On the HahaFiction shelf
Wonder Boys
by Michael Chabon
Grady Tripp teaches writing in Pittsburgh while his own manuscript grows past two thousand pages. When his editor visits for a literary conference, Grady and his gifted, unreliable student James Leer find plenty of ways to make a bad weekend worse.
From the publisher’s blurb
“a deft parody of the American fame factory”Read the full description at Random House Trade Paperbacks
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What makes it funny?
Grady has spent years revising a novel he can't finish, while his private life supplies more trouble than he can manage. A visiting editor whose own career is faltering helps turn the weekend into a succession of farcical mishaps.
The comedy at work
Chabon pairs Grady's self-destructive behavior with sharp dialogue and satire of writers' ambitions. The absurd situations accumulate as the characters' professional confidence gives way to personal chaos.
Try this if…
Readers drawn to campus novels and stories about writing may enjoy the attention to artistic vanity, unfinished work and disappointed promise.
Good to know
Marijuana use, infidelity and sexual behavior figure in the story. The comedy has a rueful streak, with failed marriages and damaged careers alongside the slapstick.
More funny campus novel
Sources & further reading
- Publisher
Publisher
- Publishers Weekly review
Review
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