History Creator / MichaelChabon

** Among other things, ''GentlemenOfTheRoad'' is also a homage to FritzLeiber's Literature/FafhrdAndTheGrayMouser tales.

* ''Literature/WonderBoys'' - Made into a movie starring MichaelDouglas and Creator/TobeyMaguire. The screenplay was nominated for an AcademyAward.

* ''Literature/TheAmazingAdventuresOfKavalierAndClay'' - Winner of the Pulitzer Prize. This was not, technically, a genre novel, but it was about TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks, about as geeky a subject as one could want.

** ''Literature/TheAmazingAdventuresOfKavalierAndClay'' - Reconstructs [[TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]] superhero stories by telling a story from the POV of the men who wrote them, showing how important they are to American culture.

* DoesThisRemindYouofAnything: Probably unintentional, but ''The God of Dark Laughter'' contains the following elements:
** [[TheJoker A chaotic god who represents comedy is personified by clowns]]
** [[{{Batman}} A chaotic god who represents tragedy is personified by primates (in this case, a baboon)]]
** [[BatmanSupportingCast A detective who represents order and reason but is ultimately powerless]]

* ''Literature/TheFinalSolution'' - A mystery novella starring an unnamed elderly detective who is probably SherlockHolmes.

* ''Literature/WonderBoys'' - Made into a movie starring MichaelDouglas and TobeyMaguire. The screenplay was nominated for an AcademyAward.

* ''Literature/{{Summerland}}'' - Best-selling YA fantasy novel.

* AllJewsAreAshkenazi.
** He set out to turn this on its head with ''Literature/GentlemenOfTheRoad'', which prominently features an Abyssinian Jew and the Khazars, a kingdom of Turkic Jews. It does, however, feature an Ashkenazi Jew who is very far from home.
** ''The Yiddish Policemen's Union'' is a notable straight example, envisioning an alternate universe in which Israel was a non-starter and instead a Jewish free state was formed by Ashkenazi Jews in Alaska.

Most of his books are, in part, about Judaism or Jewish people. He has written {{Fantasy}}, {{Mystery}}, and AlternateHistory -- and even when he isn't writing genre fiction, he often writes about it.

He also worked on the screenplays for ''Film/{{Spiderman}} 2'' and ''Film/JohnCarter''.

** Among other things, ''GentlemenOfTheRoad'' is also a homage to FritzLeiber's FafhrdAndTheGrayMouser tales.

* ''Literature/TheFinalSolution'' - A mystery novella starring an unnamed elderly detective who is probably SherlockHolmes.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: According to TheOtherWiki, he was involved in pitching story ideas for the ''Film/XMen'' and ''Film/FantasticFour'' movies, but all of his ideas were rejected. And he once pitched an original screenplay that he described as a RomanticComedy "about old Jewish folks on a third-rate cruise ship out of Miami", but the producer that he was working with decided not to take it.

* ''Literature/WonderBoys'' - Made into a movie starring MichaelDouglas and TobeyMaguire. The screenplay was nominated for an AcademyAward.

!!Works by Michael Chabon include:

* ''Literature/WonderBoys'' - Made into a movie starring MichaelDouglas and TobeyMaguire. The screenplay was nominated for an AcademyAward.

* ''Literature/TheFinalSolution'' - A mystery novella starring an unnamed elderly detective who is probably SherlockHolmes.
* ''Literature/GentlemenOfTheRoad'' - A more traditional adventure novel. Chabon himself dubbed it "Jews with swords".

* ''Manhood for Amateurs'' - A collection of autobiographical essays.
* ''The Astonishing Secret of Awesome Man'' - A children's book about the titular superhero (yes, really).

* GeorgeLucasThrowback: Frequently does this in literary form (see {{Reconstruction}}).

* AllJewsAreAshkenazi
** Partially averted in ''Literature/GentlemenOfTheRoad''.

* PurpleProse: Is known for this.
* [[SoMyKidsCanWatch So My Kids Can Read]]: Probably the main reason he wrote ''Awesome Man''.

* YiddishAsASecondLanguage

He also worked on the screenplays for ''Film/Spiderman 2'' and ''Film/JohnCarter''.

* ''[[Film/SpiderMan Spider-Man 2]]'' - Co-wrote the screenplay.

* ''The Final Solution'' - A mystery novella starring an unnamed elderly detective who is probably SherlockHolmes.

** ''{{Summerland}}'' - Reconstructs adolescent HighFantasy like ''TheChroniclesOfNarnia'' by giving it a fresh setting -- in this case, a fantasy-world based on American culture and folklore.

* ''WonderBoys'' - Made into a movie starring MichaelDouglas and TobeyMaguire. The screenplay was nominated for an AcademyAward.

* ''GentlemenOfTheRoad'' - A more traditional adventure novel. Chabon himself dubbed it "Jews with swords".

* DisappearedDad / MissingMom: Frequently. Art Bechstein's mom in ''Literature/TheMysteriesOfPittsburgh'', Sammy Clay's dad in ''Literature/TheAmazingAdventuresOfKavalierAndClay'', Ethan Feld's mom in ''{{Summerland}}'', Meyer Landsman's dad in ''Literature/TheYiddishPolicemensUnion'', etc.

* ''{{Summerland}}'' - Best-selling YA fantasy novel.

* ''TheAmazingAdventuresOfKavalierAndClay'' - Winner of the Pulitzer Prize. This was not, technically, a genre novel, but it was about TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks, about as geeky a subject as one could want.

* DisappearedDad / MissingMom: Frequently. Art Bechstein's mom in ''Literature/TheMysteriesOfPittsburgh'', Sammy Clay's dad in ''TheAmazingAdventuresOfKavalierAndClay'', Ethan Feld's mom in ''{{Summerland}}'', Meyer Landsman's dad in ''Literature/TheYiddishPolicemensUnion'', etc.

** ''TheAmazingAdventuresOfKavalierAndClay'' - Reconstructs [[TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]] superhero stories by telling a story from the POV of the men who wrote them, showing how important they are to American culture.

* DisappearedDad / MissingMom: Frequently. Art Bechstein's mom in ''Literature/TheMysteriesOfPittsburgh'', Sammy Clay's dad in ''TheAmazingAdventuresOfKavalierAndClay'', Ethan Feld's mom in ''{{Summerland}}'', Meyer Landsman's dad in ''TheYiddishPolicemensUnion'', etc.

** ''TheYiddishPolicemensUnion'' - Reconstructs traditional FilmNoir and HardboiledDetective stories, again, by giving it a fresh setting -- an AlternateHistory version of America where a thriving Yiddish culture exists on the Alaskan frontier.

* ''TheYiddishPolicemensUnion'' - An AlternateHistory noir novel set in Alaska. Winner of the HugoAward.

* SciFiGhetto: He [[AvertedTrope gave it the middle finger]] twice. After winning the Pulitzer Prize, he wrote ''{{Summerland}}'' and ''TheYiddishPolicemensUnion'', both of which make use of sci-fi elements. Both were wildly popular, and he didn't lose an ounce of credibility.