Wonder Boys compared to the other books

I personally believe that this novel is somewhat interesting. On hand, it feels as if nothing productive has been described throughout the entirety of the novel. I feel as though something epic should happen due to its short time span. However, on the other hand, I also feel as if so many pointless events have happened. Yes, the death of a beloved dog is a big deal for those that knew him but I do not believe that it should be a main topic throughout the entire novel. I suppose that I just expected more out of the book due to the short.

I was happy to finally read about a character that was not held down by societal norms. Although I was constantly shocked that he was a college professor, I thought that it was interesting how he did not care about his responsibilities when engaging in illegal activities. He was constantly high, and yet he did not seem to care that his students or peers knew that he was doing such things. I am unsure of which character I can relate to the most. I feel like Amory was too tied down by society and what others thought, which forced him into following the rules. I cannot really relate to many of Portia’s actions, but I feel like I somewhat like Grady’s attitude toward societal rules. Although I am a rule follower like Amory, I like that Grady does what he wants to do, whether it is legal or not. I would never be able to do the things that he does, but I respect him for having the guts to do the things that Amory would only do due to emulation. Grady paves his own way and I think that that is one of his good qualities.

However, this being said, I am very happy that Sara looked past her feelings toward Grady and stuck to her thoughts. She did not immediately base her decisions off of emotion, which is a good quality to have. Many women are caught basing things off of emotion and not thinking about what is best for her, which is why I respect Sara. I personally think that, although she cheated on her husband, she handled the situation better than Portia did. I think that Michael Chabon portrayed her in a positive light, other than cheating on her spouse. The idea that he displayed the woman of the household as having a higher position than her husband speaks to the contemporary aspect of the book. This novel deals with many contemporary issues, such as smoking marijuana, in a way that was more enjoyable than Admission for me.