Where Music and Family and Come Together
By Michael Chabon
Harper Perennial, $16.99, 465 pages
When music, family, and business collide, one gets, Telegraph Avenue, by Michael Chabon. In this story we meet, two families; the Stallings and the Jaffes. They are not only business partners, but close family friends that are dealing with issues, such as their possible record store closing, personal friendships, and lastly, love. We see both female and male friendships tested to the point of extinction but Chabon makes them tangible for the reader to grasp, as this is a normal facet of everyday life that we all face each and every day.
This is my second Chabon book that I have read, the first being The Yiddish Policemen’s Union: A Novel; one that had many layers, as does this one. There’s a lot at work here and Chabon makes it work well, but one can get lost in the avenue, so be prepared and ready for a bumpy ride. He touches on race, love, music, and really everything that makes a story, a story, including a surprise that neither family saw coming. Sometimes, I did get lost, as one can in any story, but in the end, I did make it to the close of this avenue. So hold on tight and enjoy the trip, because, honestly, you will want to know how the families reach the end of their own avenue.
Reviewed by Annie Hicks
[amazon text=Buy On Amazon&asin=006149335X][amazon text=Buy On Amazon&template=carousel&asin=006149335X]