Author Michael Chabon is acutely attuned to life in contemporary America, providing insight into the history of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries in novels such asThe Mysteries of Pittsburgh (1988),Wonder Boys (1995), andTelegraph Avenue (2012). The Pulitzer prizewinning author ofThe Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, Chabon follows in the footsteps of past stylists, writing across multiple genres that include young-adult literature, essays, and screenplays. Despite his broad success, however, Chabons work has not been adequately examined from a critical perspective.Michael Chabons America: Magical Words, Secret Worlds, and Sacred Spacesis the first scholarly collection of essays analyzing the work of the acclaimed author. This book demonstrates how Chabon uses a broad range of styles and genres, including detective and comic book fiction, to define the American experience. These essays assess and analyze Chabons complete oeuvre, demonstrating his deep connection to the contemporary world and his place as a literary force.Providing a context for understanding the authors work from cultural, historical, and stylistic perspectives,Michael Chabons America is a valuable study of a celebrated author whose work deserves close examination.

Jesse Kavadlo is professor of English at Maryville University. He is president of the Don DeLillo Society and author ofDon DeLillo: Balance at the Edge of Belief(2003).Bob Batchelor is James Pedas Professor of Communication and executive director of the James Pedas Communication Center at Thiel College. He is the author or editor of more than twenty books, includingJohn Updike: A Critical Biography (2013) andGatsby: A Cultural History of the Great American Novel (Rowman& Littlefield, 2013). He is founding editor of thePopular Culture Studies Journal and editor of the Contemporary American Literature series published by Rowman& Littlefield.

AcknowledgementsIntroduction: Bob Batchelor and Jesse Kavadlo1: Real Maps of Imaginary Worlds; or, Michael Chabon, Shadowtail Jesse KavadloChronicling Popular Culture2: The Dudes Abide: Examining Clinton-Era Identity in Wonder Boys and The Big Lebowski Bob Batchelor3: Quentin Tarantino and the Paradox of Popular Culture in Michael Chabons Telegraph Avenue John Joseph Hess4: Driving Away: Muscle Cars, Loss, and Unrequited Travels with Chabon Charli Valdez5: Guess Who I am Now: On Communication and Childhood in Michael Chabons Lost World Stories Mike WitcombeChabons Mysteries: Comics and Genre6: Comix Remix, or, The Strange Case of Mr. Chabon Stephen Hock7: An American Golem: The Necessity of Myth in The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier& Clay Seth Johnson8: The Chatter of an African Gray Parrot: The Final Solution as Postmodern Detective Fiction Marjorie Worthington9: Genre for Justice: The Final Solution and The Yiddish Policemens Union as Reflections of Golden Age Detective Fiction Texts Monica LottEthnicity, Gender, and Masculinity in Chabons Oeuvre10: Michael Chabons Gentlemen of the Road and the Rejection of Communal Identity as Heroic Quest Eric Sandberg11: Solving the Jewish Case: Metaphorical Detection in Michael Chabons The Final Solution and The Yiddish Policemens Union Inbar Kaminsky12: Not Growing Old but Growing Up: Appropriate Masculine Identity in Michael Chabons Wonder Boys Alex Hobbs13: Queer Masculinities in The Mysteries of Pittsburgh and Manhood for Amateurs Josef BensonChabons American Expression14: Michael Chabons Wonder Boys and Therapeutic Creativity David McKay Powell15: American Prowess Deconstructed: Michael Chabon and the Merger of Naturalism and Fantasy Jake Sudderth16: Hope Unfulfilled, Not Yet Betrayed: Michael Chabons Nostalgia for the Future Matt KavanaghIndexAbout the ContributorsAbout the Editors