Maps and Legends was both a real pleasure and incredibly insightful in a multitude of ways.
This nonfiction book by Michael Chabon, author of Wonderboys and the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, offers a variety of essays that will assuredly please all readers.
That’s not to say that all readers will love each and every one of the essays in this book, though. However, I know there is something for everyone to appreciate and even learn from in Maps and Legends.
Chabon essentially covers four broad topics in this collection. He expends great energy discussing trends and personalities in comic books, the art of writing, various aspects of literature, and his own diverse influences and personal background.
Since these are four topics that I’m very interested in as well, I loved almost every single essay.
Chabon is such an interesting man. The idea that a Pulitzer Prize-winning author takes the time to lament the death of Will Eisner, acknowledge the brilliance of Howard Chaykin, analyze McCarthy’s The Road, and reveal deeply personal secrets (some even real) from his own life all within one collection, it’s just a pure joy for someone like me to experience.
However, I think the most valuable thing I learned from Chabon in his book is that the term “genre” in literature is not a naughty word. He analyzes the importance of genre, especially in relation to the short story, and disparages the fact that people’s snobbery towards genre is actively executing the short story.
Furthermore, Chabon is utterly transparent in the essays involving his life, so transparent he even reveals he has lied to us and could be lying at any given moment. That sort of honesty about deception is a breath of fresh air.
If you’re a fan of comic books, the art of writing, or Michael Chabon himself, I really encourage you to give this book a try. I think you’ll be pleased with what you read.
