Listened to this book on tape, since Chabon was reading it, I'm sure that added some to my enjoyment of this diverse series of essays on growing up as a son, learning to write and be a man, reflecting on his own writing and being a husband and father.Lots of topics are covered, not least of which is the changing role of childhood in the United States. How kids today cannot imagine the freedom that a child of the 70s had, nor can parents of today imagine letting them have it. If I'm perfectly honest, I read half of this book. I skimmed what I didn't read. I got this book because my father recently died and I've been consumed with the big questions men are faced with in life, such as "What makes a man a man?" and "Where did I learn to be a man?" and "How do I become the man I am not the man others expect me to be?"I opened up this book hoping to find some answers, and while I did find some answers, I also discovered that the gap between my sensibility and the world Mr. Chabon lives in are vastly different.In this collection of essay/memoirs, Mr. Chabon writes of trying to fight his sunny disposition by choosing to marry a depressed woman so he has something to write about; he writes about a charming time as a boy where he was at a self-declared comic book convention and the lessons he learned; he writes of what asking and/or not asking for directions or hanging things in a home means to a mans identity.It's impossible not to love Mr. Chabon's prose, even when they are precious and seem intent on banishing the comma from the English language. And while he does have insights into his life, his life, from what I can tell, is pretty damn fantastic. It's great his life has been fairly even, but for a book I need a bit more meat on the bones. Again, super happy his life seems to be fairly good despite the daily issues of living in modern society, and perhaps I was expecting deeper answers to deeper questions, but this didn't quench my thirst for answers as to what makes a man a man, or the role of maleness. The insights were insights but they didn't strike me as very in-depth, and they were surrounded by very well-lit prose that rose and turned and twisted in the air like fireworks. Pretty to look at, but after they are gone hardly remembered.I don't mean to put down Mr. Chambon. I loved "Wonder Boys" and I had a great time reading "Kavalier & Clay". He may be a good memoir writer, but on the basis of this collection, his life issues and problems seem a bit too pedestrian in comparison to the ones I'd rather read of being tackled.
What do You think about Manhood For Amateurs (2009)?
Is it sacrilege to like his non-fiction more than his fiction?
—esther
An entertaining peep into one man's perspective on life.
—kyrah1098
Good essays. GREAT one about motherhood and fatherhood
—ksoanimation
Beg tangan adalah vagina yang ada tali, kata Chabon.
—Chris
Very much enjoyed. Thoughtful and funny.
—virginia
