The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay

Such a wonderful engaging plot and setting. The Golden Age of comics, New York, the plight of Jews during World War 2. Two young protagonists, dreamers who have energy and faith in their shared dream. Stage magic, smoke and mirrors sparking imagination that leads to “The” comic strip, fortune, and the possibility of rescue from tyranny. The pogroms and the Final Solution are a major plot element but barely referenced. Fascism fought through superhero comics and in a nice touch in a couple of places that fantasy world merges for Kavalier with his world as if Kavalier is inhabiting his creation the Escapist. The culture of New York in the years pre-entry to WW2 and the actual history of the rise of the comic book are featured strongly. Who actually made any money out of the industry is often questioned, many writers and artists and their creations name-dropped but every time it is raised it's soon smoothed over. That issue is still alive for comic artists from the new age 1960s onwards. As I write, writers are taking issue with Disney corporation over Copywrite payments owed.
It's mostly a breezy read in its opening chapters as befits a standard adventure novel but what is happening off stage cannot fail to cast a pail over the heroes of the title.
Pulitzer Prize-winner 2001