Telegraph Avenue

a novel

English language

Published Oct. 4, 2012 by Harper.

ISBN:
978-0-06-149334-8
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3 stars (4 reviews)

The new novel from Michael Chabon, his first in 5 years, is a lovingly painted pop-culture epic. One street, two families. As the summer of 2004 draws to a close, Archy Stallings and Nat Jaffe are still hanging in there, longtime friends, band mates and co-regents of Brokeland Records. Their wives, Gwen Shanks and Aviva Roth-Jaffe, are the Berkeley Birth Partners, a pair of semi-legendary nurse midwives. When ex-NFL quarterback Gibson Goode announces plans to go forward with the construction of his latest Dogpile megastore on Telegraph Avenue, Nat and Archy fear the worst for their vulnerable little enterprise. But behind Goode's announcement a nefarious story lurks. As their husbands struggle to mount a defence, Aviva and Gwen also find themselves caught up in a professional struggle that tests the limits of their friendship. And simultaneously, into their already tangled lives, comes Titus Joyner, the teenaged son Archy has never …

19 editions

Review of 'Telegraph Avenue' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

This is another beautifully written novel by Michael Chabon, who has a mysterious ability to conjure up irresistible characters, seeing out of their eyes, and becoming a master of any subject. In this case, the subjects are the history and culture of a certain area of Oakland, which form the backdrop and memories of the main characters. As anyone would expect from a Chabon novel, there is more than one storyline, all depicting people trying to find their own meaning and way of life, while attending to their individual road blocks. I found it riveting.

Now, I must look up some of this music--and perhaps a Kung Fu movie.

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2 stars
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3 stars
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3 stars

Subjects

  • Fiction

Places

  • Oakland (Calif.)
  • Berkeley (Calif.)