Realistic Exaggeration

Wonder boys differs from nearly every other novel I've read simply for it's pure exaggeration. I've read strange fiction and completely realistic fiction, but Chabon seems to write precisely in the middle of the two genres. Each event in the novel could realistically happen, but the juxtaposition of all the events renders them all unlikely, bordering on completely unrealistic. Even the details bordered on insane -- a two-thousand page manuscript with no end in sight? Multiple characters with multiple wives? A failing author sleeping with his boss's wife? While some books require exaggeration, and I can't imagine myself enjoying a book with none, Chabon takes it to a whole new level.

If Wonder Boys were any normal plot-driven novel, it might have one major event. Perhaps the main character would kill a blind dog, or steal an expensive jacket, or have one night of drug-induced fervor. But I cannot remember reading a book that is essentially full of major events. I felt, almost always, the climax would be on the next page of the book. Of course, it never came, and that climactic feeling remained for that page, and the next, and the next..

Although I haven't yet seen the movie, I can picture it as a perfect Seth Rogen / Paul Rudd / Judd Apatow comedy. I see a resemblance with The Hangover, in which the characters are strung along in a completely improbable sequence of events -- robbing Mike Tyson of his tiger, marrying a stripper, being slipped "rufies" in their drunken haze. I realize that the movie most likely will not resemble The Hangover in any way, but I can hope for an eventual remake.

In the string of major events, I see a parallel to Grady Tripp's own book. From the descriptions in Wonder Boys, it seems to be full of whatever crazy idea pops into Grady's brain. However, while the fictional Wonder Boys suffers from this conglomeration of ideas, the real book does not. It left me wondering what would happen next simply because the events were so extraordinary. The faint glimpse of possibility of each event was what kept me reading, hoping that (for Grady's sake) things would settle down and resemble real life: slower, more manageable.

I think my favorite scene in the book is the traditional Jewish celebration with Emily's family. Something about a tired Jewish family dealing with the rambunctious younger generation makes for an interesting story. Irv and Irene were easily the most interesting characters in the book, and the easiest to get attached to. While I should probably be concerned with Grady's failing marriage, the real reason that it was so disappointing is that he'll lose his connection with her parents.