Page One

A love of comic books and of the history of mid-20th century New York led Michael Chabon to write “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay,” the book that won him a Pulitzer on Monday. 

“It’s just a time and a place I’ve always been drawn to,” said Chabon, who lives in Berkeley with his wife and two children. “I think I was always looking for a way to time-travel back there and when I somehow came up with this idea of these two comic-book creating young men ... it just suddenly seemed like that was the perfect vehicle.” 

Chabon’s book is set in New York City in 1939. The Kavalier of the title is Joe Kavalier, a young artist who has escaped from Nazi-occupied Prague. He and his Brooklyn-born cousin, Sammy Clay, go into partnership creating a comic book hero, the Escapist. 

Chabon has a history of writing about losers. This is his third novel. His first, “The Mysteries of Pittsburgh,” was published in 1989, and his second novel, “The Wonder Boys” was made into a movie starring Michael Douglas. 

The 37-year-old Chabon (pronounced Shay-bon) had no idea his book was up for a Pulitzer. “Did I really win?” was his first reaction. 

Hours after learning he’d won, the news was “taking a little while to sink in. But it feels really good. It felt especially good to be able to call my parents and tell them.” 

Chabon also called his 6-year-old daughter at school. 

“She was very excited,” Chabon said with a laugh. 

He is currently working on a screenplay for “Kavalier & Clay.” 

On the Net: Chabon’s homepage, http://home.earthlink.net/ 7/8mchabon/