'I wonder why I ever bothered with sex, he thought; there's nothing in this breathing world so gratifying as an artfully placed semicolon'

Wonder Boys

Wonder Boys

Michael Chabon

A deft parody of the American fame factory and a piercing portrait of young and old desire, WONDER BOYS is a modern classic from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of THE ADVENTURES OF KAVALIER & CLAY.

Grady Tripp is an over-sexed, pot-bellied, pot-smoking, ageing wunderkind of a novelist now teaching creative writing at a Pittsburgh college while working on his 2,000-page masterpiece, WONDER BOYS. When his rumbustious editor and friend, Terry Crabtree, arrives in town, a chaotic weekend follows – involving a tuba, a dead dog, Marilyn Monroe’s ermine-lined jacket and a squashed boa constrictor.

A novel of elegant imagination, bold humour and undeniable warmth, WONDER BOYS firmly established Michael Chabon as a force to be reckoned with in American fiction.

Reviews of Wonder Boys

    • ‘The natural exuberance and extravagance of Chabon’s writing is matched by dazzling wit.’ Sunday Telegraph
    • ‘A deliriously funny novel…Chabon’s elegant style, perfectly realised characters and comic vision combine to make the most enjoyable novel of the year.’ Esquire
    • ‘A wonderfully teasing comic novel…Chabon juggles all these preoccupations with a quirky deftness he employs in his first novel.’ Independent
    • ‘“Wonder Boys” is a superb creation, a raucously comic yet deeply lyrical work. Chabon has evolved into a seriously funny writer, a master of the comic set-up.’ Sunday Times

More from Michael Chabon