The Mysteries of Pittsburgh
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Author | Michael Chabon |
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| Cover Artist | Paul Beacon |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Novel |
| Publisher | William Morrow |
| Released | April 1988 |
| Media Type | Print (Hardcover and Paperback) and audio cassette |
| Pages | 297 (hardcover edition) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-688-07632-7 (hardcover edition) |
The Mysteries of Pittsburgh was American author Michael Chabon's first novel. He began writing it in 1985 when he was twenty-one years old. He continued to work on it during his tenure (1985-1987) in the Creative Writing Program of the Department of English at the University of California, Irvine, where he submitted it as his thesis for the Master of Fine Arts degree. One of his advisors, the novelist MacDonald Harris, sent it to his literary agent. It was published in 1988 and became a best seller.
[edit] Plot introduction
The novel, showing the pronounced influence of F. Scott Fitzgerald, tells the story of Art Bechstein, the son of a mob money launderer who falls into a love triangle with a charming young man, Arthur Lecomte, and a beguiling young woman named Phlox Lombardi. In the end he chooses neither, in effect affirming, without quite fulfilling, his bisexual nature. A subplot concerns the highly literate biker Cleveland Arning and his would-be career as a jewel thief.
[edit] Literary significance & criticism
Because of the book's straightforward, even playful treatment of gay love and bisexuality, Chabon was early-on identified as a gay writer. Chabon has frequently been asked if this identification concerned him; his usual reply is that he worried gay readers might feel he was being presented to them under false pretenses as one of their own.
A recently-reissued edition of the book featured an author's note in the back; entitled "P.S.", it details some of the inspiration, problems and process by which the novel was written. (Example: when writing portions of the novel, he often had to balance his early-model computer precariously on an old tool table to type properly). Many fans of his work had questioned Chabon's sexuality, due to the presence of gay characters in his novels. On page 12 of the expanded notes section he reveals that, although he is currently married to a woman, he has had same-sex relations in the past.
His complete essay is reprinted here: http://www.nybooks.com/articles/18042.
[edit] Film adaptation
A film version of the novel is currently filming. It was adapted and is being directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber. [1]
