The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay.

Updated List:
1) The Shell Game (name withheld for national security purposes)
2) Cereus Blooms at Midnight (Sarah)
3) Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay (Hsien) (Complete!)
4) Then We Came to the End (M.)
5) Working Stiff (MH)
6) Down and Out in Paris and London (Haubenreich)
7) Atlas Shrugged (RS)
8) White Castle (Korobi)
9) Catch-22 (tentative)

So I have now made it through the first suggestion in this little list I've compiled. I will begin by explaining how I managed to finish this book during a weekend where I spent every waking minute surrounded by the "Bulletworthies" (i.e., friends I would take a bullet for, though probably in the leg or something) or engaged in reckless drinking, celebration, and joyous fun you forgot was possible after 3 years of law school.

The answer is this: Sitting on a plane next to an overweight-balding man who greets you immediately upon sitting down with a very friendly hello, and attempts to engage you in an in-depth discussion about anything and everything. In this case, after trying to probe my history and legal education, I learned he was in the air conditioning business. Despite my general lust for life and desire to fill my mind with all the knowledge the world can offer me, I do NOT give a shit about air conditioners. I would also like to note that I am not one of those people who has this general hatred for people who strike up conversations on airplanes, and expresses the conventional distaste for all those folks...I just had no interest whatsoever in talking to this man. Thus, as SOON as a stewardess came by to ask him about his food preferences, I immediately opened my book and did not emerge from this alternate reality until the plane had landed, at which point I looked at him brightly and engaged in a lively 4 minute conversation about IP law and air conditioners.
On the smug, smarm-o-meter, this book registers quite low, which is excellent. On the sweeping grand American novel, this book registers quite high. On the readability, I give it an 8 out of 10. On incidence of Jews (RS!), I give it a 9 out of 10. And, on its ability to strike you dumb with the sudden appearance of jaw-dropping one-liners and profound truths about love, life, humanity, and the deep inner workings of each of our souls...I'm going to have to give it a 3, because it's really not that kind of book. (On that count, for some reason Middlesex, On Beauty, and Death in Venice seem to stick in my head.)

In short, I thoroughly enjoyed it the way I enjoy a big sweeping period piece film...it's interesting, it's extremely well done, it's got heart, it's got presence of mind, it soars and careens, it teaches and it engages, and the scope and breadth clearly show that author's imagination is firing on all cylinders. And even though it's not food for the soul, it is a damn good read.

I'm really very lame about fiction, art, and life in general, so I attempt any sort of "book review." As it turns out, I tend to have terrible taste in films, music, books, art, wine, food, cigars, and anything else that has any sort of elite following. Either I don't understand it, or I just lack the capacity to appreciate it (e.g., my allergies will always prevent me from being a "super taster" that can appreciate food and wine in certain ways.) So in short, even if I love things, and understand to myself why it is I love them, I am often not able to articulate what it is that struck me without using too many "verys" "reallys" "awesomes" "interesting" "beautifuls" and "seriouslys."

In sum, however, this book is really very awesome. The language and story are sweeping, magnificent and beautiful in their own special way. The story itself, weaving the golden age of comics, the Holocaust, and the intricacies of relationships is really quite interesting. In short, I strongly recommend "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay" by Michael Chabon. Seriously.

On to The Shell Game!