A Tragic Honesty

Author: Blake Bailey
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 9780312423759
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 708

Book Description
Celebrated in his prime, forgotten in his final years, only to be championed anew by our greatest contemporary authors, Richard Yates has always exposed readers to the unsettling hypocrisies of our modern age. In Blake Bailey's masterful and entertaining biography, Yates himself serves as the fascinating lens into mid-century America, a world of would-be artists, depressed housewives, addled businessmen, high living, wistful striving, and self-deception. The story of Richard Yates here stands as a singular reminder of what the writer must sacrifice for his craft, the devil's bargain of artistry for happiness, praise for sanity.

Farther and Wilder

Author: Blake Bailey
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0307475522
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 530

Book Description
Charles Jackson’s novel The Lost Weekend—the story of five disastrous days in the life of an alcoholic—was published in 1944 to triumphant success. Although he tried to escape its legacy, Jackson is often remembered only as the author of this thinly veiled autobiography. In Farther & Wilder, the award-winning biographer of Richard Yates and John Cheever goes deeper, exploring Jackson’s life—from growing up in the scandal-plagued village of Newark, New York, to a career in Hollywood and friendships with everyone from Judy Garland and Billy Wilder to Thomas Mann and Mary McCarthy. This is the fascinating biography of a writer whose life and work encapsulated what it meant to be an addict and a closeted homosexual in mid-century America, and who was far ahead of his time in bringing these forbidden subjects into the popular discourse.

Dismembering the American Dream

Author: Kate Charlton-Jones
Publisher: University of Alabama Press
ISBN: 0817318259
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 296

Book Description
"A detailed study of Yates's novels and stories"-- Provided by publisher.

Liars in Love

Author: Richard Yates
Publisher: Picador
ISBN: 1466853697
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 312

Book Description
Now available in eBook for the first time, Richard Yates's groundbreaking collection of short fiction. The stories in Liars in Love are concerned with troubled relations and the elusive nature of truth. Whether it be in the depiction of the complications of divorced families, grown-up daughters, estranged sisters, office friendships or fleeting love affairs, the pieces in this collection showcase Richard Yates's extraordinary gift for observation and his understanding of human frailty. In this collection, you'll discover some of the most influential and sharply observed short fiction of the 20th century, and find out why Richard Yates was a true American master.

The Tragedy Test

Author: Richard Agler
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1532657943
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 122

Book Description
When tragedy strikes we want to know: Why did this happen? How could it have happened? Where is life's justice and fairness? When tragedy strikes we need to know: What still makes sense. What paths lead to healing. How to deal with the timeless questions. When Rabbi Richard Agler's twenty-six-year-old daughter Talia was struck and killed by a motor vehicle, his understanding of tragedy failed him. This book is an account of a journey, one he had no choice but to take, leading from unimaginable grief to (at least partial) recovery. In clear and compelling language, with references to both ancient and modern sources of wisdom, Rabbi Agler offers insight for everyone who has, or who one day might, experience painful loss. The Tragedy Test may give you enhanced clarity on some of humanity's most profound questions. It may lead you to reimagine the nature of our universe. It may fundamentally challenge your understanding of the God you thought you knew. It will not leave you unmoved or unchanged.

A Beautiful Truth

Author: Colin McAdam
Publisher: Soho Press
ISBN: 1616953160
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 267

Book Description
This novel told from the perspectives of both humans and chimpanzees “packs a huge emotional punch” (The Gazette, Montreal). Looee is a chimp raised by a well-meaning and compassionate human couple who cannot conceive a baby of their own. He is forever set apart—not human, but certainly not like other chimps. Then one night, after years at the family’s Vermont home, all their lives are changed forever. At the Girdish Institute, a group of chimpanzees has been studied for decades. There is proof that chimps have memories and solve problems, that they can learn language and need friends. They are political and altruistic. They get angry, and forgive. Mr. Ghoul has been there from the beginning, and has grown up in a world of rivals, sex, and unpredictable loss. Looee and Mr. Ghoul travel distant but parallel paths through childhood, adolescence, and early middle age. But ultimately their paths will cross at this Florida primate research facility, in this “strangely captivating [and] deeply moving” novel about the truths that transcend species, and the capacity for survival (Booklist).

The Easter Parade

Author: Richard Yates
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 0099518562
Category : Children of divorced parents
Languages : en
Pages : 242

Book Description
Even as little girls, Sarah and Emily are very different from each other. Emily looks up to her wiser and more stable older sister and is jealous of her relationship with their absent father, and later her seemingly golden marriage. The path she chooses for herself is less safe and conventional and her love affairs never really satisfy her. Although the bond between them endures, gradually the distance between the two women grows, until a tragic event throws their relationship into focus one last time.

Revolutionary Road

Author: Richard Yates
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781446420737
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 368

Book Description

Disturbing the Peace

Author: Richard Yates
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 1446420663
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 274

Book Description
John Wilder is in his mid-thirties, a successful salesman with a place in the country, an adoring wife and a ten-year-old son.But something is wrong. His family no longer interests him, his infidelities are leading him nowhere and he has begun to drink too much. Then one night, something inside John snaps and he calls his wife to tell her that he isn't coming home...

All My Puny Sorrows

Author: Miriam Toews
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 1635574986
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 339

Book Description
From the bestselling author of Women Talking, a "wrenchingly honest, darkly funny novel" (Entertainment Weekly). Elf and Yoli are sisters. While on the surface Elfrieda's life is enviable (she's a world-renowned pianist, glamorous, wealthy, and happily married) and Yolandi's a mess (she's divorced and broke, with two teenagers growing up too quickly), they are fiercely close-raised in a Mennonite household and sharing the hardship of Elf's desire to end her life. After Elf's latest attempt, Yoli must quickly determine how to keep her family from falling apart while facing a profound question: what do you do for a loved one who truly wants to die? All My Puny Sorrows is a deeply personal story that is as much comedy as it is tragedy, a goodbye grin from the friend who taught you how to live.