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The Mysteries of Pittsburgh Paperback – April 19, 1989
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Michael Chabon
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Print length297 pages
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LanguageEnglish
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PublisherHarper Perennial
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Publication dateApril 19, 1989
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Dimensions5.31 x 0.68 x 8 inches
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ISBN-100060972122
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ISBN-13978-0060972127
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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.
Product details
- Publisher : Harper Perennial; 1st Edition (April 19, 1989)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 297 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0060972122
- ISBN-13 : 978-0060972127
- Item Weight : 1 pounds
- Dimensions : 5.31 x 0.68 x 8 inches
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Best Sellers Rank:
#7,604,158 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2,565,637 in Literature & Fiction (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
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About the author

Michael Chabon is the bestselling and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of seven novels – including The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay and The Yiddish Policemen's Union – two collections of short stories, and one other work of non-fiction. He lives in Berkeley, California, with his wife and children.
Customer reviews
Top reviews from the United States
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Only in reading the afterword did I discover that The Mysteries Of Pittsburgh is Chabon's first novel. It was written while he was still a student. What an auspicious beginning!
This is a coming of age story of a young man, Arthur Bechstein, whose father is a Mafia accountant. Arthur has gone to great lengths, he feels, to keep people from knowing who his family is. But Arthur learns that his secret is poorly kept. The new friends that Arthur makes during a summer that he planned to waste somehow know who his father is.
This is not at all a "Mafia" story despite that background. It's more a story of a surprisingly naive young man exploring his sexuality - trying to decide if he is straight, gay, bisexual, whatever. He develops relationships with three characters who define his world for the summer in Pittsburgh. Each of the characters is somewhat quirky and interesting. The time period, as close as I can tell, is the early 1970s and the novel rings true to that period despite having been penned in the late 1980s. That's quite a feat for an author who would have been about 10 years old at the time.
If you choose to read this you won't be doing so for a riveting plot. What passes for action is really quite slow moving. And, there are a few places that seem to have left holes in the narrative. But I encourage you to read this for the interesting characters and the beautiful use of language.
The story is about a male in his early 20s, and his friends. They engage in a series of adventures and misadventures mostly consistent with young urban people of the age and time. I thought of it as modern “coming of age” novel. In that Mister Chabon had been a student in Pittsburgh and was of a similar age and circumstance as some of the characters, I felt there was a vague semi autobiographical aspect to the novel.
As I read this work, I felt the novel had a sort of “lost generation” feel to it. I thought of “The Sun Alao Rises”. The novel is good, but not nearly that well written. After reading the novel, and listening to an afterword by the author n audiobook, the author stated he was inspired by “The Great Gadsby” and “Goodbye Columbus”. Again, this is a debut novel authored by a young man in his early twenties. It is good, but not nearly of the stature of “The Great Gadsby”. I did like the novel almost, but not as much, as I liked “Goodbye Columbus” for whatever that is worth.
In summary I liked this novel and felt it was a very good first try at a novel. I fully intend to read more of the author’s work. I have already obtained “The Yiddish Policemen’s Union”. I seldom read the same author two books in a row, so it will be awhile before I try the next novel by Mister Chabon. Although I liked this debut novel it is not the sort of novel I would read again without specific reason. Thank You for taking the time to read this review.
Top reviews from other countries
As a platform for Chabon’s later work, The Mysteries Of Pittsburgh makes a degree of sense. The small-town, insular community angle is further matured in the superior (and much funnier) Wonder Boys, even if the connection through to the grandiose ambition of the pièce de résistance, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay is rather more difficult to fathom. Chabon has purportedly cited Philip Roth and The Great Gatsby as inspirations for his debut novel and whilst Roth’s higher-profile Jewishness is rather toned down, a potential (if rather oblique) connection with the F Scott Fitzgerald did (independently) occur to me. A debut novel worth checking out, certainly.
This is a book that burns slowly but gradually builds and takes you in, along with Art, on a journey. I loved the way he develops new relationships and how he described the adulation for his new friends, his fears and his doubts. The relationships are so delicately drawn that it feels like reportage and I really liked that.
I gave it only four stars because there is a spark missing from this book. There are no sympathetic characters, the lazy days of summer - though well evoked - made me a bit lazy as a reader. I felt a little bit like Art in this book - continually waiting for something to happen, but when it did it was neither surprising nor exciting. I did enjoy the book, but I don't miss it and was glad to finish it.
I don't want to be too negative because it was a good book and it is worth reading.
Michael Chabon is funny and observant, he creates characters and lives that one cannot bear to leave alone. Devoured the whole text in days of buying it.
Phlox in particular has a habit of the dramatic aphorism - for example: "In the church of my heart, the choir is on fire," and when asked why she is crying she says, "Because vampires are so beautiful." Art says, "I tried to keep track of her thousand quotes and citations, as though assembling a Barlett's of Phlox. My love of her was like scholarship - an effort to master the loved one's corpus, which in Phlox's case, was patchwork and vast as Africa."
This is quite a short book, (240pp) and I wished there were more of it, though I will admit that Chabon took his premises around as far as they could stretch. Chabon knows of what he speaks. He is married to a woman but admits to previous affairs with men. This novel is wholly enjoyable.






