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The John Cheever Audio Collection
Here are twelve magnificent stories in which John Cheever celebrates -- with unequaled grace and tenderness -- the deepest feelings we have.
As Cheever writes in his preface, 'These stories seem at times to be stories of a long-lost world when the city of New York was still filled with a river light, when you heard the Benny Goodman quartets from a radio in the corner stationery store, and when almost everybody wore a hat.'
John Cheever was born in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 1912. He is the author of seven collections of stories and five novels. His first novel, The Wapshot Chronicle, won the 1958 National Book Award. In 1965 he received the Howells Medal for Fiction from the National Academy of Arts and Letters, and in 1978 The Stories of John Cheever won the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize. Shortly before his death, in 1982, he was awarded the National Medal for Literature from the Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters.
Benjamin Cheever is the author of The Plagiarist, The Parisian and Famous after Death.
The Enormous Radio read by Meryl Streep
The Five-Forty-Eight read by Edward Herrmann
O City of Broken Dreams read by Blythe Danner
Christmas is a Sad Season for the Poor read by George Plimpton
The Season of Divorce read by Edward Herrmann
The Brigadier and the Golf Widow read by Peter Gallagher
The Sorrows of Gin read by Meryl Streep
O Youth and Beauty! read by Peter Gallagher
The Chaste Clarissa read by Blythe Danner
The Jewels of the Cabots read by George Plimpton
The Death of Justina read by John Cheever
The Swimmer read by John Cheever
As Cheever writes in his preface, 'These stories seem at times to be stories of a long-lost world when the city of New York was still filled with a river light, when you heard the Benny Goodman quartets from a radio in the corner stationery store, and when almost everybody wore a hat.'
John Cheever was born in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 1912. He is the author of seven collections of stories and five novels. His first novel, The Wapshot Chronicle, won the 1958 National Book Award. In 1965 he received the Howells Medal for Fiction from the National Academy of Arts and Letters, and in 1978 The Stories of John Cheever won the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize. Shortly before his death, in 1982, he was awarded the National Medal for Literature from the Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters.
Benjamin Cheever is the author of The Plagiarist, The Parisian and Famous after Death.
The Enormous Radio read by Meryl Streep
The Five-Forty-Eight read by Edward Herrmann
O City of Broken Dreams read by Blythe Danner
Christmas is a Sad Season for the Poor read by George Plimpton
The Season of Divorce read by Edward Herrmann
The Brigadier and the Golf Widow read by Peter Gallagher
The Sorrows of Gin read by Meryl Streep
O Youth and Beauty! read by Peter Gallagher
The Chaste Clarissa read by Blythe Danner
The Jewels of the Cabots read by George Plimpton
The Death of Justina read by John Cheever
The Swimmer read by John Cheever
Audio CD
First published June 1, 2003
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About the author
John Cheever
297 books1,068 followersJohn Cheever was an American novelist and short story writer, sometimes called "the Chekhov of the suburbs" or "the Ovid of Ossining." His fiction is mostly set in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, the suburbs of Westchester, New York, and old New England villages based on various South Shore towns around Quincy, Massachusetts, where he was born.
His main themes include the duality of human nature: sometimes dramatized as the disparity between a character's decorous social persona and inner corruption, and sometimes as a conflict between two characters (often brothers) who embody the salient aspects of both--light and dark, flesh and spirit. Many of his works also express a nostalgia for a vanishing way of life, characterized by abiding cultural traditions and a profound sense of community, as opposed to the alienating nomadism of modern suburbia.
His main themes include the duality of human nature: sometimes dramatized as the disparity between a character's decorous social persona and inner corruption, and sometimes as a conflict between two characters (often brothers) who embody the salient aspects of both--light and dark, flesh and spirit. Many of his works also express a nostalgia for a vanishing way of life, characterized by abiding cultural traditions and a profound sense of community, as opposed to the alienating nomadism of modern suburbia.
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December 8, 2021There is a rumor—I do not know how true it is but it sounds true—that Matthew Weiner, the creator of Mad Men, would read a different John Cheever short story to the writing team at the beginning of each season. That was enough to get me into John Cheever. These three short stories are some of my faves. “The Swimmer” is his most famous and was made into a movie. “The Enormous Radio” grabbed me from the very beginning, probably because it’s narrated by Meryl Streep. And “The Chaste Clarissa” left me deeply torn. All of them are available to listen to for free on Hoopla, which is also a strong recommend from me. All you need is a library card from a library that subscribes and you’ve got ebooks and audiobooks at your fingertips.
June 8, 2024
I really just nabbed this audiobook off of my Spotify to fill in some time. I had not read any Cheever, knew that he was highly regarded, but I suspected I might find him a little boring in the same way I reacted to Richard Ford. These short stories were terrific. The performances were excellent, as well, with readings by Meryl Streep, Blythe Danner, Peter Gallagher, George Plimpton, and Cheever. My favorites were "O Youth and Beauty," "The Sorrows of Gin," and "The Swimmer," although the quality was uniformly first-rate. I found his work witty, perceptive, and often humorous-- work I need to explore further.
September 5, 2021
John Cheever was one of the very masters of the short story in the twentieth century. Once upon a time, I read (and still own) his collected stories, but was delighted to see that this existed on audiobook, twelve stories, read by the author himself and several other great readers: Meryl Streep, Blythe Danner, Peter Gallagher, George Plimpton.
For me now there’s a certain kind of nostalgia in these stories. As Cheever writes in his preface, 'These stories seem at times to be stories of a long-lost world when the city of New York was still filled with a river light, when you heard the Benny Goodman quartets from a radio in the corner stationery store, and when almost everybody wore a hat.”
And smoked incessantly, and drank constantly. It’s a portrait or series of East Coast--Manhattan, Long Island, Cape Cod-- white upper-middle class America, mostly a send up of suburban life disrupted by a single thing that unravels everything else. Tennis, sailing, great food, lotsa laughs, lubricated by booze, then the affairs, the fights, the divorces, all the breaking down. Kennedy Camelot unveiled as the Emperor with no clothes.
My faves are many here:
“The Enormous Radio,” read by Meryl Streep, which I reviewed separately, wherein the purchase of a radio where they can actually listen to the lives of fellow apartment dwellers in NYC leads to their own unraveling.
“Christmas is a Sad Season for the Poor,” read by George Plimpton, is about a Manhattan elevator operator who has to work on Christmas and laments to all the people in the building he sees. There’s a clever and unexpected turn of events in this one.
“The Sorrows of Gin,” read by Meryl Streep, is terrific in capturing the joyously destructive nature of booze, which is present in these stories as it is in all of the also alcoholic Raymond Carver stories. Cheever ruined much of his life through drink, and he shows us how it happens.
“The Chaste Clarissa,” read by Blythe Danner, is about a married man who tries to seduce a married woman whose husband is gone. It doesn’t quite work out as he plans, exactly. Many of the stories are drolly amusing in satirizing these folks.
“O Youth and Beauty!: is like “The Swimmer” about a handsome former athlete in mid-life crisis, a guy who sets up furniture hurdles in his house and times himself running them at cocktail parties. What an ending!
“The Swimmer,” read by John Cheever, I reviewed separately, but I again thought it was breathtakingly good in depicting a guy who decides to swim across every swimming pool in his county. Surreal and affecting.
For me now there’s a certain kind of nostalgia in these stories. As Cheever writes in his preface, 'These stories seem at times to be stories of a long-lost world when the city of New York was still filled with a river light, when you heard the Benny Goodman quartets from a radio in the corner stationery store, and when almost everybody wore a hat.”
And smoked incessantly, and drank constantly. It’s a portrait or series of East Coast--Manhattan, Long Island, Cape Cod-- white upper-middle class America, mostly a send up of suburban life disrupted by a single thing that unravels everything else. Tennis, sailing, great food, lotsa laughs, lubricated by booze, then the affairs, the fights, the divorces, all the breaking down. Kennedy Camelot unveiled as the Emperor with no clothes.
My faves are many here:
“The Enormous Radio,” read by Meryl Streep, which I reviewed separately, wherein the purchase of a radio where they can actually listen to the lives of fellow apartment dwellers in NYC leads to their own unraveling.
“Christmas is a Sad Season for the Poor,” read by George Plimpton, is about a Manhattan elevator operator who has to work on Christmas and laments to all the people in the building he sees. There’s a clever and unexpected turn of events in this one.
“The Sorrows of Gin,” read by Meryl Streep, is terrific in capturing the joyously destructive nature of booze, which is present in these stories as it is in all of the also alcoholic Raymond Carver stories. Cheever ruined much of his life through drink, and he shows us how it happens.
“The Chaste Clarissa,” read by Blythe Danner, is about a married man who tries to seduce a married woman whose husband is gone. It doesn’t quite work out as he plans, exactly. Many of the stories are drolly amusing in satirizing these folks.
“O Youth and Beauty!: is like “The Swimmer” about a handsome former athlete in mid-life crisis, a guy who sets up furniture hurdles in his house and times himself running them at cocktail parties. What an ending!
“The Swimmer,” read by John Cheever, I reviewed separately, but I again thought it was breathtakingly good in depicting a guy who decides to swim across every swimming pool in his county. Surreal and affecting.
February 28, 2020
John Cheever was the master of the short story. His stories have stayed with me through the years since I first read his collection "The Stories of John Cheever", and this audio edition of twelve of his famous stories are some that I've read before, but a few were new to me. His stories were set in NYC or the surrounding suburbs and dealt with discordance and alienation between family members or of a changing way of life.
The Enormous Radio: A new radio might be a married couple's undoing, as it inexplicitly picks up conversations from the other apartments in the building and the wife becomes intrigued and later despondent on knowing private details of other people's lives. This tale had a sci-fi vibe, and indeed a Tales From The Darkside episode was based on this short story years later. I also think it eerily is a precursor to the way people nowadays get caught up in other lives through Facebook and Instagram and compare themselves negatively to how they think other people are living their lives.
The Five-Forty-Eight: An office man has a one night stand with someone at work and then gets her fired. She follows him onto his train to obtain an act of small revenge against him.
O City of Broken Dreams: A hapless young couple uproot themselves from rural Indiana and head to NYC on an empty promise of an agent who says he can sell the play that the husband wrote. Readers will cringe at how gullible they are and how they are manipulated by more worldly city-goers.
Christmas is a Sad Season for the Poor: A very dated story, as modern readers will have little knowledge that some people used to make a living operating elevators. A pitiable man gives a sob story to all the residents of the apartment complex he works at and is overwhelmed at their artificial generosity that will only last Christmas Day.
The Season of Divorce: A couple nears divorce as a doctor becomes enamored with the young wife and tries to convince her to divorce her husband. I thought of the book "The Feminine Mystique" after this story for it showed how many women were not fulfilled if their only roles were wife and mother and were treated as only pretty objects to be manipulated by the men around them.
The Brigadier and the Golf Widow: A sad story about an unhappy married older couple whose husband is taken in by a recent mistress of his to betray his family. The story is a window to the past of the Cold War when bomb shelters were built by some families and appearances trumped decency.
The Sorrows of Gin: So much drinking in these stories! A young girl sees how alcohol is affecting her parents, neighbors and service staff. The speech that the cook gave was so sad, as this was the last era (for the most part) in which you could make a career out of being a cook or maid and live in someone's home.
O Youth and Beauty!: A perfect example of a mid-life crisis, a 40-year-old former track athlete becomes despondent when he can no longer clear hurdles that he would set up a friend's houses during their cocktail parties. The ending gutted me.
The Chaste Clarissa: A scoundrel is determined to seduce a young wife and says whatever it takes to convince her during a summer she is without her husband at Martha's Vineyard.
The Jewels of the Cabots: A journalist reminisces about his Connecticut hometown and reveals the secrets of the Cabots, who masquerade as an upstanding family but who are hiding some substantial secrets. Another example of how appearances hide some dark truths.
The Death of Justina: An odd story about how inane rules almost prevent a funeral, as "the importance of zoning can't be overestimated" is uttered by a pompous mayor.
The Swimmer: A surreal tale of a man at an afternoon party who decides to swim his way home through his neighborhood's pools. I gather more meaning of his journey each time I read (or listen) to the story.
This window into the 1950s and 1960s was filled with suburban angst and shows that that time period wasn't as rosy as many nostalgic people would like to believe. A highly recommended audio if you would like to hear some of Cheever's best stories.
The Enormous Radio: A new radio might be a married couple's undoing, as it inexplicitly picks up conversations from the other apartments in the building and the wife becomes intrigued and later despondent on knowing private details of other people's lives. This tale had a sci-fi vibe, and indeed a Tales From The Darkside episode was based on this short story years later. I also think it eerily is a precursor to the way people nowadays get caught up in other lives through Facebook and Instagram and compare themselves negatively to how they think other people are living their lives.
The Five-Forty-Eight: An office man has a one night stand with someone at work and then gets her fired. She follows him onto his train to obtain an act of small revenge against him.
O City of Broken Dreams: A hapless young couple uproot themselves from rural Indiana and head to NYC on an empty promise of an agent who says he can sell the play that the husband wrote. Readers will cringe at how gullible they are and how they are manipulated by more worldly city-goers.
Christmas is a Sad Season for the Poor: A very dated story, as modern readers will have little knowledge that some people used to make a living operating elevators. A pitiable man gives a sob story to all the residents of the apartment complex he works at and is overwhelmed at their artificial generosity that will only last Christmas Day.
The Season of Divorce: A couple nears divorce as a doctor becomes enamored with the young wife and tries to convince her to divorce her husband. I thought of the book "The Feminine Mystique" after this story for it showed how many women were not fulfilled if their only roles were wife and mother and were treated as only pretty objects to be manipulated by the men around them.
The Brigadier and the Golf Widow: A sad story about an unhappy married older couple whose husband is taken in by a recent mistress of his to betray his family. The story is a window to the past of the Cold War when bomb shelters were built by some families and appearances trumped decency.
The Sorrows of Gin: So much drinking in these stories! A young girl sees how alcohol is affecting her parents, neighbors and service staff. The speech that the cook gave was so sad, as this was the last era (for the most part) in which you could make a career out of being a cook or maid and live in someone's home.
O Youth and Beauty!: A perfect example of a mid-life crisis, a 40-year-old former track athlete becomes despondent when he can no longer clear hurdles that he would set up a friend's houses during their cocktail parties. The ending gutted me.
The Chaste Clarissa: A scoundrel is determined to seduce a young wife and says whatever it takes to convince her during a summer she is without her husband at Martha's Vineyard.
The Jewels of the Cabots: A journalist reminisces about his Connecticut hometown and reveals the secrets of the Cabots, who masquerade as an upstanding family but who are hiding some substantial secrets. Another example of how appearances hide some dark truths.
The Death of Justina: An odd story about how inane rules almost prevent a funeral, as "the importance of zoning can't be overestimated" is uttered by a pompous mayor.
The Swimmer: A surreal tale of a man at an afternoon party who decides to swim his way home through his neighborhood's pools. I gather more meaning of his journey each time I read (or listen) to the story.
This window into the 1950s and 1960s was filled with suburban angst and shows that that time period wasn't as rosy as many nostalgic people would like to believe. A highly recommended audio if you would like to hear some of Cheever's best stories.
August 6, 2021
This is possibly the ideal audible collection of short stories read by another several well-known people including the author himself. There are probably 10 or 12 stories including several that you will like and probably several that you will not like so well. The stories are mostly about families where the husband Travels on the train into the city to work and returns home of an evening to drink and be unhappy. The waves are all unfulfilled. All of this takes place probably in the late 1940s and 1950s.
I found it interesting because I lived for a period of time in the 1980s on Long Island in a small town on the Long Island rail Road that was probably a bit too far from the city to have regular work commuters. I grew up in one of the segregated suburban areas just north of Detroit. So I have my life in suburbia to relate to. My father occasionally drank too much and my mother stayed home to raise the children, me and my sister. The only thing we were missing was that we did not have a John Cheever to write about us.
I am not quite sure how this particular audible book came to be since there is not a similar e-book to go along with it. But it does seem to include a number of the typical John Cheever short stories and was generally easy to listen to. It did seem in someways a little too repetitious. The people seemed a little too well to do often having maids or other regular help in the house. But I don’t think anybody in these stories to my recollection was what you might call Particularly happy. There are a couple of surprising and tragic endings.
I would probably actually give this short story collection 3 1/2 stars if Goodreads allowed such. I definitely liked several of the stories and almost liked several more. To be honest, I generally enjoy short stories so I was pleased to run into these after a long drought.
I found it interesting because I lived for a period of time in the 1980s on Long Island in a small town on the Long Island rail Road that was probably a bit too far from the city to have regular work commuters. I grew up in one of the segregated suburban areas just north of Detroit. So I have my life in suburbia to relate to. My father occasionally drank too much and my mother stayed home to raise the children, me and my sister. The only thing we were missing was that we did not have a John Cheever to write about us.
I am not quite sure how this particular audible book came to be since there is not a similar e-book to go along with it. But it does seem to include a number of the typical John Cheever short stories and was generally easy to listen to. It did seem in someways a little too repetitious. The people seemed a little too well to do often having maids or other regular help in the house. But I don’t think anybody in these stories to my recollection was what you might call Particularly happy. There are a couple of surprising and tragic endings.
I would probably actually give this short story collection 3 1/2 stars if Goodreads allowed such. I definitely liked several of the stories and almost liked several more. To be honest, I generally enjoy short stories so I was pleased to run into these after a long drought.
February 22, 2015
I don't always like short stories, but these were good. They're mostly takes of suburbia. Bored housewives, cheating spouses, and lots of cocktails (mostly gin). Cheever looks at the face people show to the world and what's really underneath. He gets to the ugly.
Listening to the audio version was the perfect way to absorb these stories. Meryl Streep and Blythe Danner were awesome. It was only when I heard a couple other, less skillfully narrated stories, that I realized how much the storyteller mattered.
Great, insightful stories. Recommended.
Listening to the audio version was the perfect way to absorb these stories. Meryl Streep and Blythe Danner were awesome. It was only when I heard a couple other, less skillfully narrated stories, that I realized how much the storyteller mattered.
Great, insightful stories. Recommended.
July 27, 2016
Excellent collection of Cheever short stories read by some fantastic and well-known actors. Cheever reads the last two himself, and unsurprisingly, does poorly. Writers who can't emote. Listen to The Lovely Bones as another example.
July 6, 2016
Wow. Just wow.
July 15, 2025
Hey, J. Cheever is really excellent. his language snaps and sizzles with life. not a lot of saccharine or polished scenes in this collection. just real, miserable, cruel, hopeful people from front to back.
The Jewels of the Cabots took on a daring scope and succeeded.
&
The Death of Justina was remarkable, and hearing the author read it was a marvel. Cheever’s accent is surely extinct now, a very thick new-england sort of thing.
The Jewels of the Cabots took on a daring scope and succeeded.
&
The Death of Justina was remarkable, and hearing the author read it was a marvel. Cheever’s accent is surely extinct now, a very thick new-england sort of thing.
May 28, 2024
Meryl, Blyth Danner and George Plimpton made this collection. Surprisingly, Cheever himself didn’t do it for me. Kind of droned on and on in an irritating monotone that distracted me from absorbing the stories, both of which I have read before and know that I love.
February 9, 2024
Well-written. Narrators of audio all good except George Plimpton, but all the stories were so dark!
September 21, 2024
I think I’m a fan now. And especially good as an audio book with a variety of readers doing some preposterously delightful mid-Atlantic accent work.
February 27, 2025
I stumbled across Falconer a few years back and immediately fell in love with Cheever’s biting humor. This collection, narrated perfectly, continues to deliver and deepens my regard. As with all collections, you will have the amazing, the average, and the avoid-if-you-can. My favorite stories were “The Enormous Radio” and “The Death of Justina”. The only work I didn’t enjoy was “The Jewels of the Cabot’s”. I will carry on singing Cheever’s praises and remained baffled by how long it took me to find him.
May 15, 2022
Tales of WASPy angst, admirably crafted, with enough depth and empathy to make them worthwhile. I read this in the wake of
The Trip to Echo Spring,
and it was just what I was looking for—a sampling of Cheever's best work, no need for whole hog. And what a bonus to have it read to me by Meryl Streep, George Plimpton, Blythe Danner, Peter Gallagher, Edward Hermann, and the author himself.
June 24, 2025
I just finished reading Olivia Laing’s The Trip to Echo Spring: On Writers and Drinking, which led me to explore some John Cheever short stories.
I selected a collection that includes twelve of his most popular works. Among these, I especially liked “The Enormous Radio” and “The Swimmer,” both of which showcase Cheever’s vivid imagination.
This is an audio collection and, not surprisingly, the best readings were by Merle Streep and Blythe Danner.
I did not enjoy “The Death of Justina” or “The Jewels of the Cabots”, but I liked the rest of them, often very much so. Most of the remaining narratives feature characters that reflect aspects of Cheever’s own identity: middle-aged, upper-middle-class, white male suburbanites who drink excessively. These characters are depicted as sexually attractive, unfaithful individuals grappling with the challenges of aging.
The somewhat old-fashioned, nostalgic spirit of these stories evoked strong memories of the television series Mad Men. I’m not feeling a burning urge to read more Cheever.
I selected a collection that includes twelve of his most popular works. Among these, I especially liked “The Enormous Radio” and “The Swimmer,” both of which showcase Cheever’s vivid imagination.
This is an audio collection and, not surprisingly, the best readings were by Merle Streep and Blythe Danner.
I did not enjoy “The Death of Justina” or “The Jewels of the Cabots”, but I liked the rest of them, often very much so. Most of the remaining narratives feature characters that reflect aspects of Cheever’s own identity: middle-aged, upper-middle-class, white male suburbanites who drink excessively. These characters are depicted as sexually attractive, unfaithful individuals grappling with the challenges of aging.
The somewhat old-fashioned, nostalgic spirit of these stories evoked strong memories of the television series Mad Men. I’m not feeling a burning urge to read more Cheever.
July 21, 2021
The “Chekhov of Suburbia” has much to say about the human condition, and with more than a small dose of dry humor. I love his work and can see how dry and hilarious writers like Chuck Palahniuk are influenced by Cheever. Don’t worry, his stuff didn’t age half badly at all. The fact that came out late in his life of perhaps posthumously the Cheever was bisexual might have something to do with his overall tolerance of all human traits, except hypocrisy, which he milks to a satisfying degree. If you haven’t read Cheever yet, this audiobook is a fantastic primer with expert readers including Peter Gallagher, Meryl Streep (!) and Cheever himself, which was likely recorded during the “books on tape” craze of the early 80s. Oh technology. Do yourself a favor and dive into this funny, subtle and sometimes melancholy read.
August 20, 2017
Fantastic collection of short stories exploring the fragility of the human ego. Most concern middle class characters trying desperately to crawl up the social ladder and otherwise keep up appearances of respectability while some event--mundane, tragic, or almost spectacular--jostles the rungs midway. Certain stories were absolutely five out of five star stories whereas others hovered more around the three mark for me. Favorites include The Enormous Radio, The Five Forty-Eight, Christmas is a Sad Season for the Poor, Oh Youth and Beauty!, The Swimmer.
September 2, 2020
This audible short story collection only contains 12 of the original stories from Cheever's collection which is quite larger and won the Pulitzer prize. John Cheever is an incredible writer and these stories are timeless and profound. Additionally, listening to them read by such incredible voices was really fantastic. Cheever's choice of words and details is precise and his themes are relatable. A personal favorite is "The Swimmer". I highly recommend to anyone who is interested in a snap shot of 1950's American suburbia.
May 26, 2021
What a treat to revisit John Cheever stories as told by such stellar narrators. Blythe Danner is on par with Meryl Streep. Edward Hermann is excellent, as is Peter Gallagher.
Cheever nailed the Madmen era, its sense of entitlement and dismissal of the masses. The Swimmer ranks among the best short stories I know. The Season of Divorce and The Chaste Clarissa vie with The Five-Forty-Eight in the title for best tales, all for different reasons.
Cheever was a clever fellow. He had a way with words and plots. I recommend the audio as an introduction to this master and a walk down Memory Lane.
Cheever nailed the Madmen era, its sense of entitlement and dismissal of the masses. The Swimmer ranks among the best short stories I know. The Season of Divorce and The Chaste Clarissa vie with The Five-Forty-Eight in the title for best tales, all for different reasons.
Cheever was a clever fellow. He had a way with words and plots. I recommend the audio as an introduction to this master and a walk down Memory Lane.
January 5, 2021
12 of the 61 stories from the book "The Stories of John Cheever". Professional actors read most of them and their reading is excellent. Last two stories are read by the author and while it was fun to hear his voice at first, his reading ability clearly lacks compared to the professionals. The stories themselves were mixed. I thought the “The Brigadier and the Golf Widow” was exceptional but some of the other stories just left me wondering
August 4, 2023
Truly excellent narrators here, except for Cheever himself - Blythe Danner is AMAZING I'm bummed she doesn't have a billion audiobooks !
I can see why these were a big deal when they were released, highly influential etc. Now they just seem old and stale, of a bygone era when men were drunk and depressed and lewd and women were sullen and housebound. I might have appreciated them more if I were in a different mood
I can see why these were a big deal when they were released, highly influential etc. Now they just seem old and stale, of a bygone era when men were drunk and depressed and lewd and women were sullen and housebound. I might have appreciated them more if I were in a different mood
April 19, 2021
I listened to this book because the San Francisco Ballet performed The Swimmer. When I found out that the ballet was based on a short story, I decided to read it. The Swimmer was the last short story.
The collection of stories are read by the author and Meryl Streep.
Interesting stories that are very typical of the 1950s life in Manhattan.
The collection of stories are read by the author and Meryl Streep.
Interesting stories that are very typical of the 1950s life in Manhattan.
April 8, 2022
Whether the setting is suburban or rural things are often not what they seem. Humans have an eternal need to hide the turmoil of life behind a dignified if not false facade. While I grew up far from the scenes the Cheever describes I spent just enough time riding commute trains to villages outside of New York to be able to relate to these scenes. A thoroughly enjoyable read.
August 27, 2022
3.75 stars from me. LOVED the casting—Meryl Streep, Blythe Danner, etc. As for the stories, they are simple tales of everyday people and events brought to life by the author’s obviously tremendous insights into human beings. My favorite was “The Enormous Radio.” Commit to hearing just one, and I’ll bet you’ll quickly move through the entire collection.
May 19, 2018
These stories may have been set in the mid-20th century, but they could have been written today. Cheever has an amazing talent to see into human character and communicate it to his reader. The chosen readers for this audio collection were perfect.
November 17, 2022
So I read/listened to this after it was referenced in another book. I was totally unfamiliar with Cheever, and I can't remember the last time I took in short stories. He certainly is a clever, gifted writer - but what depressing tales!
December 12, 2022
Pulitzer Prize winning short stories read by the best readers of our times results in a truly excellent listening experience. Felt transported to 1940’s New York City and visualized the stories in vivid black and white.
March 13, 2023
John Cheever is a name I'd heard in old interviews so wanted to know more. No question his writing is most evocative. His subject matter--wealthy, boozy New Yorkers in the 1960s, however, is pretty depressing to me today but I'm glad I will understand Joh Cheever references now.
June 29, 2023
My cousin recommended this to me. I’m embarrassed to say I’d never had even heard of the author. I was impressed with how much you can really delve into the humanity of someone in a short story. My favorite story was The Brigadier and the Golf Widow.
June 19, 2024
Very much enjoyed reading these (evidently dated) stories. It is amazing at just how mysogenist, dull, vapid, and inane American middle-class life was. And still is. A lot of wheels spinning in place.
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