The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay

Michael Chabon

………

RANDOM HOUSE, 2000

(available in paperback from Picador, 2001)

IN OCTOBER 1939, Josef Kavalier escaped with his life. Trained in his native Czechoslovakia in the use of picks and tiny torque wrenches—the tools of the escapist—Joe, as he is called, smuggles himself out of the country as the Nazis sweep in. Joe escapes concealed in a coffin he shares with a giant clay statue, the Golem, which was revered and protected by the Jews of Prague for centuries.

Joe first takes refuge in his aunt and uncle’s apartment in Brooklyn, New York, sharing a bed with his cousin Sammy, a boy who “dreams of flight and transformation and escape.” The cousins quickly discover their shared fascination for escape artists—especially Harry Houdini—and a love of comic books. Within a few years, they have created The Escapist, The Monitor, Luna Moth, and other superheroes, whose adventures find their way into almost every American boy’s bedroom.

Not just a rags-to-riches story, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay captures New York City in the 1930s and 1940s: the horror and isolation of its Jewish immigrants as they watch events unfold overseas; the sleaziness, exploitation, and excitement of an emerging comic book industry; and Americans’ urge to escape from the realities of World War II while clinging to a belief in a better future.

The foods served in Michael Chabon’s novel reflect the diverse cultures of 1940s New York, a city teeming with immigrants, artists, and bohemians. Joe’s girlfriend, Rosa Saks, cooks “strange recipes that her father had acquired a taste for in his travels: tagine, mole, something green and slippery that she called sleek.” Sammy’s mother, Ethel, serves Sammy and his friend Tracy Bacon traditional Eastern European food—flanken (braised short ribs of beef), challah, and, for dessert, babka.

COCOA-CINNAMON BABKA

Babka, or baba, is a breadlike cake sweetened with various fillings, including cinnamon and sugar, fruit, or chocolate. Baba means “grandmother,” or “old woman,” in Ukrainian, where the rich bread was originally baked in vertical pans to resemble a standing woman. Babka, a diminutive form of the word, is now more commonly used because modern loaves are smaller and more delicate than the originals.

Although the recipe may have originated in the Ukraine, western Russia and Poland are more often considered the homeland of babka. Russians and Poles enjoyed babka and other festive cakes and breads at Easter. Polish and Russian Jews brought the recipe to New York, where it became associated with Lower East Side Jewish life.

Danny Seti of Bagel’s Best in Needham, Massachusetts, has a background in Jewish baking and guided us in selecting babka recipes.

Our recipe is adapted from The Hadassah Jewish Holiday Cookbook (Hugh Lauter Levin Associates, Inc., 2002), a collection of recipes contributed by Hadassah members throughout the country. Dedicated to strengthening the unity of the Jewish people through volunteer activities in America and Israel, Hadassah is the largest volunteer organization and the largest women’s organization in America. Jeannette Greenwood of New York’s Shelanu Hadassah chapter is credited for this moist and elegant-looking Cocoa-Cinnamon Babka.

Jews who keep kosher (that is, observe Jewish dietary laws) are required to keep milk and meat products separate. Pareve foods are dairy-free and thus can accompany either type of meal. If you use nondairy creamer and pareve margarine, the babka can follow either a meat or a milk dinner in a kosher home. If you prefer, you can substitute milk and butter. These loaves freeze well.

NOTE: To scald milk: Heat milk in a heavy-bottomed pan over low heat. Stir occasionally, bringing milk just below the boiling point. When bubbles begin to form around edges, remove from heat.

For the dough

4 ½ teaspoons (2 packets) active dry yeast

½ teaspoon plus ½ cup sugar

¼ cup warm water

1 cup nondairy creamer

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted margarine, softened

1 teaspoon salt

3 eggs, lightly beaten

5–5½ cups all-purpose flour

For the filling and topping

1 cup sugar

1 cup finely chopped walnuts

½ cup raisins

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

6 tablespoons unsalted margarine, melted

1 egg white, lightly beaten

To make the dough: Sprinkle yeast and ½ teaspoon sugar into warm water (105–115°F). Stir and set aside for 10 minutes, or until frothy. Grease and flour three 9 × 5-inch loaf pans.
Heat nondairy creamer to scalding and pour into large mixing bowl. Add margarine and stir to melt. Cool for 5 minutes. Add ½ cup sugar, salt, yeast mixture, and eggs. Gradually add enough flour to form a soft dough. Knead on floured surface 10 minutes, until shiny and elastic. Place in a greased bowl, turning to coat entire surface. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1½ hours.
To make the filling and topping: In a small bowl, combine the sugar, nuts, raisins, cocoa powder, and cinnamon.
Divide dough into 6 parts. Working with one part at a time, roll out on a lightly floured surface, forming a rectangle 8 inches wide and inch thick. Brush some melted margarine over the dough. Sprinkle with 4–6 tablespoons nut mixture to cover three-quarters of the dough. Roll it up, tuck in the ends, and place the dough in a prepared loaf pan, seam side down. Repeat with a second part of dough and nut mixture, and tuck in alongside first roll.
Brush tops with egg white and sprinkle with about 2 tablespoons of nut mixture. Repeat for remaining dough. Cover lightly with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled in size, 1–1½ hours. Preheat oven to 350°F.
Bake babka 40–45 minutes, until golden. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm.

Yield: 3 loaves, 18 to 24 servings

NOVEL THOUGHTS

The Dubbya Dubbya Club (DDC) came together during the 2000 presidential election primaries in Chicago, when George W. Bush became the Republican candidate. “ ‘Dubbya’ was in the air,” says the founder, Dante A. Bacani, “though the two Ws in our name stand for ‘words’ and ‘wine,’ and our book club is not politically affiliated.”

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay was one of the group’s longer selections and a unanimous favorite. The male members of the group, in particular, related to the book’s superhero fantasies. “I really connected to the two main characters, Sammy and Joe,” says Bacani, “because when I was a kid, I used to draw comics and imagine myself as Superman or Batman. There was something very cathartic about imagining that I had the powers and skills that those characters had.”

All group members appreciated Chabon’s superior command of the English language (Bacani can’t recall a book that sent him “scurrying to the dictionary” as often as this one) and his ability to transport readers to a time and place. Co-moderator Felicia Libbin helped the group visualize the book’s setting by gathering web images of the 1939 World’s Fair and early 1940s New York City street scenes. But according to Bacani, just by reading the book, “you really felt like you were there.”

More Food for Thought

The Epicureaders Book Club of San Francisco prepared an all-American summer barbecue when they discussed The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. Members contributed Cobb salad and lime-pineapple Jell-O salad, “both American and old-fashioned,” says member Lena Shelton. For dessert they enjoyed a red velvet cake with seafoam frosting, which “was mentioned in the book and is reminiscent of mid-twentieth-century America.”