John Gardner

October 27, 2003
In the 1960s and '70s, when literary authors had the widespread appeal of rock stars, John Gardner was the perfect icon of the era: a highly regarded novelist who partied hard and rode a motorcycle. Silesky's briskly paced biography follows the controversial author of The Sunlight Dialogues
and other bestselling and critically acclaimed novels from his rural beginnings near Batavia, N.Y., to the motorcycle accident that killed him at the age of 49, days before his third wedding. In between, Gardner led an intense, active life, producing enormous amounts of fiction and medieval scholarship, writing librettos and children's books, and editing academic journals, all the while building a highly successful teaching career in which he mentored dozens of young writers. At the root of Gardner's frenetic race toward literary greatness was, according to Silesky (Ferlinghetti: The Artist in His Times
), a tragic childhood accident—his younger brother was killed by a 1,500-pound farm machine that John was driving—that left him with a deep sense of guilt and of his own mortality. In Silesky's book, the alcoholic, emotionally and physically reckless Gardner plows into his success at full speed and then summarily self-destructs. Drawing from Gardner's interviews, lectures and autobiographical fiction, as well as the testimony of friends and relatives, Silesky's account is well researched, though his dull, expository writing never delves deep. But Gardner's combination of genius and excess makes him a powerfully compelling character, and this book will pique renewed interest in his vast body of work. Agent, Nat Sobel.

January 1, 2004
John Gardner's motorcycle death in 1982 silenced one of the most visible and vocal authors of the middle of the last century. Silesky's biography of this prominent American author tells of a man driven to recklessness and alcoholism after killing his younger brother in an accident on the family farm in rural New York. Gardner lived his life at full speed, writing 29 books (including 11 novels and six works of medieval criticism) and sparring publicly with his contemporaries, including Joseph Heller and Norman Mailer. His 1972 novel, The Sunlight Dialogues, spent 14 weeks on the New York Times best sellers list. He died at the age of 49 just days before his third wedding. While Silesky (Ferlinghetti: The Artist in His Times) fails to capture Gardner's charisma (or that of his times), this biography does bring to life a remarkable author who lived and wrote in an interesting era. Recommended for larger public and academic libraries.-Michele McGraw, Hennepin Cty. Lib., Edina, MN

Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

September 1, 2004
Adult/High School-From writing to drinking to preaching for moral art to his death at age 49 in a motorcycle accident, Gardner's life was nothing if not mythic. This fast-paced, highly readable biography draws a clear portrait of the writer as a human being. The book opens with the accidental death of his brother, Gilbert. According to Silesky, this tragedy became a source of pain that Gardner would always carry with him and one that would continually impact his fiction. After a brief detour into family background, the book traces the major points of its subject's artistic, critical, and academic life. It spends some time describing his major works, such as Grendel (Knopf, 1971), but these explications are simplified and may disappoint those looking for a more critical approach. They do, however, work well for general readers and will hopefully inspire some to search out Gardner's once-popular books. While Silesky obviously admires his subject's enormous drive and intense dedication to his art, he takes care to show how destructive this passion could be. He includes substantial quotations from family members, colleagues, and rivals, providing a balanced look at the man and his actions. He proves the real Gardner to be significantly more compelling than any myth.-Matthew L. Moffett, Northern Virginia Community College, Annandale

Copyright 2004 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from January 1, 2004
Would John Gardner have been as driven a man --as prolific, innovative, and philosophical a writer, as controversial a literary critic, as hard-drinking and reckless --had he not felt responsible for the accidental childhood death of his younger brother? This is the touchstone of Silesky's groundbreaking portrait of the mercurial and brilliant Gardner, a book exceptional in its momentum, focus, and empathy. The biographer, too, of Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Silesky follows Gardner from the New York State farm on which he learned the meaning of work, the solace of art, and the infinity of sorrow, to the various colleges at which he developed his love for classical mythology and honed his skills as a great translator and popularizer of medieval poetry, inspiring teacher, and powerful writer. Silesky dramatically and succinctly charts Gardner's turbulent marriage to his cousin; the writing of his resounding books, including " Grendel," " Nickel Mountain,"" "and " The Art of Fiction"; and his legendary misadventures. For all his prodigiousness, Silesky reveals, Gardner was riven with guilt, hated to be alone, and routinely attracted physical injury, culminating in the motorcycle accident that claimed his life in 1982 before he even turned 50.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2004, American Library Association.)