Yes, this was a much-acclaimed first novel by Michael Chabon, who is experiencing a renewed interest due to his new release, Werewolves in Their Youth, and his book Wonder Boys, which was made into a movie. I must say, however, if you feel the urge to read The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, go ahead and do it -- just don't expect very much. Being a Pittsburgh native myself, I was drawn to this book out of nostalgia, only to find that there is but one single mystery ever mentioned -- The Cloud Factory -- a factory that seemingly produced nothing but billowing clouds from its smokestacks. Aside from that, there is little except for a few dropped restaurant names that really ties this to Pittsburgh at all. It could've just as easily been Boston, or Chicago.
The novel focuses on one summer in the life of Art Bechstein, son of one of Pittsburgh's biggest gangsters. Art is (yawn) "coming-of-age" between years of college by purposefully seeking out a more dangerous life (ie. making all the wrong choices). He wants great experiences, but as he begins leading the devil-may-care life of his dreams, he becomes a wishy-washy, ambivalent character.
Chabon tries desperately to thrill the reader by pulling Art into situations that attempt at shock, but are so transparently inevitable that halfway through the book I simply skipped to the end to confirm what I expected. Unfortunately, I feel compelled to finish every book I start. I cannot just dispose of a book half unread. So, I read the rest of the book just to see through what tortuous routes Chabon would take his characters between points A and B.
The only character in the novel that is given any amount of depth or likeability is Cleveland, a thug working for one of Art's father's cronies. Cleveland, for some reason that is insufficiently explained, has quasi-former-lover ties with the gadabout playboy that Art becomes friends (and, eventually, lovers) with.
The rest of the characters in the story are too shallow and one-dimensional to make a reader care enough to suffer through their "crazy misadventures" which ususally involve alcohol, or drugs, or both, along with the spending of huge amounts of freely flowing cash. Apparently, Art is the only person in Pittsburgh who is extremely impressed by the glamorousness of his new friends. His co-workers at the bookstore never seem to even notice the people that he hangs out with, while Art seems to just stand around at work thinking to himself "Gosh, how cool my friends are! I can't wait to go out and hang with them! I bet my co-workers are so jealous.".
I don't know about you, but I think I (and the world) can do without reading any more "poor-little-rich-boy-coming-of-age-resenting-his-father" stories. It's been done before, and it's been done much better.
