The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay fits nicely within a tradition of what might be considered pseudo-epic novels about individuals, which take as their setting a somewhat accurate and realistic moment in history. The use of real locations and cameo appearances of historical figures enrich the story in these novels, and the extensive historical research that went into the writing of this particular novel, described by Chabon's "Author's Note" at the end of the book, is deployed effectively as a way to explore the characters, and the history itself, more fully. Two notable participants in this kind of writing are Gore Vidal and E. L. Doctorow.

Gore Vidal, beginning with Julian in 1964, has written a few novels of this sort, most notably his American Chronicles series, which he concluded with The Golden Age in 2000.

While the series tracks America and Americans over a century, this...