A powerful piece of historical fiction that takes us into the lives of cousins Sam Clay and Joe Kavalier, who dream of using comics to tell stories that make a difference during the WWII era. While the cousins continuously push the envelope of what can be accomplished via the comic book medium, regarded then as mainly “trash” and “funny stories,” they deal with both personal and professional conflicts. Sam, for instance, meets and falls for the male star of a radio show based on one of his comics, and must face questions pertaining to his sexuality. Joe, who stashes all of his earnings toward bringing his family over from Nazi-occupied Prague, faces endless red-tape and ever surmounting feelings of anger and hopelessness. It seems that although trained as an escape artist (this in fact inspires the creation of Kavalier and Clay’s most successful superhero, The Escapist), Joe cannot provide for his family what he himself has succeeded in doing: escaping to America.

Professionally, Kavalier and Clay not only deal with challenges involved in proving the worth of their work; they also deal with copyright lawsuits and the accusation that comics corrupt youth. In fact, real life author Dr. Fredric Wertham and his book that makes this argument, “The Seduction of the Innocents” at one point are featured. As fringe members of art circles, Sam and Joe end up rubbing elbows at one point or another with other artistic celebrities of the time, such as Salvador Dali and Orson Welles.

The novel itself is beautifully written with lucid imagery. Chapters are concise with tightly contained mini-arcs. I’m tempted to call “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay” the modern day “Great American Novel.” Any comic book fan, history buff, escapology or magical illusion fan will enjoy this novel. And any struggling writer or artist with dreams of making a real difference with his or her work will definitely relate to these characters.