Telegraph Avenue (novel)

Telegraph Avenue is a novel by Michael Chabon, published on September 11, 2012. An extensive excerpt from the enhanced e-book edition was released online on July 25, 2012.^[1] The novel's setting is North Oakland and Berkeley, California. The title refers to Telegraph Avenue, which runs through both cities.

Plot summary

Set during the summer of 2004, the novel's main plotline concerns Archy Stallings and Nat Jaffe. Archy is black, Nat is white and Jewish. The two have been the proprietors of Brokeland Records, a brick-and-mortar store located in North Oakland, on Telegraph Avenue, for twelve years. Their used vinyl business, never very strong, is threatened with extinction by ex-NFL superstar Gibson Goode's planned construction of his second Dogpile Thang megastore two blocks away. They feel betrayed because their local city councilman, Chandler Flowers, has suddenly switched sides, and now supports Dogpile.

A major subplot concerns their wives Gwen Shanks (who is heavily pregnant with her first) and Aviva Roth-Jaffe, who are partners in Berkeley Birth Partners, a midwifery business. A home birth goes a little bit wrong, the mother is rushed to the hospital, and the attending physician, after taking care of the mother, insults Gwen in a racially-tinged manner. She blows up, and the doctor has the hospital start procedures to drop Gwen and Aviva's hospital privileges.

A third plotline concerns Luther Stallings, Archy's father. Luther had been an actor in a few blaxploitation films in the 70s, including the lead role in the two Strutter films. But personally he had never been part of Archy's life, and Archy wants nothing to do with him. Luther has been in and out of jail and on and off drugs since his acting career ended, has been clean for over a year, and he keeps himself fighting trim. He is involved with his former co-star Valetta Moore, who played Candygirl Clark. Her noted taglines "Do what you got to do" and "Stay fly" still resonate with characters in the novel.

Luther had been best friends with Chandler in the old days. Their friendship came to a sudden end, after Luther abetted Chandler in the murder of a drug dealer. Luther is trying to exploit his knowledge in order to finance the making of the third Strutter film.

A fourth plotline concerns Julius Jaffe, Nat and Aviva's 14-year old son, and his new best buddy, Titus Joyner, who has shown up from Texas after his grandmother died. Titus, it turns out, is Archy's long lost son. His arrival is pretty much the last straw in Gwen's strained relationship with Archy.

Setting up a gig for a fundraiser for an obscure Illinois politician Barack Obama, running for U.S. Senate, Archy learns of the death of local music legend Cochise Jones—Archy's spiritual father—from his Hammond organ falling on him, and Archy fills in. Obama is very impressed with the performance, and tells Gwen he admires Archy's obvious dedication to doing what he loves, purple suit and all. Gwen takes those words to heart, and resolves to stand up for herself. The first stand she takes is to walk out on Archy.

The funeral for Jones is held in the store. Plans are made, people get drunk, and the stage is set for the shaking up everyone's future.

Music Referenced in Novel

• Page 3: Electric Byrd (Blue Note, 1970) by Donald Byrd
• Page 4: Wa-Tu-Wa-Zui (Prestige, 1971) by Charles Kynard
• Page 4: Fingers (CTI, 1972) by Airto Moreira
• Page 7: After Dark (RSO, 1980) by Andy Gibb
• Page 9: Kulu Sé Mama (Impulse!, 1967) by John Coltrane
• Page 9: On the Corner (Columbia, 1972) by Miles Davis
• Page 31: Jimmy Smith Live in Israel (Isradisc, 1973) by Jimmy Smith
• Page 34: Stan Getz and J.J. Johnson at the Opera House (Verve, 1957) by Stan Getz and J.J. Johnson
• Page 41: The Soul Vibrations of Man (Saturn Research, 1976) by Sun Ra
• Page 86: Innervisions (Motown, 1973) by Stevie Wonder
• Page 86: Point of Know Return (Kirshner, 1977) by Kansas
• Page 87: Brain Salad Surgery (Manticore, 1973) by Emerson Lake & Palmer
• Page 90: Close to the Edge (Atlantic, 1972) by Yes
• Page 110: “Be Thankful for What You Got” (Roxbury, 1973) by William DeVaughn
• Page 157: “Funky Drummer” (King, 1970) by James Brown
• Page 194: In a Silent Way (Columbia, 1969) by Miles Davis
• Page 226: “Midnight Theme” (Fraternity, 1975) by Manzel
• Page 273: Melting Pot (Stax, 1971) by Booker T. & the MG’s
• Page 274: “Live on Stage” (Breakout, 1980) by Roxanne Shanté
• Page 370: “It’s Too Late” (Ode Records, 1971) by Carole King^[2]

Marketing

As part of the book's marketing, HarperCollins created a real-world Brokeland Records as a pop-up store. To coincide with the book launch, an independent Oakland bookstore was, for one week, September 7–14, 2012, made over into a used jazz record store, using stock from an independent dealer. In addition to the new signage and stock, "Brokeland Records" bags and other paraphernalia were provided.^{[3] [4][5]}

Reception

In the end, Chabon's novel suggests, what has the power to fill the void inside us isn't artifacts, but paternity.

—Jennifer Egan , The New York Times^[6]

In "Telegraph Avenue," Michael Chabon's characters join with the giddy excess and unlikely rigor of his prose to mount a sort of meta-argument that we might bridge racial distance using the skills found in our bigger-hearted novelists ....

—Matt Feeney , The New Yorker^[7]

But despite Chabon's dazzling brilliance as a stylist, huge sections of "Telegraph Avenue" read like they've been written by a man being paid by the word who has a balloon mortgage due.

—Ron Charles , The Washington Post^[8]

References