Books by Michael Chabon

2. Michael Chabon, Manhood for Amateurs: The Pleasures and Regrets of a Husband, Father, and Son . I ended up enjoying this more than I do his trendy fiction.  This supposed paean to family life collapses quickly into narcissism, but that's in fact what makes it work.  I was surprised but not shocked by the part where he deliberately tortures his infant son.

5. Michael Chabon, The Yiddish Policemen’s Union: A Novel .  This comic detective story is based on an alternative reality in which Israel loses the 1948 war and the surviving Jews settle in Alaska.  It’s the first book of his I’ve liked, though I don’t think it has much substance.