The Missouri Writer Phong Nguyen reviewed Literary Alchemist for KC Studio magazine and found much to like:
https://kcstudio.org/chronicling-the-great-and-necessary-contradictions-of-an-artist/
I’m also grateful for a brief but positive review, which appeared Nov. 1 in Booklist, the review journal of the American Library Association. The review struck me as nicely attuned to the details of the book, giving me the impression that the critic actually read it closely. The review sits behind a paywall, so I’ve copied the text here:
Literary stars rise and fall. Reputations are often burnished when an impassioned biographer finds the perfect subject, as exemplified by Steve Paul’s (Hemingway at Eighteen, 2017) absorbing and thorough life of Evan S. Connell. Connell was born into an affluent Kansas City family in 1924, the son of an eminent doctor and a society matron. He matriculated at Dartmouth before dropping out to become a navy pilot in WWII. Connell once claimed to have “the dullest life of any writer,” false modesty that Paul quickly dispels. Connell cut a debonair, mustachioed Clark Gable-like figure. Charismatic, he loved women but remained a lifelong bachelor. His one true love was his craft. He travelled the world, studied creative writing with Wallace Stegner, ran a literary journal, and later experimented with LSD. Best known for his novels Mrs. Bridge and Mr. Bridge, Connell also wrote prize-winning stories, essays, reviews, and best-selling biographies. Paul’s impressive research and close reading of Connell’s oeuvre illuminates the many autobiographical connections between the artist’s life and work. This should reestablish Connell in the pantheon of literary arts.
— Bill Kelly