All my life I’ve devoured books insatiably. I wish I had kept a log; the titles number, undoubtedly, in the many thousands. Author names and titles become a blur when one is a true book-hog.
But two names invariably put a shiver over me that ends in goosebumps, even years after first discovering them: John Cheever and Jessica Mitford. Specifically, Cheever’s THE HOUSEBREAKER OF SHADY HILL and THE COUNTRY HUSBAND, and Mitford’s DAUGHTERS AND REBELS.
After reading (‘rolling around in’ might be more accurate) works by both of these authors, my belief in myself as a writer was reinforced for, so far, a lifetime. Cheever and Mitford, for me, embodied inspiration.
An excellent Cheever commentary by Jan Harayda:
“http://oneminutebookreviews.wordpress.com/2007/04/15/ the-stories-of-john-cheever-a-titan-among-past-winners- of-the-pulitzer-prize-for-fiction/“
