Summer of Deliverance: A Memoir of Father and Son

Rating:
Summary: Eloquent and compelling
Review: "Summer of Deliverance" is an eloquent and compelling work by the son of a remarkable (even sometimes brilliant) self-destructive poet. Christopher Dickey pulls no punches in this memoir about his relationship with his father, James Dickey, who died in 1997. Once a loving and focused parent, Dickey began a steady decline into alcoholism, half-truths, and embarassing showmanship after his first novel, DELIVERANCE, was made into a successful film, in 1971. All of Christopher's pain and heartache are here--everything from his father driving his first wife (Christopher's mother) to drink and an early death to the poet's frightening bout with alcoholic hepatitis in 1994. Christopher does a workmanlike job of dramatically organizing his assemblage of details and facts. And, to his credit, he accesses himself just as relentlessly as he does his father. Also, like his dad, Christopher has an uncanny eye for the poetic. Whether it is recalling lyrical lines of conversation with the elder Dickey or simply remembering poignant moments (e.g., when his father, frail and hooked to an oxygen machine, utters with heartfelt forthrightness, "Son--I do love you so much"), Christopher pens it so winningly right. Quibbles? I question his speaking so harshly about the University of South Carolina. For both USC and Dickey prospered by his tenure there. Still, with SUMMER OF DELIVERANCE, we have a clearer picture of both the frailties and the greatness of a legendary poet.

Rating:
Summary: Eloquent and compelling
Review: "Summer of Deliverance" is an eloquent and compelling work by the son of a remarkable (even sometimes brilliant) self-destructive poet. Christopher Dickey pulls no punches in this memoir about his relationship with his father, James Dickey, who died in 1997. Once a loving and focused parent, Dickey began a steady decline into alcoholism, half-truths, and embarassing showmanship after his first novel, DELIVERANCE, was made into a successful film, in 1971. All of Christopher's pain and heartache are here--everything from his father driving his first wife (Christopher's mother) to drink and an early death to the poet's frightening bout with alcoholic hepatitis in 1994. Christopher does a workmanlike job of dramatically organizing his assemblage of details and facts. And, to his credit, he accesses himself just as relentlessly as he does his father. Also, like his dad, Christopher has an uncanny eye for the poetic. Whether it is recalling lyrical lines of conversation with the elder Dickey or simply remembering poignant moments (e.g., when his father, frail and hooked to an oxygen machine, utters with heartfelt forthrightness, "Son--I do love you so much"), Christopher pens it so winningly right. Quibbles? I question his speaking so harshly about the University of South Carolina. For both USC and Dickey prospered by his tenure there. Still, with SUMMER OF DELIVERANCE, we have a clearer picture of both the frailties and the greatness of a legendary poet.

Rating:
Summary: PUBLISHERS WEEKLY starred review, 7/20/98
Review: A "beautifully written dual-biography of father and son....This unflinching and deeply affecting memoir is one of those places where real poetry occurs."

Rating:
Summary: Compassionate,hauntingly familiar, and forgiving!
Review: Anyone with a father can relate to this book. No one needs to live the horrors of alcoholism to identify with the unrelenting need to be loved by our parents, especially our fathers. Regardless of age,race,or financial status, we continuously seek the approval of our parents. And Christopher Dickey paints an honest portrayal of what it's like to trust,love,hate and endure our parents. His experiences stir our hearts as we identify with the pain a parent can inflict on us. As his story unfolds, we see a part of ourselves in him as he learns to put things into perspective and let go of the pain. Refreshingly honest,and poetically constructed, Christopher Dickey has a magical way with words that makes us better for having shared his, and our, life experiences. A timeless story,excellently written, and guaranteed not to be forgotton!

Rating:
Summary: Compassionate,hauntingly familiar, and forgiving!
Review: Anyone with a father can relate to this book. No one needs to live the horrors of alcoholism to identify with the unrelenting need to be loved by our parents, especially our fathers. Regardless of age,race,or financial status, we continuously seek the approval of our parents. And Christopher Dickey paints an honest portrayal of what it's like to trust,love,hate and endure our parents. His experiences stir our hearts as we identify with the pain a parent can inflict on us. As his story unfolds, we see a part of ourselves in him as he learns to put things into perspective and let go of the pain. Refreshingly honest,and poetically constructed, Christopher Dickey has a magical way with words that makes us better for having shared his, and our, life experiences. A timeless story,excellently written, and guaranteed not to be forgotton!

Rating:
Summary: I haven't yet read this book ...
Review: But am I the only one who suspects someone like Pat Conroy wrote the scathing and anonymous review posted here? The words sound a little too personal -- a little too much like they were written by someone who knew James Dickey and also practices the craft of writing.

Rating:
Summary: Fathers and Sons
Review: Chris Dickey is a poet in journalist's clothing. His book about his father is engaging, touching, heart-wrenching and brutally honest, not to mention very well written. Growing up in the shadow of a famous parent dancing in and out of the limelight is particularly challenging, and while it may have many advantages, it also has its downside. Other children of writers have described the unique lifestyle they have enjoyed/endured. Susan Cheever, Hillary Masters come to mind. If one can survive such a childhood, usually a very unique individual emerges. Dickey talks about his father "making his head". The head of a poet can be a strange and wonderful thing. Judging from this book and Dickey's other books, his head has been well-made.

Rating:
Summary: Fathers and Sons
Review: Chris Dickey is a poet in journalist's clothing. His book about his father is engaging, touching, heart-wrenching and brutally honest, not to mention very well written. Growing up in the shadow of a famous parent dancing in and out of the limelight is particularly challenging, and while it may have many advantages, it also has its downside. Other children of writers have described the unique lifestyle they have enjoyed/endured. Susan Cheever, Hillary Masters come to mind. If one can survive such a childhood, usually a very unique individual emerges. Dickey talks about his father "making his head". The head of a poet can be a strange and wonderful thing. Judging from this book and Dickey's other books, his head has been well-made.

Rating:
Summary: The story of a man with no self-sustaining ability
Review: Chris Dickey's book about his father's effect on him is not only a bore (unless you're a soap opera addict), but a deception. C. Dickey used the enormous fame of the movie "Deliverance" to catch our attention, then proceeded to write relentlessly about his inability to extricate himself from the psychological grasp of his father. Poor James Dickey: the guy was apparently responsible for his self-pitying son's every lament and weakness. In an attempt to make himself look normal, everyone else is severly faulted, include Burt Reynolds, Ronnie Cox, Jon Voight and Ned Beatty. In conclusion, what a boor Chris Dickey is. Good things to say? C. Dickey can write a great sentence, but one has to wonder whether he can do so without the influence of his far more talented--and HUMAN--father.

Rating:
Summary: Uncommon insights into a difficult genius
Review: Christopher Dickey's memoir of his relationship with his father has helped me to understand James Dickey, the artist, as never before. The book picks up steam about halfway through and *becomes* utterly compelling. (The last two sections are as moving as anything I've read in a long time.) In the beginning sections, though, I tired of watching the son invent ways of stating that his father imagined himself the God of poetry--and of all his world--and that for him the imagined life matched, even exceeded, the real in terms of its significance. It's true, no doubt, and tragic. But it becomes trite through so much repetition.