Scan barcode
jensa's review against another edition
3.0
Not sure what to make of this book; will probably reread it one day. But Richard Yates' books, dealing with similar issues, had a much bigger impact on me.
kirstiecat's review against another edition
4.0
In a way, I hesitate to give this novel merely a 4 because I'm guessing that when Cheever originally wrote it in 1967, it was a great deal more astounding. Bullet Park is about a suburb of NYC where there's a very thin veneer that everything is going smoothly. The locals are suicidal, homicidal, adulterers, racist, impossibly sad, addicted to illegally prescribed medicines, TV, cigarettes and alcohol and at the end of the week they all go to Christ's Church like the good little Christians they are. In a way you feel very sorry for some of them if they were so unlikable with their tortoise shooting sense of entitlement. And, I think the point Cheever is making is that you need to look more closely at people because they just aren't as simple as they seem. Fortunately, though this point has been made multitudes of times since humans could hold pencils, he delivers in a twisted and interesting way with a commanding sense of language that helps you identify with the glimpses of these tortured moments. For some it's just how to live a life. There's no other way and there's not a huge amount of hope in the novel. Bullet Park will always exist. NYC will always exist. Homocidal maniacs that make a big hit at cocktail parties will always exist and really, what else do we have to fill the history books of America?
There is such a sadness here. There is such torment and it is thick and ripe and you can sense and feel it with all cells of your body.
Also, I really liked the bit about the cat.
Memorable quotes
pg 10 "Vital statistics? There were of no importance. The divorce rate was way down, the suicide rate was a secret; traffic casualties averaged twenty-two a year because of a winding highway that seemed to have been drawn on the map by a child with a grease pencil..."
pg. 25 "Sitting at their breakfast table Nailles and Nellie seemed to have less dimension than a comic strip, but why was this? They had erotic depths, origins, memories, dreams and seizures of melancholy and enthusiasm."
pg. 36 "The opening night seemed to him to have had the perfection of a midsummer day whose sublimity hinted at the inevitability of winter and death."
pg. 40 "One morning Tony refused to get out of bed. "I'm not sick," he said when his mother took his temperature. "I just feel terribly sad. I just don't feel like getting up."
pg. 61 "What is the pathos of men and women who fall asleep on trains and planes; why do they seem forsaken, poleaxed and lost? They snore, they twist, they mutter names, they seem the victims of some terrible upheaval although they are merely going home to supper and to cut the grass..."
pg. 79 "She wore no perfume and exhaled the faint unfreshness of humanity at the end of the day."
pg. 86 "The secret to keeping young is to read children's books. You read the books they write for little children and you'll keep young. You read novels, philosophy, stuff like that and it makes you feel old."
pg. 117 "I'm not afraid of the dark but there are some kinds of human ignorance that frighten me."
pg. 128 "All rain tastes the same and yet rain fell for Nellie from a diversity of skies. Some rains seemed to let down like a net from the guileless heavens of her childhood, some rains were stormy and bitter, some fell like a force of memory. The rain that day tasted as salty as blood."
pg. 157 "I have noticed, in my travels, that the strange beds I occupy in hotels and pensions have a considerable variance in atmosphere and a profound influence on my dreams."
...
pg. 159 "but wouldn't you say that I possess indisputable proof of the fact that we leave fragments of ourselves, our dreams and our spirits in the rooms where we sleep?
pg. 178=179 "The station was then being razed and reconstructed and it was such a complex of ruins that it seemed like a frightening projection of my own confusions and I stepped out into the street, looking for a bar.
pg. 187 "Outside I could hear the brook, some night bird, moving leaves, and all of the sounds of the night world seemed endearing as if I quite literally loved the night as one loves a woman, loved the stars, loved the trees, the weeds in the grass as one can love with the same ardor a woman's breasts and the apple core she has left in an ashtray. I loved it all and everyone who lived."
pg. 196 "I can't drive safely on the goddam Jersey Turnpike sober. That road and all the rest of the freeways and thruways were engineered for clowns and drunks."
There is such a sadness here. There is such torment and it is thick and ripe and you can sense and feel it with all cells of your body.
Also, I really liked the bit about the cat.
Memorable quotes
pg 10 "Vital statistics? There were of no importance. The divorce rate was way down, the suicide rate was a secret; traffic casualties averaged twenty-two a year because of a winding highway that seemed to have been drawn on the map by a child with a grease pencil..."
pg. 25 "Sitting at their breakfast table Nailles and Nellie seemed to have less dimension than a comic strip, but why was this? They had erotic depths, origins, memories, dreams and seizures of melancholy and enthusiasm."
pg. 36 "The opening night seemed to him to have had the perfection of a midsummer day whose sublimity hinted at the inevitability of winter and death."
pg. 40 "One morning Tony refused to get out of bed. "I'm not sick," he said when his mother took his temperature. "I just feel terribly sad. I just don't feel like getting up."
pg. 61 "What is the pathos of men and women who fall asleep on trains and planes; why do they seem forsaken, poleaxed and lost? They snore, they twist, they mutter names, they seem the victims of some terrible upheaval although they are merely going home to supper and to cut the grass..."
pg. 79 "She wore no perfume and exhaled the faint unfreshness of humanity at the end of the day."
pg. 86 "The secret to keeping young is to read children's books. You read the books they write for little children and you'll keep young. You read novels, philosophy, stuff like that and it makes you feel old."
pg. 117 "I'm not afraid of the dark but there are some kinds of human ignorance that frighten me."
pg. 128 "All rain tastes the same and yet rain fell for Nellie from a diversity of skies. Some rains seemed to let down like a net from the guileless heavens of her childhood, some rains were stormy and bitter, some fell like a force of memory. The rain that day tasted as salty as blood."
pg. 157 "I have noticed, in my travels, that the strange beds I occupy in hotels and pensions have a considerable variance in atmosphere and a profound influence on my dreams."
...
pg. 159 "but wouldn't you say that I possess indisputable proof of the fact that we leave fragments of ourselves, our dreams and our spirits in the rooms where we sleep?
pg. 178=179 "The station was then being razed and reconstructed and it was such a complex of ruins that it seemed like a frightening projection of my own confusions and I stepped out into the street, looking for a bar.
pg. 187 "Outside I could hear the brook, some night bird, moving leaves, and all of the sounds of the night world seemed endearing as if I quite literally loved the night as one loves a woman, loved the stars, loved the trees, the weeds in the grass as one can love with the same ardor a woman's breasts and the apple core she has left in an ashtray. I loved it all and everyone who lived."
pg. 196 "I can't drive safely on the goddam Jersey Turnpike sober. That road and all the rest of the freeways and thruways were engineered for clowns and drunks."
reviewsbylola's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
blueyorkie's review against another edition
3.0
Welcome to Bullet Park, the paradise of the American middle class. In this exemplary environment, we will witness the fateful meeting between two men: on the one hand, Eliot Nailles, a citizen that integrated into their community, which, despite its internal contradictions, wants his wife and his son to have a happy disposition. And on the other hand, a new neighbour, Paul Hammer, a nowhere man who, after half a lifetime of wandering, decides to buy a house in Bullet Park. Coinciding with the stranger's arrival, Nailles will see how slowly crumbling their little world is. The tragedy unleashes when his son starts to have problems in school and will intensify to unsuspected limits.
podcast_buecherreich's review against another edition
3.0
Ausufernde Nebenstories, der große Knall wird auf den letzten 10 Seiten abgehandelt & die Motivation bleibt im Unklaren. Aber gut geschrieben
christianbistriceanu's review against another edition
dark
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
3.0
gregoryscottdilcox's review against another edition
4.0
This is an absolutely beautifully written little bit of madness from Cheever. The characters are easy to relate to while at the same time being off putting, and the story seemingly leads no where, just to end up at a satisfying conclusion. It's hard to sum up what exactly was great about this novel other than it was just simply beautifully written. There is no linear structure, and suburban America is often a tedious subject but Cheever makes it work.
nesetzengin's review against another edition
3.0
Nailles, Nellie ve Tony'den oluşan ailenin absürd günlük hallerinin anlatıldığı ilk bölüm iyiydi. Yetenekli Bay Ripley'e benzeyen Hammer'ın anlatıldığı ikinci bölüm yordu biraz. Günlerce yataktan çıkmayan Tony'nin hastalığının bir şaman tarafından iyileşmesi, Nailles'in banliyodeki bir yolculuk arkadaşının tren rayları tarafından yutulduğu/çekildiği sahne tam Cheever beklenecek ayrıntılar. Bir de Hammer sosyopatının cimri ninesinin eve davet ettiği arkadaşını kandırmak için istiridyenin içine Wallmart'tan aldığı inciyi koyması ve adamı şaşırtmasına uzun süre güldüm.
Güzel ayrıntılara rağmen Cheever'ın motivasyonunu, neden bu hikayeyi roman olarak tasarladığını anlamadım. Eğer banliyödeki aileleri incelemekse zaten öykülerinin çoğu zaten bu temaya dair. Bu roman büyük meseleler hakkında değil, bir sosyopatı oluşturan koşullar hakkında, sosyal tırmanış halinde olan bir ailenin tuhaf gündelik hikayeleri hakkında. Daha fazlası değil. Cheever öykülerini okumamış okurlar bu kitaptan başlamasın.
Güzel ayrıntılara rağmen Cheever'ın motivasyonunu, neden bu hikayeyi roman olarak tasarladığını anlamadım. Eğer banliyödeki aileleri incelemekse zaten öykülerinin çoğu zaten bu temaya dair. Bu roman büyük meseleler hakkında değil, bir sosyopatı oluşturan koşullar hakkında, sosyal tırmanış halinde olan bir ailenin tuhaf gündelik hikayeleri hakkında. Daha fazlası değil. Cheever öykülerini okumamış okurlar bu kitaptan başlamasın.
kate_in_a_book's review against another edition
4.0
This is a comedy, poking fun at suburbia, but it’s a dark, subtle kind of comedy. I certainly didn’t laugh out loud. The story is that of Eliot Nailles, sensible middle-class long-term resident of Bullet Park, a New York suburb, and his recently arrived neighbour Paul Hammer. At first glance Nailles is hard working, happily married, blessed with a perfect teenage son and admired by all around him, while Hammer is somehow mysterious, with a wife who says things she shouldn’t after a few drinks.
The first half of the book, perhaps predictably, cuts through that façade of suburbia and looks behind the closed doors at the details of Nailles’ life. His love for his wife Nellie borders on obsession but does she feel anything like the same loyalty for him? And his son Tony seems to have been struck down suddenly with some form of bedridden depression, which Nailles is trying desperately to both understand and find a cure for.
What I found interesting was that Cheever doesn’t entirely subvert the prevalent view of suburbia, because overall the picture painted is one of dreariness and predictability. Not that the writing is at all dreary, but if this section had gone on much longer I think I would soon have become bored.
My full review: http://www.noseinabook.co.uk/2014/01/22/we-seem-to-have-strayed-into-a-timeless-moral-vortex/
The first half of the book, perhaps predictably, cuts through that façade of suburbia and looks behind the closed doors at the details of Nailles’ life. His love for his wife Nellie borders on obsession but does she feel anything like the same loyalty for him? And his son Tony seems to have been struck down suddenly with some form of bedridden depression, which Nailles is trying desperately to both understand and find a cure for.
What I found interesting was that Cheever doesn’t entirely subvert the prevalent view of suburbia, because overall the picture painted is one of dreariness and predictability. Not that the writing is at all dreary, but if this section had gone on much longer I think I would soon have become bored.
My full review: http://www.noseinabook.co.uk/2014/01/22/we-seem-to-have-strayed-into-a-timeless-moral-vortex/