3 Stars

I am an avid fan of short stories. Typically, I read four to five dozen of them each year. There are some years when I even read over one hundred, and this is likely to be one of those years. As I mentioned earlier, I have a great love for short stories, which is why I dislike having to say some of the things I am about to. In this particular book, Cheever has written sixty-one short stories. For me, none of them was a one-star read, yet also none of them reached the five-star level.

Perhaps I am more of a Neanderthal when it comes to literary tastes rather than a modern intellectual. However, none of the sixty-one stories managed to stun or amaze me. I am constantly on the lookout for books and stories that will make a lasting impression on my mind. Something that I will remember for months, if not years. Sadly, none of these stories achieved that goal. When I think back over these stories, I can recall bits and pieces of some wonderful passages. But the problem is that they didn't sink deep enough into my mind for me to remember which story they belonged to.

I don't want to belittle Cheever. I find him to be an excellent writer. I say this because his writing, for me, is smooth and clear. I think one of the most difficult challenges a writer faces is starting a book or story. The writer of a novel has the luxury of taking several pages, even a chapter or two, to introduce the reader to their story. However, a short story writer does not have that luxury. The stage must be set quickly, and the reader's attention must be captured in just a few paragraphs, not pages. I feel that Cheever accomplished this with all sixty-one stories. My issue was not with reading these stories. My problem, as stated above, is that none of them left me in awe.

I don't feel that I rushed through reading this book. I made an effort to read only two stories per day, one in the morning and one at night. I don't think this pace contributed to my lack of enthusiasm. Most importantly, I do not regret reading this book. The stories were enjoyable and pleasant to read; there just weren't any that were truly outstanding.

October 2009

  Ὦ ξεῖν', ἀγγέλλειν Λακεδαιμονίοις ὅτι τῇδε
κείμεθα, τοῖς κείνων ῥήμασι πειθόμενοι.

I'm not a great student of History. I haven't delved deep into Herodotus, Thucydides, or other renowned classical historians. But I did watch 300, and I spent around five minutes on Wikipedia, so I have a smattering of knowledge about the Battle of Thermopylae. There's a monument at the battle site, with a concise and interesting epitaph in Greek (as shown above). According to one translation, it says:

Go tell the Spartans, stranger passing by,
That here obedient to their laws we lie.

Now, I'm no expert in Greek either, but those lines seem inaccurate to me. They're overly formal, too quiet, and well, too humble. And if Frank Miller taught me anything, it's that the Spartans were anything but humble or quiet. This makes me think the more accurate translation should be something like:

Hey, you! Prick! Go tell everyone how awesome we were!

Yeah, that's more in line with what I imagine.

Now, what does this have to do with The Stories of John Cheever? That's a good question. In my view, this handsome little collection presents itself much like that monument at Thermopylae. It's formal, humble, almost genteel. In a sense, it's a monument to Cheever: \\"Go tell the readers, stranger passing by, that these are the stories of John Cheever. They are fairly good. You are invited to peruse them, if you like, and judge for yourself.\\"

Bullshit. That's sissy Athenian talk. Humble and polite Greek just doesn't work here, which is why you know - you just know - that what this book is really trying to convey is:

THIS. IS. CHEEVER!
FUCK YEAH.

Okay, I'll admit, this comparison isn't entirely perfect. While Cheever and Sparta may both be awesome, they're not the same type of awesome. The Spartans were loud, ultraviolent, and homoerotic; Cheever was quiet, dry-witted, and clever. You would never see a Spartan reading Cheever. The Spartans were too brutal for Cheever (perhaps they would prefer O'Connor instead?), so it would probably be up to the Athenians - those philosophers, those boy-lovers - to appreciate this book. If a copy of The Stories of John Cheever, with an English-to-Ancient-Greek translation, fell back through time and landed in the acropolis, you can bet the Athenians would interpret it as a message from the gods and model their society around these stories. The result, no doubt, would be the most fascinating Ancient Middle-Class Suburban Greek society ever, where all the statesmen play tennis between debates in the agora, the philosophers are drunk on gin, and everyone is secretive about the pederasty.

But I digress. These are some really excellent stories. Truly top-notch stuff. Granted, a few of the weaker ones should've been discarded early on, but the stronger ones (my particular favorites include \\"Goodbye, My Brother,\\" \\"Clancy in the Tower of Babel,\\" \\"The Children,\\" \\"The Day the Pig Fell Into the Well,\\" \\"The Duchess,\\" \\"The Angel of the Bridge,\\" and \\"The Swimmer,\\") could hold their own against the mighty hordes of Persia. And I should probably stop here.

Now then, stranger passing by, go and tell everyone how incredibly awesome this is.

There is a Brazilian edition of John Cheever's stories - but it contains only some of those in this original book, “The Stories of John Cheever”.

All the stories are very pleasant, many with the intention of uplifting spirits and bringing joy. They were published in The New Yorker and ended up being a bit stigmatized, as if they were shallow and empty stories - which is an absolutely idiotic stigma. In this edition, as the author explains in the preface, they are in chronological order of publication.

The style, especially in the first stories when Cheever was younger, brings a pleasant record of Hemingway's narrative simplicity - but the content is more like Bellow's, who had actually declared admiration for him.

In the Brazilian edition, there is a preface by Mario Sergio Conti, where he makes a point of informing us that, despite the moral tone of the stories, Cheever was a bisexual alcoholic. One can see Conti's narrowed eyes, ridiculing yet another conservative who stumbles and falls.

It matters little: when someone like Cheever writes, he transforms the world and his own life. And there is no false moralism or hypocrisy: there is only the hard confrontation between the moral ideal and the limits of human circumstances - something that a good part of intellectuals, adherents of Henry Miller or, worse, Bukowsky, cannot conceive. For them, this conflict is always resolved by abandoning the moral ideal.

John Cheever fought until the end - and in the end he was very firm.

The story that I liked the most - Clancy in the Tower of Babel - is not in the Brazilian edition. It is certainly not the best in the book, neither in terms of technique nor in depth. But it is very likable and, since I am also, I made an unpretentious translation for those who prefer it to the original: https://maurodiacronico.wordpress.com...

Cheever is my favorite short story author.

His works are filled with unique charm and profound insights.

"The Death of Justina" is a truly brilliant story.

In this story, Cheever masterfully weaves a complex web of emotions and relationships.

The characters are vividly portrayed, and their actions and decisions keep the reader on the edge of their seat.

The plot is filled with twists and turns, making it impossible to predict what will happen next.

Cheever's writing style is also a delight to read.

His prose is elegant and flowing, yet also powerful and evocative.

He has a remarkable ability to capture the essence of human nature and the subtleties of everyday life.

Overall, "The Death of Justina" is a masterpiece of short fiction, and it is easy to see why Cheever is considered one of the greatest short story authors of all time.