Michael Chabon writes beautifully and the Mysteries of Pittsburgh, written when he was only 23, is a witty and captivating novel about youth.   Set in Pittsburgh, Art Bechstein has just finished college and has the whole summer stretching out before him.  He embarks on a series of adventures; pranks and parties, escapades and hangovers with his new group of friends.  Unsure of his sexuality, he bounces back and forth between his beautiful and exotic girlfriend Phlox who works at the library and his gay friend Arthur, trying to decide which way he should go.
 
Underpinning all the hedonism and abandon of youth is the shadow of Art’s gangster father and his underworld acquaintances (Art’s ‘uncles’)  whose identity Art keeps secret from his friends but which is eventually and dramatically revealed as his two worlds come together.  A great read which captures all the fun, uncertainty and recklessness of youth.

Synopsis

Art Bechstein steps out of the library into the summer of his graduation year. Not yet ready for respectability, he falls in with the exotic, charming Arthur Lecomte, and ricochets between a homosexual relationship and an intense affair with a strange and beautiful girl called Phlox. Before long, the world of his new friends and the underworld of his father must collide, with consequences that Art cannot control.

Reviews

'Mingles wit, sex and fine writing' - SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

'His control over his story, the wonderful use he makes of each description, of Pittsburgh itself, are often astonishing' - NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW

'Hard as it is to write about youth when you're young, Chabon has done it brilliantly' - COSMOPOLITAN

About the Author

Michael Chabon is the author of two collections of short stories A Model World  and Werewolves in their Youth and three novels, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, Wonder Boys and The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. Wonder Boys  has been made into a film starring Michael Douglas and Robert Downie Jr. and The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. His short stories have appeared in The New Yorker, GQ, Esquire  and Playboy. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and daughter. More books by this author Author 'Like for Like' recommendation