Product Description

A gathering of thirteen never-before-collected stories, originally published in the 1930s and 1940s, shows Cheever's use of unusual themes, techniques, and characters early in his career and gives a vivid picture of life during the Depression.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1325565 in Books
• Published on: 1994-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 240 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Having failed in a previous effort to publish a much larger collection because of opposition from the Cheever family, the publisher here offers a truncated selection of stories now in the public domain. This is still a book well worth having, showing the earliest work of a writer who went on to greater things but who even in his creative youth showed ample evidence of his gifts. The earliest stories, written when the author was barely out of his teens, are heavily influenced by Hemingway and the dour social realism of the Depression. With "The Autobiography of a Drummer" (1935), however, though the social conscience remains, a real voice, capable of remarkable mimicry, is emerging. This is a short, painful tale with something of the impact of Death of a Salesman . And "In Passing" (1936), a touching parable about a crumbling family and a rootless Communist agitator, has real force. "Bayonne" and "The Princess" are well-observed character sketches of tough-vulnerable women of the time, and "The Man She Loved"--set, like several of these stories, in Saratoga, where Cheever was a resident at the Yaddo writers' colony--shows how cleverly he can build surprising confrontations by indirection. It is always good to see a great writer advancing in his craft, and it is a shame the collection could not have been much more extensive.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
These stories were nearly all published in the 1930s by a very young Cheever. Several are Depression tales, set in dead mill towns or waterfront diners and informed by leftist politics; they could serve as fictional accompaniments to Edward Hopper's paintings. Others are set among the Saratoga horse-racing set and appeared in such commercial magazines as Collier's. Surprisingly, women are at the center of many of the stories--strong women, such as the 52-year-old stripper in "The Teaser," who are at a point of crisis in their lives. We can see Cheever exploring style, beginning most obviously with Hemingway, then moving on to Fitzgerald, with Joycean bits here and there. A fascinating example of one writer's beginning; appropriate for Cheever fans at academic and large public libraries.
- Brian Kenney, Brooklyn P.L.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
From the ashes of a legal fire storm arises this diminished phoenix. Some half-dozen years ago, Academy Chicago and the widow and children of the late John Cheever agreed to be partners in a significant publishing project, the collection of 68 of Cheever's previously uncollected short stories. Disagreement between the publisher and the family arose before the book could be released, and the dispute was taken to court; eventually, Academy Chicago was prohibited from publishing the collection. What Academy now has published is not what it first had in mind; as the title indicates, only 13 stories are gathered here, and they are in the public domain (and thus available to any publisher for reprinting). Cheever wrote these stories in the 1930s and 1940s, and they are definitely apprentice work. Other than the fact that his distinctively mellifluous voice has yet to be found, the other most noticeable aspect of these pieces is that the subject matter he was most known for--the ways and means of middle-class suburban America--was yet to be his chief concern. Depression issues--poverty, unemployment, grim and gray surroundings--fill these stories. Nonetheless, immature Cheever is still better than most fully mature fiction writers, and all fiction collections should consider purchasing this attractively bound and presented little book. Brad Hooper

Customer Reviews

Fascinating early Cheever
Except for the first two, all of the stories in this collection are excellent! I had a great time reading them. My favorite is the sad "Bayonne", and the riotously funny "The Opportunity". There are hints of Cheever's celebrated prose style, but all of these stories are marvelously constructed narratives. The book itself is okay. Except for the hideous yellow of the jacket and more than a few typesetting and editorial factual errors, it is a very handsomely bound book with good paper and large, readable type. However, it's hard to justify twenty dollars for a 200 page book that's physically the size of a paperback novel.