Gradevole and perhaps something more. The concatenation of events makes it a bit incredible, but the writing is good and also the narration.

It all starts around a man who skates on a frozen pond, a pond that is then turned into a landfill. A decision he opposes through legal means, with little success. More success will have the anonymous threats (attacks!) of an indignant housewife.

But it is not the story, as much as the style of the narration, that moves by accumulation, detail after detail. Until it builds a mini fresco of almost desperate lives, on the verge of solitude.

This narrative style creates a vivid and engaging picture. The reader is drawn into the world of the characters, experiencing their joys and sorrows. The description of the events and the characters is so detailed that it feels as if we are actually there, witnessing everything unfold.

Overall, it is a well-written piece that manages to capture the essence of the story and present it in a unique and interesting way. The use of language and the pacing of the narration add to the overall charm of the piece.

Vários episódios são apresentados, relatando pequenos problemas, tanto amorosos quanto do quotidiano. No entanto, esses episódios estão enquadrados em um problema maior, que é o tema principal do romance: a destruição da natureza. No caso em questão, temos um lago que foi transformado em uma lixeira. Esta mudança na natureza não apenas afeta o ecossistema local, mas também tem implicações para a vida das pessoas que dependem desse lago. As consequências da destruição da natureza são muitas e podem ser devastadoras. É importante que tomemos consciência deste problema e façamos algo para mudar. Cada um de nós pode fazer a diferença, se apenas tomarmos a iniciativa e começarmos a agir.

In some way, writers carry something of their essence in their works. This is my first approach to their works and it seemed to me a simple story but with a density on several themes.

I was immediately drawn in by the simplicity of the narrative, yet as I delved deeper, I discovered the hidden layers and complexities within.

The author managed to touch on various topics, such as love, loss, and the human condition, in a way that made me think and reflect.

It was as if each word was carefully chosen to convey a specific emotion or idea.

I found myself completely immersed in the story, empathizing with the characters and their experiences.

This work has truly opened my eyes to the power of literature and the ability of writers to capture the essence of life in their words.

I look forward to exploring more of their works and uncovering the hidden gems that lie within.

The beginning of "It Really Does Look Like Paradise" is bucolic and in line with the title. It is set on a frozen lake, worthy of a Pieter Brueghel painting, as is mentioned.

It seemed to Sears that all the skaters were moving on the ice with the happy conviction that they were going home. For many of them, including Sears, home might mean an empty room and an empty bed, but gliding over the black ice convinced Sears that he was on his way home. Someone more skeptical might say that this proved how ephemeral our illusion of returning home is. It was a winter sunset and in this formidable spectacle of light and color, Sears loosened his skates and returned to his apartment in the city.

However, it was only on the surface, until the thaw.

Nearly a third of the lake was already degraded and to his right he saw the carcass of a 10-year-old car and, closer to him, a dead dog. He thought his heart was breaking. Why celebrate a garbage dump, why bother to describe an aberration? Here was the dump of a society prone to nomadism whose passion for portable things had not diminished.

Lemuel Sears is "an old man but still not invalid" who is deeply shocked and indignant by what he sees on the lake and decides to act. At the same time, we follow his love life, first with a real estate agent, Renné, and then with the elevator operator of the building where she lives.

"You don't understand anything about women" is the comment with which Renée ends several of their encounters, but I also didn't understand either this woman or this man, which always makes it difficult for me to engage with a work.

He was, constitutionally, a traditional specimen, with a traditional and sometimes ignorant concept of the place of women in the world. (...) A beautiful woman studying arithmetic seemed to him a kind of game.

John Cheever, however, is an excellent writer, as is known, who here rescues these banal and randomly behaving characters with another parallel plot, that of two pairs of neighbors, one typical "white trash" responsible for the garbage dumps in the lake, the other who takes more than drastic measures to put an end to them.

Sam seemed to be monitoring the death of Beasley's Lake, although Betsy always thought of him as the assassin of an old and friendly dog.

"It Really Does Look Like Paradise", the last work that Cheever published, has its share of autobiographical elements, with references to bisexuality and support groups for addictions.

One of the best books I’ve ever read is truly a remarkable piece of literature.

It has the power to transport the reader to a different world, filled with vivid characters and a captivating storyline.

The author’s writing style is engaging and easy to follow, making it accessible to readers of all ages and backgrounds.

The book explores themes such as love, loss, and redemption, which are universal and relatable.

It also offers valuable insights into human nature and the human condition.

Overall, this book is a must-read for anyone who loves a good story and wants to be inspired and moved by the written word.

It has left a lasting impression on me and I highly recommend it to others.

Linda's novel that explains the downfall of the life of an excellent writer is a captivating piece of work.

It delves deep into the psyche of the protagonist, exploring the various factors that lead to his decline.

The story is filled with rich characters and vivid descriptions that bring the narrative to life.

Readers will find themselves drawn into the world of the writer, experiencing his joys and sorrows along with him.

The novel also touches on themes such as success, failure, and the pursuit of happiness.

It makes the reader question what truly matters in life and how easily things can change.

Linda's writing style is engaging and accessible, making this novel a great read for both casual and serious readers alike.

Overall, it is a thought-provoking and enjoyable work that will leave a lasting impression on its audience.

**"Beautiful and Boring as Being in Paradise"**

The protagonist is torn between memories, encounters with a passionate lady, and homosexual performances with the first one he meets. The "paradise" is a lake that is about to become a landfill. There are stunning dialogues composed without an apparent logic, and a generalized sense of the decadence of civilization.

This is a novel with original narrative elements, written with moments of pure and intense poetry (alternating with rather tedious moments), but it's not clear where it wants to end up.

"Almost everything he knew about love had been revealed to him while listening to the sound of the rain."

"He desired her, as is easy to guess, as a lover and knew that a deep and gratifying erotic consummation is just a blink away from another immortal soul precisely at the moment when the immortal soul reveals itself."

"It was the most powerful sensation of our feeling alive on the planet. It was the most powerful sense of how singular, in the vastness of creation, the wealth of our opportunities is. The feeling that that moment was an exclusive privilege, the great privilege of living there and renewing oneself in love. It really seemed like being in paradise!"

The novel talks about many things and nothing in particular. The narration develops in many directions without clearly blooming in any of them. At the end of this book, which is written wonderfully well, the message, the objective, remains well hidden, especially if one doesn't look for meanings outside the book itself.

Maybe I should rejoice in the mere musicality of the words; but, alas, I can't. So I just refrain from evaluating it.

The last novel of Cheever is truly a masterpiece. It is luminous, enchanting, and poetic, with a touch of candor towards nature. It also has doubts about the character of women and a love for them. There are questions about who he was, and not a single word is superfluous.

Cheever is widely regarded as the best writer that the United States has ever produced. His works have had a profound impact on American literature and continue to be studied and admired today. His writing style is unique, characterized by its细腻的描写, profound insights, and emotional depth.

In this last novel, Cheever展现了 his remarkable talent and creativity. He weaves a story that is both engaging and thought-provoking, exploring themes such as love, loss, identity, and the human condition. The characters are vividly drawn, and the plot is full of twists and turns that keep the reader on the edge of their seat.

Overall, Cheever's last novel is a must-read for anyone who loves great literature. It is a testament to his genius and a fitting end to a remarkable career.

Precioso means precious in Spanish. It is a word that can describe many things. For example, a precious gemstone, a precious moment, or a precious person.

When we think of something as precious, it usually means that it has a lot of value to us. It could be because of its rarity, its beauty, or its sentimental significance.

Precious things are often worth protecting and taking care of. We might keep a precious item safe in a special place, or we might cherish a precious memory and hold it dear in our hearts.

In conclusion, the word Precioso represents something that is highly valued and treasured. It can bring to mind images of beauty, rarity, and significance, and it reminds us to appreciate the things in our lives that are truly precious.

Hmmmmmm. I REALLY thought I wasn't going to like this when I started. The initial impression was rather unpromising. However, as the story progressed, it took an interesting turn. Suddenly, I found myself thinking, "oh maybe I actually will like it." There was a glimmer of hope that things would get better and more engaging.

But then, all of a sudden, everything was resolved, more or less. It happened so quickly that I felt a sense of disappointment. It was as if we'd gotten nowhere. The build-up and the anticipation had led to a rather anticlimactic ending.

In the end, it was just fine. It wasn't bad, but it also wasn't great. It was a story that had its moments of interest, but ultimately failed to leave a lasting impression.

For many years now, each successive generation has felt and lamented how little by little a worse world was being imposed than the one they felt was their own, that of their youth. Although this is undeniably uncertain at some moments in recent history - I'm always talking about the developed world - perhaps it is this moment in which we are immersed when it is most true. Perhaps now, for the first time in many years, the future that is glimpsed and as far as our sight reaches is clearly worse than the present, apart from the climate change. Therefore, the novel could not be more topical, both in its individual and collective aspects.

That's why, and because of the age I'm in, I perfectly understand the feelings that the protagonist of this story has. Something, by the way, nothing new in the author's literature: the loss of two worlds, the external and the internal, that are disappearing at a forced pace without any possibility of stopping or escaping the process. All of us, at some point in our lives, feel the same, the change of our spaces, of our "social and sentimental paradigm", for another that seems strange to us, in which we don't quite fit in or hardly understand, which, moreover, always comes accompanied by that process of loss of possibilities in our personal lives, the irremediable closing of paths that we will no longer be able to travel and that our mind insists uselessly on still needing and seeking. The drama of life.

All this is very close to me, everything related to this Mr. Sears, an older man who struggles to stay alive, to continue having a sentimental life in the personal while maintaining a social struggle for what he believes is just and necessary. Precisely for this reason, it is more striking that I did not like the final plot of the novel. I think Cheever would have done better in telling the different stories that make it up independently, giving a little more depth to each of them and without the need to intertwine them in this way, which, in my opinion, is clumsy and sloppy. Moreover, this final result especially annoys me, hence the two stars, because each one of them separately could have been great stories in the hands of a great master like John Cheever, because then he could have achieved truly wonderful stories "to read in bed, in an old house, on a rainy night" as the author confesses he intended. What a pity.

This novella is truly a fable, and it is one that fills my heart with joy and light. There are stories by John Cheever that I deeply love, such as "The Enormous Radio" and "Christmas is a Sad Season for the Poor." However, his career was cast in a pall after revelations by himself and others about his alcoholism and closeted homosexuality.

Cheever's stories often oscillate between light and dark. But "Oh What a Paradise It Seems" has a delightful buoyancy and features a skating rink. It is a late work, yet the sun still rises.

This novella stands out as a unique piece in Cheever's body of work. It offers a glimmer of hope and a sense of wonder. The presence of the skating rink adds a touch of magic and playfulness. Despite the shadows that may have loomed over Cheever's life and career, this story manages to shine through with its own special charm. It reminds us that even in the face of difficulties and challenges, there can still be moments of beauty and joy.