The amazing adventures of Kavalier & Clay

a novel

639 pages

English language

Published Dec. 15, 2010 by Fourth Estate.

ISBN:
978-1-84115-493-0
Copied ISBN!
OCLC Number:
51375932

View on OpenLibrary

4 stars (1 review)

The novel begins in 1939 with the arrival of 19-year-old Josef "Joe" Kavalier as a refugee in New York City, where he comes to live with his 17-year-old cousin Sammy Klayman. Joe escaped from Prague with the help of his teacher Kornblum by hiding in a coffin along with the inanimate Golem of Prague, leaving the rest of his family, including his younger brother Thomas, behind. Besides having a shared interest in drawing, Sammy and Joe share several connections to Jewish stage magician Harry Houdini: Joe (like comics legend Jim Steranko) studied magic and escapology in Prague, which aided him in his departure from Europe, and Sammy is the son of the Mighty Molecule, a strongman on the vaudeville circuit.

When Sammy discovers Joe's artistic talent, Sammy gets Joe a job as an illustrator for a novelty products company, which, due to the recent success of Superman, is attempting to …

15 editions

Subjects

  • Authorship
  • Czech Americans
  • Heroes in mass media
  • Young men
  • Artists
  • Comic books, strips
  • Fiction

Places

  • New York (State)
  • New York (N.Y.)
  • New York