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" I'd been looking forward to this biography for a while (Bailey's previous biography of Richard Yates is among my favorite books). I found Bailey's life of Cheever to be equally impressive (the amount of detail is almost overwhelming), but I didn't fall in love with Cheever, as he comes to life on the page, as much as I'd fallen in love with Yates. This has less to do with Bailey and much more to do with Cheever and Yates and my sympathetic inclinations. True, both men were alcoholic, troubled, selfish, narcissistic, and starved for love and validation, yet my heart broke more for Yates. I think it has something to do with Cheever's fame (at times, worldwide) vs. Yates' (certainly an accomplished writer, but he flew a bit more under the radar, though I suspect even fame wouldn't have exorcised his demons). Must say, too: I was surprised to discover, was angry to discover, just how many mediocre stories (sometimes, by his own and Bailey's admission, terrible) were accepted for publication by The New Yorker. For what it's worth, I found Cheever's Journals more moving and beautifully written than anything else he wrote; his best art. "
- Nicholas, 2/8/2014
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" This is a very thorough, well-researched and humanizing portrait of Cheever. In the beginning, I almost wondered if it was too thoroughly researched. You really get an account of almost every month of Cheever's life, from his childhood years in Quincy to his time at Yaddo, and so on. you also get a very good sense of his family and his relationships with various writers and artists he knew throughout his life. The more the story goes on, the more intriguing Cheever becomes. You begin to realize that there is almost no way to pin him down, exactly. He's a bundle of contradictions. I could go on about specific parts of the book, but you should read it yourself! "
- Peter, 2/1/2014
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" Good book about a bad man. John Cheever may have been a brilliant writer but he was odious as a person. I had heard that he was less than a nice person but he was really a scuz-butt. Bad enough he married women instead of admitting he was a homosexual, he treated his children less than kindly & he was a drunk. The worst part was, that he thought himself so much better than everyone. Bleh- I just wanted to wash after reading this book. "
- Willa, 1/28/2014
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" I have finally conquered this massive tome, and I'm glad I did. I need to go back and re-read some of the stories and Falconer, but the basic premise here is that Cheever has been unjustly overlooked since his death; I probably agree. Much of the content here is exhaustingly sad. "
- Patrick, 1/11/2014
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" It's hard to imagine a better biography of Cheever, a fascinating, impossible, charming, tormented man and a very, very fine writer. Bailey's excellent biography does him justice in all his complexity. "
- William, 1/9/2014
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" between 3-4 good book but what a depressing life..... "
- Geno, 1/4/2014
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" I love John Cheever's stories! What I love about his stories is how he shows you what's real behind the better homes and garden facade of middle class life. So that is what is so interesting about this bio--John Cheever himself was afraid to be himself and was constantly putting on a show! "
- Sarah, 12/20/2013
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" I loved this book so much I created a popular Facebook page called 'Blake Bailey - Biographer!'. The best writer bio I've read. "
- Sean, 12/14/2013
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" Well written, detailed, thorough history of Cheever's life and writing. Enjoyed reading about the author's personal life and how it affected his writing and the stories he is so famous for. "
- Brian, 11/18/2013
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" Very well laid out. Such a sad life balanced with artistic brilliance. Seems like he came to peace with himself at the end but good god it was a rocky road. "
- Micah, 10/13/2013
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" A superb and utterly heartbreaking biography "
- Misha, 9/19/2013
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" Six weeks and 700 pages later, I've finished this. Worth it. A wonderful book. "
- Jessica, 3/3/2013
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" Tedious. Didn't help that I learned to dislike the subject as I read. Insane amount of footnotes. This book earned me the title "The Finisher" in my book group, since I stuck with it to the end and everyone else quit near page 50 or so. "
- Carol, 11/18/2012
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" An exhaustive biography, and very interesting. A lot of secrets revealed, which is very cool. "
- Tricia, 2/7/2012
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" I have always loved John Cheever's writing and this fantastic biography is wonderful reading unto itself...I couldn't stop reading it ans got so immersed in it that, when finished, I immediately went to get Cheever's stories to reread and Falconer which I've never read. "
- Gail, 11/13/2011
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" Full disclosure: I read the first half, I skimmed the last half. It was very well written, but Cheever was such a whiny, self-involved, cold-hearted slut that I couldn't get past that. "
- Nette, 7/15/2010
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" Although there was more detail about Cheever's personal life than I really needed, I enjoyed the book because it was very well written and helped me understand his fiction better. "
- Alice, 5/8/2010
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" I felt like a voyeur reading this book. I love his short stories and love the movie The Swimmer. Reading about the man behind the stories was like seeing your favorite teacher naked. Couldn't put the book down. "
- Rebecca, 7/13/2009
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