The Ending: An Escape to Happiness

 After finishing Kavalier and Clay, here's my six-word summary of the book as a whole:

Joe and Sammy escape their troubles.

And if I had ten words:

Joe and Sammy escape their troubles and follow their hearts.

The biggest theme of this novel is escape, and throughout the novel, Joe and Sammy find themselves constantly escaping their realities, often refusing to face the truth. The novel starts with Joe's escape from Prague, traveling through Europe with the Golem to flee from the Nazi regime. Later on in the novel, after hearing about the death of his brother Thomas at the hands of the Germans, Joe tries to escape his anger and guilt by enlisting in the military, ultimately leading him to the most desolate, isolating place possible - Antartica. Ultimately, once Joe returns to New York, Joe has to escape his fear and hesitation to return home to Sammy, Rosa, and his son Tommy, escaping the immense solitude of his Empire State Building apartment. 

For Sammy, his journey of escape mostly develops after Joe's disappearance, but glimpses of it can be seen during his partnership with Joe. Often times Sammy feels overshadowed by the domineering presence of Joe, flying under the radar as Joe receives high acclaim for his artistic work and falls in love with Rosa, leaving Sammy questioning his place in the world. As Sammy questions this, the reader does as well, as the dominant, constant, and dynamic presence of Joe throughout the story leaves the reader wondering what role Sammy plays in the overall plot. The plot is for the most part driven by Joe, leaving Sammy to sidekick duties. However, once Joe leaves for Antartica, Sammy begins to take the drivers seat. Sammy becomes stuck in a life that isn't his, caring for a child that isn't his and married to a wife whose heart isn't his. Sammy's needs to escape and pursue his dreams, along with his homosexuality, but cannot do so until Joe returns to reclaim the roles Sammy was playing. Ultimately, Sammy escapes to LA to live his chosen life.

In the end, I am left satisfied. Both characters have made incredibly journeys throughout the story, Sammy's more subtle than Joe's, but both end up where they belong. The optimistic ending, and the lack of many loose ends, was a bit unexpected, as the constant conflict and catastrophe that defined the plot would suggest that the book would end with problems unsolved. The only heart wrenching parts of the ending are the separation of Joe and Sammy and the fall of Empire Comics, but both of these things were inevitable, and essential, for the happiness of Joe and Sammy. Comics built Joe and Sammy, propelling them into lives they would never have dreamed of having, but in the end, the comic industry was not the be all end all, it was a mere vessel to allow them to escape the troubles and follow their hearts.