I consider myself someone who is well-versed in the career of Peter Sarsgaard, but there are plenty of his films that I have not seen. One of those is The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, which was an adaptation of Michael Chabon’s 1988 novel of the same name. Although, after seeing the abysmal Rotten Tomatoes score and learning that a few of the character’s weight of importance was changed quite a bit, it seemed like something I wanted to skip. So far, I have, but the story itself seemed rather enticing, so I decided to read it!
Set in the 1980s in the city of Pittsburgh, we follow Art Bechstein during a summer in college where he encounters a mesmerizing trio of friends, Arthur, Cleveland, and Jane. While they all seem mysterious to Art, he’s got a pretty big secret of his own. His dad is part of the mafia, and when he was younger his mother got whacked accidently instead of his father. Art tries very hard to keep his two worlds private, and his father seems to be alright with that, even though the two struggle to communicate throughout the novel.
Art is immediately taken by Arthur, who is gay, but they remain friendly and Arthur even hooks art up with a fellow library co-worker, Phlox. Phlox definitely tries too hard, but somehow manages to catch and keep Art’s attention. Cleveland is a wreck of person who has blown through money, is somewhat schlubby, and halfway through the novel we learn, associated with his father’s mafia in a very distant capacity. He is in love with Jane, who reciprocates Cleveland’s love in bouts, but is ultimately too good for him.
Things come to a head when Cleveland demands to meet with Art’s father, and Art sleeps with Arthur. Phlox despises Art for his newfound homosexuality, but eventually the two reconcile. In the end though, Art chooses Arthur. Also in the end, Cleveland’s sloppiness ends up getting a hit put on him by Art’s father. Somehow Art is both surprised and unsurprised by this revelation, but it’s the final straw for him and chooses to never communicate with his father again.
Ultimately, Art is just a really confused young person in college. He made some somewhat unsavory friends, but you can tell they will all have a lasting impact on the rest of his life. Art also deals with his sexuality, and is in all likelihood, bisexual, even if Arthur told him no such thing exists. Overall, I really enjoyed reading about the mayhem that Art experiences with this new group of friends. It’s a shame that the rest of his life will be drastically changed by the events that took place that summer, but perhaps that’s what he really needed to cut ties with the mafia after all. A very interesting read indeed!