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levitybooks's review against another edition
4.0
*Medium Spoilers*
Surprisingly good for random pick at the library. I've never read so detailed an account of male homosexuality before. I've never seen any attempts at communicating the subtle nuances between a man desiring either a man or a woman within a narrative. I think this book mundanely but realistically explains the psychological experience of both homosexuality and prison, which is rare because both are normally made so sensational due to their political sensitivity that it's hard to know what it really is like.
Knowing John Cheever was secretly homosexual adds complexity for biographical critique. I'm unsure of whether he thinks male sexuality is socially conditioned (men becoming 'temporarily bisexual' in prison until they see their wives again) as opposed to something that is mostly established after adolescent development but sometimes covered by denial, or whether he had to write it like this to disguise the fact that he might empathize too closely with homosexuality to make his own homosexuality obvious to the public at a time where it was not that safe to do so.
Surprisingly good for random pick at the library. I've never read so detailed an account of male homosexuality before. I've never seen any attempts at communicating the subtle nuances between a man desiring either a man or a woman within a narrative. I think this book mundanely but realistically explains the psychological experience of both homosexuality and prison, which is rare because both are normally made so sensational due to their political sensitivity that it's hard to know what it really is like.
Knowing John Cheever was secretly homosexual adds complexity for biographical critique. I'm unsure of whether he thinks male sexuality is socially conditioned (men becoming 'temporarily bisexual' in prison until they see their wives again) as opposed to something that is mostly established after adolescent development but sometimes covered by denial, or whether he had to write it like this to disguise the fact that he might empathize too closely with homosexuality to make his own homosexuality obvious to the public at a time where it was not that safe to do so.
freehottakes's review against another edition
1.0
One star because zero stars is not possible with Goodreads. This book is awful. At least it's a fast read so the pain will end soon. He writes with the self-importance of someone who has too often been told that he is a Very Important Writer, and it detracts from the story. For all I know, the story could be great, but it is difficult to tell, viewing it as we must through the smug lens of John Cheever.
nikkigee81's review against another edition
4.0
I remember a college professor talking about John Cheever one day, probably The Swimmer, but that's the only interaction I had with his work until now. I'm sure that when this was first published, much of the candid and frank talk of phalluses and homosexuality was shocking to the average reader.
Farragut is a former professor, current drug addict and prisoner at Falconer. He's been incarcerated for the murder of his brother. The mundane, dreary life of the penitentiary is intercut with Farragut's musing upon his past. It's very psychological, rather than plot-driven, and Cheever has quite an evocative way with words.
Farragut is a former professor, current drug addict and prisoner at Falconer. He's been incarcerated for the murder of his brother. The mundane, dreary life of the penitentiary is intercut with Farragut's musing upon his past. It's very psychological, rather than plot-driven, and Cheever has quite an evocative way with words.
thegrimmreader's review against another edition
5.0
What did I think? I thought it was fantastic. But also quite sad/melancholy. Very well written.
darwin8u's review against another edition
5.0
There is something both unsettling and beautiful about this compact Cheever novel. A novel of punishment and redemption, Falconer is also a story of addiction, of confinement, of an introspective man moving from his isolated past to his very human present. It is hard to compare Cheever's style to anyone, but there were moments where I felt I was floating in the same literary river as O'Connor, Dostoevsky, Chekhov, and Percy. His prose is amazing, his imagination is sharp, and the depth of his soul-searching is absolutely sublime.
arnie's review against another edition
2.0
Farragut is a wealthy man and a drug addict who murdered his brother and is now in Falconer prison. The novel involves a set of interwoven vignettes involving prison life and memories of life before prison. I think I should stick to Cheever short stories.
knowledgelost's review against another edition
2.0
This isn’t your typical correctional facility; in fact Falconer Correctional Facility is very boring, there is nothing happening, just a bunch of lonely men trying to make it through their sentences. No brutality, no abuse and the only riot that happens in the book is just as boring as the rest of prison life. The main character; Farragut is convicted of murdering his brother; he is from a formally rich family and a drug addict. The whole book is about him and his desire for methadone; nothing else really happens.