SUMMER OF DELIVERANCE: A Memoir of Father and Son

Rating:
Summary: A moving story of estrangement and reconciliation.
Review: We've had many books from authors who grew up as the children of difficult, self-obsessed geniuses, but Christopher Dickey's memoir of his father, James Dickey, ranks at the very top. "Summer of Deliverance" has the ring of bitter truth, and Christopher Dickey is just as hard on himself as he is on his father; this isn't "Daddy Dearest," thank God. The chapters on the making of the film version of "Deliverance"--an abortive collaboration between father and son which ended when the father died--are both hair-raising and delicious. (I'm surprised Burt Reynolds hasn't sued!) "Summer of Deliverance" had the effect on me of making me want to go back and reread all of James Dickey's poems and novels immediately, as well as to check out Christopher Dickey's other books. I suspect most readers will have exactly the same reaction.