The Stories of John CheeverThe Stories of John Cheever
Score Classic
What it's about
Sixty-one stories from the writer known as the Chekhov of the suburbs, published over three decades in The New Yorker. Cheever's world is the commuter towns and city apartments of postwar America, full of cocktail parties, troubled marriages and quiet desperation behind manicured lawns. It includes his most famous stories: "The Swimmer," in which a man decides to swim home through his neighbors' pools, and "The Enormous Radio."
Why it's worth reading
It won the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award and the NBCC Award, and the stories are as funny, sad and surprising as when they were written. It's perfect for dipping into a story at a time.
You'll love it if you liked
The Great Gatsby
Revolutionary Road
Olive KitteridgeGood to know
It's a collection, so read it in any order and at any pace. The world is very white, upper-middle-class and of its time.
By the numbers
- Readers86 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics95 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller5 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
Why it made the list
Reads as
Epic
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Quick answers
Is The Stories of John Cheever worth reading?
Yes. It won the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award and the NBCC Award, and the stories are as funny, sad and surprising as when they were written. It ranks #112 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 86.2 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is The Stories of John Cheever about?
Sixty-one stories from the writer known as the Chekhov of the suburbs, published over three decades in The New Yorker. Cheever's world is the commuter towns and city apartments of postwar America, full of cocktail parties, troubled marriages and quiet desperation behind manicured lawns. It includes his most famous stories: "The Swimmer," in which a man decides to swim home through his neighbors' pools, and "The Enormous Radio."
How long does it take to read The Stories of John Cheever?
About 27 hours (1093 pages), or about 8 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What awards has The Stories of John Cheever won?
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction winner (1979); National Book Award (Fiction) winner (1981); NBCC Award (Fiction) winner (1978).
What should I read after The Stories of John Cheever?
If you liked it, try The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates or Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout.