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Review Roundup: Cheever, Orwell Receive Boost, Yawn
Filed under: Headline Shooter Tagged: Ben McGrath, Charles McGrath, George Orwell, George Packer, John Cheever, Julian Barnes, Mad Men, Richard Yates
Martin Schneider writes:
In the New York Times Magazine, Charles McGrath (father of Ben) makes the case that John Cheever is sorely due for a revival. Since he's better than the recently canonized Richard Yates, this does seem both likely and proper. The success of Mad Men, set in Ossining, Cheever's hometown, should help.
Meanwhile, the otherwise excellent New York Review of Books brings us Julian Barnes's fatuous review of the new George Packer editions of George Orwell's essays. I'm an Orwell nut of long standing, dedicated my (poor) senior thesis to his work, have committed the CEJL to memory (true Orwell fanatics instantly recognize that abbreviation), and grow impatient with Barnes's denigrating tone and determination to ignore the volumes under review. Both Georges deserve better.
Comments
The same NYRB has a piece on Peter Schjeldahl by Sanford Schwartz that is graceful and perceptive and collegial, and, those not familiar with P.S.’s pre-TNY era should check out the earlier collections he writes about.
Also, this quote: “Gossip economizes mental energy to a fault.”
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/22433
Twitter too!
What’s great about the McGrath piece on Cheever is that he takes care to puncture the common perception of Cheever as a realist writer who wrote about suburban malaise. It’s also the first I’ve heard that Library of America is re-issuing much of Cheever’s work, which made my day.
The New Criterion likewisepublished a review of the new Cheever biography; I particularly liked the latter half, where quotes from Cheever’s stories make the case for his eminence better than any columnist can.
It mystifies me that a writer best known for “The Swimmer” can have that reputation. Have these people ever read it?