The Stories of John Cheever

This was listed as “very good condition,” but when it arrived the corners were all bent up, creased, and a few pages were crinkled. Major shelf wear around the edges.

This is one of the best short story American books I've read. Cheever narrates these stories about ordinary people in a simplistic and nervous fashion. Cheever subtlety describes his characters as pathetic in a sarcastic way but effectively manages to get his readers to like them. His stories are at times shady, moralistic, and mystical that keeps you practically glued to the pages of the book. My favorites are The Swimmer, and The Enormous Radio. Even though his topics touch on the lives of the so called "Wasps", I don't think you have to be one, but have the knowledge of how people that live in quiet desperation live in order to understand and enjoy Cheever's writings.

Most of my students scratch their heads and mutter "Who?" when I tell them they will be reading the selected stories of John Cheever. When I tell them that Cheever is a representative of upper crusty, mid-twentieth century, cosmopolitan American cities, the sighs and groans can be heard crosstown. Then they read the stories: "Goodbye, My Brother", "The Swimmer", "The Enormous Radio"... And the discussions are as lively as any instructor could hope for.And their excitement reminds me over and again of the thrill I had reading these stories for the first time. (I'm almost jealous of my students--I miss that first time pleasure.) These are stories perfect in their craftsmanship, memorable in their characters, and decidedly superior to anything of his time, and just about anything since. Pick up this collection and enjoy.Rocco Dormarunno,College of New Rochelle

I don't imagine that John Cheever is much read these days by English Lit. types. These brilliant stories of love and loss among the genteel, drunken, and declasse WASP gentry are about as far as it is possible to get from the noisy concerns of the PoMo/multicultural/gender studies/Lit Crit. crowd. Which is only one of the reasons why the truly literate will still be reading Cheever's stories when Foucault, Derrida, De Man, Lacan and the rest of the French sophists are footnotes in future works about curious intellectual fads (yes, yes, I know: De Man was Belgian). You see, art always triumphs over kitsch; it may take an unconscionably long time in some cases, but in the end, art wins. And Cheever was nothing if not an artist, as the many small masterpieces contained in this collection amply demonstrate: "Goodbye, My Brother," "The Lowboy," "The Housebreaker of Shady Hill," "The Swimmer," "The Five-Forty-Eight," "The Cure," "The Sorrows of Gin," and so on, and on. The mood in these stories is predominantly one of melancholy and regret: regret that love, no matter how fierce and strong, will never last a lifetime; regret for the many small acts of cruelty that failed love and dashed dreams will force good men to commit; regret for what might have been, but was not, for what was and need not have been. But the melancholy and regret is tempered with a muted joy, inspired by the understanding that the same spiritual and moral isolation that prevents any man from ever fully connecting with another person also makes him autonomous and free. The obvious comparison is with Chekov; but such comparisons are seldom very helpful, and in this case would only serve to obscure the essential fact that Cheever was one of the finest artists this country has produced.But you don't have take my word for it. Here is a small test that will conclusively demonstrate Cheever's greatness, and in doing so will also demonstrate the power of art over schmaltz. ....So, prospective reader, do yourself a favor and buy this book. Keep it by your bedside and pick it up often. If you do that, you'll find that Cheever Country is one of the finest fictional worlds to visit.

Like Hemingway and Carver, Cheever is among a handful of the most influential short-story writers America has ever produced, but unlike his peers, he is also one of the world's greatest storytellers. Do you know of another writer with a greater command and versatility with the narrative? It sometimes seems to me that virtually every writer out there is not writing stories at all, but anecdotes. Cheever wrote stories, great ones, and in the tradition of Chekhov and Maupaussant.I loved "The Country Husband," "The Swimmer," "Torch Song," "The Angel of the Bridge," "The Scarlet Moving Van," "Clancy in the Towel of Babel," and "The Five-Forty-Eight." Every single story in this book is from very good to awesome; there isn't a single stinker. If you are a young writer you must read Cheever; and not just for the sweet prose style or the distinct dialogues or the impeccable construction, but because he makes the craft of writing seems so exciting and possible and noble.

I bought a used copy of this book and on the cover there is an upper middle class couple having drinks around a dining table in the drained swimming pool in their backyard. At first I didn't think much of it, but after reading the stories, I think it makes so much sense. There is always something slightly off about Cheever's stories, but it's hard to put your finger on what that is. It took me a little while to get into these stories, but after a while I came to love them. By the end of the book, the ending of the story, Another Story, knocked me breathless. The best ending to a short story I've ever read. I have also see how influential Cheever was on contemporary American short story writers, at least Tobias Wolff, Mary Robison and I think Lorrie Moore as well. This is the sort of book you want to savor , a couple stories a day. Cheever is a master of subtly shifting the mood of a piece. Out of the blue you'll suddenly realize you're in a different place from where you started.