a dubious ending, at best

James’ parents are the most unique characters in the entire novel. Though they are minor characters, and the last to be introduced, they are the only ones that have a sense of mystery around them. Either I missed it, or Chabon neglected to resolve the parent/grandparent issue. I had a hard time picturing James’ real room, but the fact that he apparently lied to Crabtree and Grady doesn’t reflect on the identity of his parents. It seemed Grady decided to jailbreak James out of his free loving philosophy than any realization about James’ parents. Chabon chooses to give readers the truth about Vernon/Walker, and provides rich characterizations for Emily’s family, so why does he obscure the truth about James’ family? Does Chabon want me to imagine two beneficent but out of touch parents or the con artists from Annie coming to kidnap James?

I am very glad Walker made another appearance in the plot. I had seen enough of the midnight sickness, Grady’s life reflecting the book he’s writing. Though each individual mishap retained its appeal, this broader idea that Chabon seems to be pushing gets boring after a while. While Grady recognizes his doppelganger a few times, Vernon, as a character created by Grady is almost a doppelganger himself. Instead of the boring professional living in and becoming absorbed in his own work, his work starts coming to life around him. Within Chabon’s realistic world (forget the intolerable dog, tuba and snake) Walker becomes a very surrealist presence. Thankfully only one character from Grady’s mind comes to life and tries to kill him—this isn’t Jumanji-so the variation on the theme that he provides doesn’t devolve into cliché or an entirely different story.

The book should have ended on page 360—after Q’s line about Capra. The tuba shouldn’t be the last bit of luggage he’s carrying around. He never even opens the case. How does he know it’s a tuba and not bricks? And he didn’t even kill the tuba; in fact it was given to him. So while it could be a symbol of the wild things that happen to him through his friendship with Crabtree, that’s not as interesting as the dumb things, he does by himself. Sara should have never offered him a lift. I find it much more interesting with her future unresolved, especially when it is so hastily done. I absolutely hated the tense shift and epilogue feel of the last three pages. Finishing the book, dealing with the impossibility of most of it, was almost burdensome, and there was no reward in reading the happily ever after bit at the end. How are we supposed to believe that Grady gives up pot, alcohol, Hannah, and women in general just for a baby? What sort of paternal instinct could Grady possibly have been harboring that failed to stop him from falling in love with his female students and shamelessly corrupting his male students, but suddenly arises when he has a son? Walter made a pretty convincing argument for dismissing Grady, so how does being married to the dean outweigh his terrible history, letting him teach again? Though he was an alleged mess for a year, Grady gets his life back on track in the narrative space of a few sentences. Given this almost effortless change, aided by Chabon’s incredibly optimistic view of human nature, what is the point of the entire story when apparently it would be easy for him to transform into a decent person. His entire development seemed to suggest such a transformation was impossible.

eric