Let me admit right now that this is not Chabon’s best work. Actually, I have an agenda here: I want readers to discover Chabon, who is one of the best novelists in America today. This book can take a while to get into, but I promise you will be impressed by the end. Hopefully, it will get you interested in picking up a copy of one of Chabon’s longer novels, like The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay.