≡ [PDF] Gratis The Splendid Things We Planned A Family Portrait Blake Bailey 9780393239577 Books

The Splendid Things We Planned A Family Portrait Blake Bailey 9780393239577 Books

Download As PDF : The Splendid Things We Planned A Family Portrait Blake Bailey 9780393239577 Books

The Splendid Things We Planned A Family Portrait Blake Bailey 9780393239577 Books

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 gradually more focused and immediate in a way only a master of the genre can do. If you are drawn to haunting, searingly evocative memoirs, I recommend you order 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 in a way that builds until the reader sits up, sits back (perhaps like me) to say, "Oh HELL no!" or, "Did that just happen?"

It did. And when you think about it, how could it be otherwise?

It is not just a good read, but also a damning indictment of the so-called justice system in the USA. How much human potential has been wasted in funding and resorting to incarceration when mental health care is so badly needed for so many?

The silence when he finishes is thunderous and deafening.


Tags : The Splendid Things We Planned: A Family Portrait [Blake Bailey] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <strong>A National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist 'Autobiography'<br /><br /> The renowned biographer’s unforgettable portrait of a family in ruins―his own.</strong> Meet the Baileys: Burck,Blake Bailey,The Splendid Things We Planned: A Family Portrait,W. W. Norton & Company,0393239578,Literary,Personal Memoirs,American authors;Biography.,Authors, American,Authors, American;Biography.,Bailey family,Bailey, Blake - Childhood and youth,Bailey, Blake - Family,Biographers - United States,Biographers;United States;Biography.,AMERICAN PROSE,Autobiography: literary,BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY Literary Figures,BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY Personal Memoirs,Biographers,Biography,Biography & Autobiography,BiographyAutobiography,Essays,GENERAL,General Adult,Literature - Classics Criticism,Non-Fiction,United States

The Splendid Things We Planned A Family Portrait Blake Bailey 9780393239577 Books Reviews

I really enjoyed this read and read it in one sitting. Mr.Bailey did a fantastic job of leaving the reader enough hints to read between the lines. It's a great testament to seeing some people are just determined to go down no matter what you do.
I admire Blake for his honesty. This was not an easy read as I am sure it was not easy to write. It was (and is) worth however long it takes the reader to finish - I had to stop at times and "regroup" but I could not stop until it was done. I know two people like Blake's brother, Scott, and I am of the same mind as Blake. We have our plans, we love who we love; but, sometimes that's just not enough.
I listened to the book on CD and along with Blake Bailey being an excellent writer... he is an excellent reader as well.*
*CORRECTION It has been brought to my attention that Blake Bailey is Not the reader on the CD... the reader IS Jim Meskimen, and he is excellent.
Note to self - pay attention to the small print.
I felt much guilty-pleasure while reading Bailey's account of the sufferings of his dysfunctional family. His father is scraping by as a waiter/grad student at NYU, when he falls in love with not-yet-twenty year old bohemian immigrant from Germany; she gets pregnant, they marry, now they are really poor. The baby bawls constantly, they get little sleep, so they go up on their rooftop and debate whether to jump themselves or throw the baby off...but they can't decide. Father, a decent, stoical guy, becomes a lawyer, a pretty good one, and they have another baby, the author, Blake. His brother, Scott, filled with anger and sibling rivalry, torments Blake, assailing various body parts while constantly posing and glorying in his good looks; their fights are gruesome yet hilariously described. Scott's sanity or personality disorder worsens as he ages into an alcoholic drug addict, the parents divorce, Blake, too, is alcoholic. Depressing as it all sounds, Bailey is so witty, so observant of all sensory insults, I couldn't help enjoying their woes. Bailey is also the biographer of other alcoholic writers, Richard Yates ("Revolutionary Road") and John Cheever.
This book is a deeply moving book. I found it as insightful as Catcher in the Rye in many respects. There are few examples of Narcissistic Personality Disorder in literature- Scott is a perfect example. This book captures a deeply troubled infant to boy to man; a family who loves him; tries to help him; and ultimately cannot. The pain of each character is beautifully brought to life and examined for the reader to experience. This book will be a difficult read for persons suffering from personality disorders and those who love them; however, I recommend it as a wonderful growth experience! Tremendous talent!
From the outside the Baileys are a well off, privileged family with a rascal of an older son, who continues to self destruct at every chance. How younger brother Blake managed to carve his career as a well regarded biographer of literary figures is not addressed in this memoir.

The question is this why read blood-letting memoirs such as this? What keeps us focused on the page when faced with such a downward spiral of lives, such waste of potential, such unmitigated selfishness. I must admit being dragged down and unable to read accounts of many of Scott's exploits, finding them intolerable. I also found myself losing patience with the delusional, well meaning parents who keep cutting him more and more slack holding out hope against reason that Scott would become a productive citizen. But I also realized that was unfair of me. This family continued loving their son despite it all, and they were the victims, not the perpetrators.

As a last note -- I wondered at the title. Initially it reminded me of Sean Wilsey's Oh The Glory of it All (which I haven't read yet), but ultimately it is perfect for this book since it addresses almost more than the content, the frustration of unfulfilled potential.
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 gradually more focused and immediate in a way only a master of the genre can do. If you are drawn to haunting, searingly evocative memoirs, I recommend you order 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 in a way that builds until the reader sits up, sits back (perhaps like me) to say, "Oh HELL no!" or, "Did that just happen?"

It did. And when you think about it, how could it be otherwise?

It is not just a good read, but also a damning indictment of the so-called justice system in the USA. How much human potential has been wasted in funding and resorting to incarceration when mental health care is so badly needed for so many?

The silence when he finishes is thunderous and deafening.