WONDER BOYS by Michael Chabon

Finished Tu 7/3/18

This is a trade paperback that I bought at this June's library book sale.

Pronunciation: "Like 'Shea Stadium' and 'Bon Jovi'.

Covers about one weekend in early Spring; Pittsburgh, PA.
"WordFest" is an annual writers gathering at the college; workshops, lectures, etc.

Grady Tripp- dissolute, vaguely alcoholic, pot smoking writer and English teacher. He is writing a sprawling opus of a novel that recounts the fabulous exploits of a family of brothers- The Wonder Boys. If there is a message to Chabon's novel it is that Grady realizes that his book mirrors the 'out of control mess of his own life'. He needs to settle down and get a grip. He does- more or less.

Terry Crabtree- Grady's bisexual editor and friend. He is invited to WordFest and brings a date who is a transvestite, Miss Sloviak. And, for some unexplained reason the tranny has a tuba.

James Leer- One of Tripp's students. This young man is carrying a one shot derringer and in a complicated series of events, he shots Walter Gaskell's blind dog. James claims to come from a poor background, but he is really from a very rich family. The details of his life are not made that clear; are they his grandparents or his parents?

Sara Gaskell is the school's chancellor and Grady's lover. Grady's wife, Emily, has left him as the novel opens, and later we learn that Sara is pregnant with Grady's child. Sara is married to Walter Gaskell who is Grady's department head.

When the dog was shot, Grady was showing James parts of Walter's huge collection of baseball memorabilia. Walter owns the jacket that Marilyn Monroe was wearing when she wed Joe DiMaggio. Grady doesn't realize it, but James steals this jacket. James is a big fan of movies and movie stars.

The dog's body, the tuba, and the jacket end up in the trunk of Grady's Galaxy 500. He won this car in a card game, but the owner really didn't own the car. They visit The Hi Hat Lounge, a downtown blues joint and the car is stolen. But, they steal it back.

In a way, WONDER BOYS is kind of a 'road book'- they're constantly going from place to place.

Grady takes James to his ex-in-laws Passover celebration. Emily is there and Deborah, her sister tells Emily about Sara's pregnancy. Many of Emily's family are adopted Koreans- including Emily.

In the end, Grady and Sara get married and have the child. Grady loses his old life and all but six pages of his Wonder Boy novel. But, although he loses everything, what he gains is worth much more.

I loved the book and will try to see the movie- Michael Douglas's face is on the cover of the novel; completely unnecessary.