In this compelling collection of short stories, bestselling author Michael Chabon explores adolescent desire, love, friendship and fatherhood, moving subtly and incisively across this powerful emotional ground.

Wry and whimsical, but also with intellectual depth, A MODEL WORLD is a collection of eleven wonderful stories about growing up and growing wise.

In 'S Angel' a group of wedding guests is hijacked by a fast-talking real estate agent, but not before the bride herself disappears. 'Smoke' takes us to a baseball catcher's funeral, where one of the mourners - a has-been pitcher - confronts the ruins of his career. In the hilarious title story, a graduate student plagiarizes a dissertation on the movement of clouds, only to find himself and his faculty advisor in a parlour game where each player must confess the worst thing he or she has ever done. The second part of the book, 'The Lost World', is a series of stories about a young boy, Nathan Shapiro, who must face the wrenching emotions caused by his parents' bitter divorce.

Serious, yet shot through with wit, humour and compassion, these are unforgettable stories from one of America's most celebrated writers.

About the Author

Michael Chabon is the author of two collections of short stories, 'A Model World' and 'Werewolves in their Youth', the novels 'The Mysteries of Pittsburgh', 'Wonder Boys', 'The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay', 'The Yiddish Policemen's Union' and 'Telegraph Avenue', and the non-fiction books 'Maps and Legends and Manhood for Amateurs'. 'Wonder Boys' has been made into a film starring Michael Douglas and Robert Downey 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 Berkeley, California, with his wife and their four children.

Reviews

'Poignant, affecting, witty, wrenching, a terrific writer.' Washington Post

'Establishes Chabon as one of his generation's most eloquent voices.' New York Times

Praise for 'The Yiddish Policemen's Union':

'His almost ecstatically smart and sassy new novel...Chabon is a spectacular writer...a language magician. He has you laughing out loud, applauding the fun he has with language and the way he takes the task of a writer and runs delighted rings around it.' Guardian

'Michael Chabon's brilliant new novel starts with a bang...It hums with humour. It buzzes with gags...the accumulated reading experience is one of admiration, close to awe, at the vigour of Chabon's imagination...a hilarious, antic whirl of a novel.' Sunday Times

'It makes film noir look like film blanc by comparison.' Arena

Book Information
ISBN 9781841153629
Author Michael Chabon
Format Paperback
Page Count 208
Imprint HarperPerennial
Publisher HarperCollins Publishers
Weight(grams) 150g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 13mm