection of Short Stories

I must say, I'm a huge Michael Chabon fan. His books are always filled with dynamic characters in fascinating situations, and A Model World is no different. But where some of his books have a more airy feel, the stories in this collection are dark. the underlying theme to almost every story in this colelction is family breakdown. the worlds in Chabon's book are certainly not the model that anyone would like to follow.

That being said, the writing is as strong as ever and the stories are engaging. From the dark, satirical humour of the first story, to the tense nail-chewing fear in the last, Chabon takes us on a ride.

Chabon is a writer who, in a rare case, is actually living up to his hype. Read A Model World; it's worth it.

I picked up this after reading Wonderboys, but if that's what you're expecting, this collection of short stories is completely different. This novel didn't have the narrative form I expected, but the way that he relates the way things feel absolutely beggars the imagination. Some of the stories were so painfully beautiful that I had to put the book down and come back to it later. I highly recommend this book, unless you are disgruntled by lack of a strong narrative (but really they are short stories).

A collection of seven short stories concluding with a one longer story mostly centred on younger people. They include a story about a student about to plagiarise, with his friend's knowledge, an existing published work to submit as his own thesis, and two close friend who share everything except their girlfriends, that is until when one is dumped by his girl. The final story follows Nathan Shapiro from the age of ten, just before his parents divorce, to the age of sixteen and his burgeoning adolescence and sexual awareness, a story that truly touches the heart

What is evident in each of these stories is Chabon's ability, with minimal physical description, to create fully fledged characters one can empathise with. Moreover, from the very first lines one is aware that Miachael Cahbon is no ordinary writer, his command of language and and the written word results in prose of supreme and unpretentious eloquence, stories full of compassion, it is simple a joy to read.

Michael Chabon is one of our finest, contemporary fiction writers. This quick-and-quirky collection of short stories does not venture into Summerland or Kavalier and Klay territories; however, the book is a fun, quick read - perfect for the beach, lunch hours or the train ride home. Chabon's writings are never boring--A Model World is no exception.