Telegraph Avenue by Michael Chabon

I was going to start off by saying that the thing about Michael Chabon is that each and every book is entirely different from the books that have come before, and that is certainly true here.  But in truth, he is a facile and beautiful writer, sitting very near, if not next to David Foster Wallace for me--which is rarefied air indeed (again, in my book).  His prose is complicated and interesting.  Sometimes too complicated, but that is so much better than the alternative.

The themes that are the hallmark of a Chabon story are present here.  Masculine relationships--men as fathers, sons, husbands, and friends--they are all explored within the basic framework of the story.  Nate and Archy are the main men--they own and operate a failing record store called Brokeland Records somewhere on the Berkeley-Oakland border.  The name calls up images from the Grateful Dead son 'Brokedown Palace':

Going to leave this brokedown palace,
On my hand and knees, I will roll, roll, roll.
Make myself a bed in the waterside,
In my time, I will roll, roll roll.
In a bed, in a bed, by the waterside I will lay my head.
Listen to the river sing sweet songs, to rock my soul.

These men are struggling.  The urge to remain boys is very seductive.  They abandon their sons, they cheat on their wives, they drink too much, and they fail to get jobs that live up to their potential.  Meanwhile, their women are fighting real battles in a messy world, and could really use some help.  It is the usually well told story that will keep you thinking for some time to come after closing the book.