Ballata

by John Cheever, Marco Papi (Translator)

Estratto da The stories of John Cheever

Genres: Short Stories

150 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

John Cheever was an American novelist and short story writer, sometimes called "the Chekhov of the suburbs" or "the Ovid of Ossining." His fiction is mostly set in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, the suburbs of Westchester, New York, and old New England villages based on various South Shore towns around Quincy, Massachusetts, where he was born.

His main themes include the duality of human nature: sometimes dramatized as the disparity between a character's decorous social persona and inner corruption, and sometimes as a conflict between two characters (often brothers) who embody the salient aspects of both--light and dark, flesh and spirit. Many of his works also express a nostalgia for a vanishing way of life, characterized by abiding cultural traditions and a profound sense of community, as opposed to the alienating nomadism of modern suburbia.

Reviews

[EMILIO S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cheever è uno scrittore di razza e questi racconti sono delle piccole illuminazioni: ballata, stagione di divorzio, sono perfetti come nella migliore tradizione americana degli shorts story. Tutte le storie colgono i protagonisti nel momento della loro caduta schiacciati dal destino personale, dal contesto sociale o dalle difficoltà economiche e non è raro che l’alcolismo dia una svolta drammatica a delle vite già fragili e sofferenti.

[marta · Rating 4 out of 5]

podejrzewam ze w zyciu dziewczyny jest malo piekniejszych rzeczy od amerykanskiej prozy xx wieku i to napisanej przez tzw biseksa

[Alessandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5.

[Kinga · Rating 5 out of 5]

I heard that John Cheever was one of the masters of short stories so I decided to go and introduce myself via this collection compiled by a Polish publisher in the 70s. It is made of six stories:

"The Housebreaker of Shady Hill"
"Torch Song"
"The Hartleys"
"Boy in Rome"
"Brimmer"
"O City of Broken Dreams"

When I read the first one I was puzzled. I expected to be blown away and it left me lukewarm. I thought: "maybe short stories are really not my thing." But when I kept on reading it finally dawned on me what it was all about.

Cheever writes about suburbian lower middle class. In each story he takes his 'hard working' and 'decent' characters and makes them face their worst fear, the fear of moral decay, of falling out the societal mainstream.

Johnny Hake from "The Housebreaker of Shady Hill" finds himself in a difficult financial situation so he steals from his affluent acquaintance and thus becomes in his own eyes the worst scum on earth.

In "The Torch Song" we have a woman of 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' sort, whom the main character tries to avoid lest she should infect him with death, sickness and general decline that seem to surround her.

"The Hartleys" was my favourite story in the collection because of the slap in the face ending.
It is about Mr and Mrs Hartley who try very to come across as a decent and normal family.

There is also a very cynical ode to New York in "O City of Broken Dreams".

I will be reading more of John Cheever because I enjoy how he gently kicks all the good and decent people exactly where it hurts. And if making fun of picture perfect American families from the 50's is your thing, you should read him too.

[Luigi Basso · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una poesia dalla prima all'ultima parola.

[podrozdzial · Rating 4 out of 5]

oś tematyczną zbioru opowiadań „miłosna ballada” wyznaczają zagadnienia egzystenjalno-moralne. w każdej z sześciu zebranych tu historii dokonuje się refleksja nad kondycją człowieczeństwa rozrysowana na mapie amerykańskiego społeczeństwa. na przykładzie konkretnych historii analizujemy istotę brnięcia w kłamstwo, chęć dbania o rodzinne pozory czy rozwiązłości. jest w tej narracji coś z groteski, bowiem kłopoty bohaterów często wynikają z ich własnych aspiracji czy żądz. wkrótce jednak okazuje się, że jedyne, co im z tego pozostało to nieznośne uwikłanie w sytuacje bez wyjścia.

wszystkie historie, mimo pozornie błahej czy banalnej tematyki cechuje precyzyjnie wymierzone ostrze satyry i spostrzeżeń. obnażeniu tak skutecznie ukrywanych wad poszczególnych członków społeczeństwa towarzyszy żal, rozpacz i poczucie beznadziei. wachlarz emocji rozpięty zostaje tu wybitnie szeroko. mimo krótkiej formy to historie kompletne, refleksyjne i odświeżające. wszystko to doprawione szczyptą nienachalnego moralizatorstwa łączy się w satysfakcjonującą całość.

[Bookygirls Magda · Rating 3 out of 5]

czytając było okej, ale muszę się bardzo skupić i zerknąć na tytuł opowiadań, żeby przypomnieć sobie o czym były. Można w nich znaleźć trochę moralizatorstwa, część miała szansę do mnie trafić ze względu na temat, ale zabrakło mi silniejszych emocji lub dodatkowego zdania na zakończenie (bo dwa z nich wydają się być urwane, jakby autor nie miał pomysłu, w którą stronę pociągnąć historie, to pole interpretacji jest ogromne, ale w tym przypadku to wada). "Państwo Hartley" zapada w pamięć najbardziej i na pewno będę myśleć o nim dłużej, "Miłosna ballada" podobnie, chociaż przez ¾ mój entuzjazm nie był zbyt duży.

[Luca Speciotti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Era da un po' che non finivo un libro. Non so cosa mi è successo, ma sono in crisi. Inizio un libro e dopo un po' lo pianto lì, con questo però sono riuscito ad andare fino in fondo. John Cheever è uno scrittore dotato di grande personalità, con cui scava dietro alla facciata di una borghesia americana benpensante per metterne a nudo i difetti, riaffermando quel lato oscuro e imprescindibile che si annida nell'animo umano e che le consuetudini sociali mirano a nascondere.