John Cheever
John Cheever
May 27 1912 – June 18 1982- Books
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John William Cheever (May 27, 1912 – June 18, 1982) was an American short story writer and novelist. He is sometimes called "the Chekhov of the suburbs".
His fiction is mostly set on the Upper East Side of Manhattan; the Westchester suburbs; old New England villages based on various South Shore towns around Quincy, Massachusetts, where he was born; and Italy, especially Rome.
His short stories included The Enormous Radio, Goodbye, My Brother, The Five-Forty-Eight, The Country Husband, and The Swimmer, and he also wrote five novels: The Wapshot Chronicle (National Book Award, 1958), The Wapshot Scandal (William Dean Howells Medal, 1965), Bullet Park (1969), Falconer (1977) and a novella, Oh What a Paradise It Seems (1982).
A compilation of his short stories, The Stories of John Cheever, won the 1979 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and a National Book Critics Circle Award, and its first paperback edition won a 1981 National Book Award.
On April 27, 1982, six weeks before his death, Cheever was awarded the National Medal for Literature by the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His work has been included in the Library of America.
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Frequently asked questions
John Cheever is widely recognized for his short stories, which often explore the lives and anxieties of suburban Americans. His distinctive style and keen observations earned him significant critical acclaim.
Yes, several of John Cheever's short stories have been adapted into films, most notably "The Swimmer" starring Burt Lancaster.
For new readers, "The Stories of John Cheever" is an excellent starting point, as it collects many of his most celebrated short stories and showcases his range.