Cheever
by Bailey, Blake
From the acclaimed author of A Tragic Honesty: The Life and Work of Richard Yates comes the unforgettable life of John Cheever (1912--1982), a man who spent much of his career impersonating a perfect suburban gentleman, the better to become one of the foremost chroniclers of postwar America. "I was born into no true class," Cheever mused in his journal, "and it was my decision, early in life, to insinuate myself into the middle class, like a spy, so that I would have an advantageous position of attack, but I seem now and then to have forgotten my mission and to have taken my disguises too seriously." Written with unprecedented access to essential sources--including Cheever's massive journal, only a fraction of which has ever been published--Blake Bailey's biography reveals the troubled but strangely lovable man behind the disguises, an artist who delighted in the everyday radiance of the world while yearning, above all, "to be illustrious."Cheever's was a soul in conflict: he was a proud Yankee who flaunted his lineage while deploring the provincialism of his Quincy, Massachusetts, family circle; a high-school dropout who published his first story at eighteen; a pioneer of suburban realist fiction who continually pushed the boundaries of realism; a dire alcoholic who recovered to write the great novel Falconer; a secret bisexual who struggled with his longings and his fierce homophobia in a revolving door of self-loathing and hedonism. We see a man who concealed his anxieties behind the mask of a genial Westchester squire--a paterfamilias in Brooks Brothers clothes whose world was peopled by legendary writers and beautiful women (Malcolm Cowley, Saul Bellow, William Maxwell, Hope Lange, and John Updike, among them); whose groundbreaking work landed him on the covers of Time and Newsweek; a man whose demons and desperation were never quite vanquished by the joy he found in his work.Blake Bailey has written a luminous biography, a revelation of a writer of timeless fiction and of the man behind the page.From the Hardcover edition.
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Cheever: A Life
by Bailey, Blake
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Cheever: A Life
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Vintage, 2010. Paperback. New. New softcover in glossy printed wraps. Text is clean and free of marks or underlining. Includes index and photos. 770 pp.
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CHEEVER: A LIFE [SIGNED]
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New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2009. First Edition. Hardcover. Octavo, 770 pages; VG/G+; spine black and gray, with white lettering; dust jacket protected with a mylar covering; mild shelf wear and scuffing; mild wear to upper edge of dust jacket; mild wear to head and tail of jacket; price uncut '$35.00'; previous owner's name at front free end paper;… Read more about this item Item Price
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NY: Vintage Books/Random House, 2010. immaculate, unread, gift-quality copy; author's undated ink signature on title page; 770p., including index.. Signed by Author. First Vintage Books Edition/1st Printing. Wraps. Fine. 8vo - Over 7 3/4" -9 3/4 " Tall. Paper Back. Item Price
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New York; Alfred A. Knopf; 2009.. First Edition; Thick Med. 8vo; pp. x, 770, (4); 16 pages of b/w. photographs, notes, index, bound in original quarter black cloth with beige papered boards, title lettered in silver on spine, dustjacket, fine copy. Item Price
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Cheever: A Life
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Cheever: A Life
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Cheever: A Life
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Cheever : A Life
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Cheever : A Life
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Cheever : A Life
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Cheever: A Life
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From the acclaimed author of A Tragic Honesty: The Life and Work of Richard Yates comes the unforgettable life of John Cheever (1912–1982), a man who spent much of his career impersonating a perfect suburban gentleman, the better to become one of the foremost chroniclers of postwar America. "I was born into no true class," Cheever mused in his journal,… Read more about this item Item Price
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Cheever
by Blake Bailey
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New York: Knopf, 2009. First Edition . First USA Edition. Fine book in a Fine Dust Jacket. A detailed and fair biography of the great American short story writer. Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award and a finalist of the Pulitzer Prize and the James Tait Award for Biography. Blake Bailey has also edited the… Read more about this item Item Price
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Cheever : a life
by Bailey, Blake
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London : Picador, 2009. First Edition. Softcover. Very good paperback copy; edges somewhat dust-dulled and nicked. Remains quite well-preserved overall. Physical description: 770 pages ; 24 cm. Subjects: Cheever, John 1912-1982. Authors, American 20th century ; Biography. Genre: Biography. Language: English. Item Price
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Cheever: A Life
by Blake Bailey
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Cheever: A Life
by Bailey, Blake
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