The Splendid Things We Planned

Posted on 06 January 2017 by Blake Bailey

The renowned biographer s unforgettable portrait of a family in ruins his own.Meet the Baileys Burck, a prosperous lawyer once voted the American Legion s Citizen of the Year in his tiny hometown of Vinita, Oklahoma his wife Marlies, who longs to recapture her festive life in Greenwich Village as a pretty young German immigrant, fresh off the boat their addled son Scott, who repeatedly crashes the family Porsche and Blake, the younger son, trying to find a way through the storm You re gonna be just like me, a drunken Scott taunts him You re gonna be worse Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award and finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, Blake Bailey has been hailed as addictively readable New York Times and praised for his ability to capture lives compellingly and in harrowing detail Time The Splendid Things We Planned is his darkly funny account of growing up in the shadow of an erratic and increasingly dangerous brother, an exhilarating and sometimes harrowing story that culminates in one unforgettable Christmas. Download The Splendid Things We Planned – kino-fada.fr This isn t for everyone, Blake Bailey s pointed, self indulgent, sometimes legitimately harrowing family memoir it often reads like a 300 page Al Anon and or AA qualification, with all of the inevitable repetition, head shaking denial, dark humor, ridiculous melodrama Also you wouldn t want to spend much any time with any of these people in real life No, not even our author, the Pultizer Prize finalist literary biographer Bailey the younger himself, who is brutally honest in putting a sp This isn t for everyone, Blake Bailey s pointed, self indulgent, sometimes legitimately harrowing family memoir it often reads like a 300 page Al Anon and or AA qualification, with all of the inevitable repetition, head shaking denial, dark humor, ridiculous melodrama Also you wouldn t want to spend much any time with any of these people in real life No, not even our author, the Pultizer Prize finalist literary biographer Bailey the younger himself, who is brutally hon...Blake Bailey is one hell of a writer In this memoir of a family that is first twisted and then broken, he has given of himself in a way that is impossible to measure It is a powerhouse of a memoir, a beacon that starts out distant and becomes graduallyfocused and immediate in a way only a master of the genre can do I feel fortunate for having been lucky enough to catch a glimpse free and in advance, courtesy of his publisher and the Goodreads.com first reads program If you are drawn to Blake Bailey is one hell of a writer In this memoir of a family that is first twisted and then broken, he has given of himself in a way that is impossible to measure It is a powerhouse of a memoir, a beacon that starts out distant and becomes graduallyfocused and immediate in a way only a master of the genre can do I feel fortunate for having been lucky enough to catch a glimpse free and in advance, courtesy of his publisher and the Goodreads.com first reads program If you are drawn to haunting, searingly evocative memoirs, I recommend you go out and get a copy for yourself You won t forget this one.In the beginning, he is so droll that I mistakenly dropped this story onto my humor shelf It begins light, as childhood tends to be in spite of everything, and gradually, not unlike the Clouds he uses to end his story, it darkens, at first almost imperceptibly, then i...When David Sedaris recommends a book, read the book I saw Sedaris live a few weeks ago and at the end of the reading, he read an excerpt from this book, followed by high praise I bought it immediately Blake Bailey is a skilled and articulate writer My vocabulary is better for having read this book The story is tragic, honest and compelling I looked forward to b...This book was recommended to the public by David Sedaris who I deeply love at the end of one of his shows He spent several minutes describing the many reasons to love Blake Bailey and this book, and I ended up being very intrigued by it dark and wit humor mixed with the sense of tragedy that only real life st...Wow Not sure where to start Bailey is widely known as one of the world s best literary biographers, but I wondered how well he could pull off his own memoir something which requires a quite different skill set My worries were entirely without merit.Bailey s memoir is a fast paced, gripping and suspenseful read both highly entertaining, yet disturbing Beyond it s entertainment value, howev...Nope Nope I listened to an hour and I just don t want to stay with these people Life is short Thank god for Overdrive audiobooks that I can borrow and return without going broke.I suspect Blake Bailey writes so well he could make anything interesting I had read little of, and knew little about John Cheever, before reading Bailey s wonderful biography of him That book was difficult to put down, and he brings the same complexity of thought, economy of language, and admirable empathy towards the bitterness, struggles, and disappointments of life to this memoir This book is an enveloping look at one unhappy family, in which people age, grow, and even change, but nothing I suspect Blake Bailey writes so well he ...This was a wonderfully written memoir by Mr Bailey that I read in three sittings Had I not had so many other things going on, I would have finished it in one It was difficult for me to put down Mr Blake writes openly and honestly about his life and the life of his brother, Scott, from their early years and into adulthood in such a way that makes one realize that we get out of life what we put into it We are given insight into the personalities, lives, and dysfunctions of not only himself This was a wonderfully written memoir by Mr Bailey that I read in three sittings Had I not had so many other things going on, I would have finished it in one It was difficult for me to put down Mr Blake writes openly and honestly about his life and the life of his brother, Scott, from their early years and into adulthood in such a way that makes one realize that we get out of life what we put into it We are given insight into the personalities, lives, and dysfunctions of not only hi...An incredibly well written book however, I found the writer s flippant tone toward his drug addicted, mentally ill brother disturbing I also felt a fair portion of this book was too self indulgent for my tastes The only character I felt any empathy toward was the brother with the problems.I almost stopped reading when the author began certain conversations regarding his brother s very existance My personal beliefs about life cannot abide nor understand this way of thinking I know firsthand An incredibly well written book however, I found the writer s flippant tone toward his drug addicted, mentally ill brothe...Received through firstreads..I really enjoyed this, although at times I wanted to slap some people repeatedly It had the quality of making you want to know how it would end, when in the back of your mind you already knew there was really only one way it cou...

English
06 January 2017

Blake Bailey