Michael Chabon to give free reading Monday

Fans of author Michael Chabon will have the chance to hear him read his work in person Monday. The free public reading begins at 5:30 p.m. in Fine Arts 015 and is sponsored by the College Arts and Humanities Institute.

Chabon, 47, wrote his first novel, “The Mysteries of Pittsburgh,” in 1988 for his master’s thesis at University of California-Irvine.

The novel later became a New York Times bestseller and was made into a film in 2008.
Chabon’s book, “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay,” was published in 2000 and won the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

Frequently hailed as his masterpiece, the book examines the lives of two young Jewish men who venture into the nascent comic book industry in the 1940s. The sprawling novel spans 16 years in the protagonists’ lives, whose careers often parallel those of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the creators of Superman.

“He is one of the most accomplished and sought-after fiction authors writing in the English language,” CAHI director Andrea Ciccarelli said in a press release. “His multifaceted artistic activity will serve many different sections of our community, from students and scholars ... to people interested in Jewish studies, history, philosophy and comic literature and art.”

Chabon’s most recent work, “Manhood for Amateurs: The Pleasures and Regrets of a Husband, Father, and Son,” collects nonfiction essays by the author on his family life. He is currently working on a novel that is tentatively slated for release this year.