Cheever is a renowned writer, well-known for his self-loathing. His sexual preferences clashed with his upbringing in a conservative New England environment, which was characterized by piety and a masculine nostalgia for sea voyages and the outdoor life. In this family, the family line was of utmost importance, both in the past and for the future. This was not an ideal situation for a queer life.

Raised during a time when Freud's ideas prevailed, he intensely despised his mother. In this sprawling and picturesque novel, where most of the women are either mad, bad, or sad, the mother is additionally emasculating and indifferent. Cheever often writes himself into his work, and here he is the younger, less favored son, with unclear attributes in a household dedicated to its own pedigree.

The novel has a gentle quest theme. Two brothers must marry and produce male offspring. However, the relentless materialism of pre-WW2 USA is like a rising tide, eroding the old way of life and replacing seafaring with tourism and light manufacturing. The two brothers can no longer travel the Seven Seas and instead seek love and fortune in the anonymous and alienating life of East Coast cities. Their father, long reduced to ferrying trippers across the bay in an old tub boat, muses in staccato prose on his life and its tragedies as his sons, like twin Ulysses', ride their luck.

There is a hint of Saul Bellow in the expansive prose and poignancy, but thankfully, none of the rambling philosophies. Many of the chapters have the shape of single short stories, but the slow chug of the narrative quest gently pulls you, often with a chuckle, through the escapades.

My only frustration was the excessive focus on sex. It is a masculine story with sex at its core, and women are either sex goddesses or spent elderly eccentrics. But this complaint is like rejecting Trollope for his focus on fox hunting. Writers are products of their times and are constructing the world as it is presented to them. This is the patriarchy, and Cheever was both an outsider and insider of those times. He attempts to explore his queerness (unresolved) and preference for nudity (comedic). Alcohol is a common salve for everyone.

For me, Cheever has that rare ability to touch something subliminal with his storytelling, something about the uncertainty and vulnerability of humanity, understanding the prison of conformity and the inarticulateness of many of us held in its grasp.

Uncle PeePee Marshmallow is my co-pilot.

I was truly and delightfully surprised by this book. It is written in a beautiful manner, full of mischief and yet also moving. When I initially began reading it, I thought to myself, "Hey, I had the impression that John Cheever was supposed to be depressing. But here he is, so lighthearted and funny! It reminds me a little bit of Charles Portis." Then as I continued to read, the book started to sound less like Portis and more like Richard Yates. This is a thought-provoking novel that effectively skewers social convention while at the same time admitting that we are all slaves to it. I discovered that it has an intriguing blend of flavors, being both funny and poignant, kind of like a SweeTart. Even two days after I finished reading it, I am still thinking about it. Man, the United States really churned out some amazing writers in the 1950s. Cheever is most definitely one of them. Those were indeed the days.

Lots of things occur within a crazy family, yet at no point did I have a particular inclination to care about any of them. This is because none of those events seemed to possess any truly redeeming qualities. This book presents two aspects that I especially dislike. One section is written in the second person or game voice, stating "you see xyz, you do abc." Additionally, there is a rather lengthy section that is written as if it were penned by an uneducated and narrow-minded character.

The theme of this book is that those who work are dupes. Every individual with a commercial mindset is depicted as either evil, stupid, or successful merely by dumb luck. There is no recognition of the fact that people may work out of a man's need to assist the tribe, or out of pride. Nor is there any consideration for those who employ others while maintaining a sense of civic duty. The central character of the book only begins to work quite late in life when there is literally no other option available.

This perhaps explains why the book won awards and was selected for the Modern Library 100. It seems that all these judges look down their noses at those who produce. However, the narrator of the book is truly great. Just tops.

The Wapshot Chronicle is a captivating semi-autobiographical novel that delves into the lives of the eccentric Wapshot family in the idyllic yet sleepy river city of St. Botolphs, Massachusetts.

The Wapshot family has a rich lineage, evolving from humble beginnings to prosperity and now experiencing a regression. Their story is told in a manner that is at times confusing, humorous, and troubling, yet it effectively executes its purpose.

Leander, the eldest living male, is a seafaring man and an avid fisherman. His eldest son, Moses, is a promising young man, while the younger son, Coverly, has yet to reach the same level of progress.

The family's matriarch, Mrs. Wapshot, confronts the unknown with a sorrowful smile. The Wapshot's have a history of continuous improvement, but they also face common problems in dealing with a life of high expectations.

Honora Wapshot, Leander's cousin, controls the family's assets and has made decisions regarding the inheritance of Moses and Coverly. The book begins with a day in the life event at the annual Independence Day parade, leading into a lengthy family history.

John Cheever, renowned for his short story writing, took around twenty years to write this debut novel. The theme of painstaking loneliness and an inability to fit in is overwhelming. While the book lacks a traditional plot, it delves deep into the lives of its characters. Overall, it is recommended for those who enjoy character-driven narratives and the feeling of hope in a challenging setting.