The Letters of John Cheever [Paperback]

John Cheever (Author), Benjamin Cheever (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 21, 2009

• A revealing self-portrait: In addition to his novels and short stories, John Cheever wrote a prodigious number of letters—sometimes thirty in a week. In The Letters of John Cheever , edited and annotated by his son Benjamin, Cheever reveals his most private thoughts to friends, famous writers, family, and lovers—all of whom he encouraged to discard what he wrote. “Saving letters is like trying to preserve a kiss,” he said. As a result, these letters form a story that is even more candid than his journals, and as vivid and human as any he ever invented..

• An intriguing literary icon: Cheever, a complex and contradictory man, “was an adulterer who wrote eloquently in praise of monogamy … a bisexual who detested any sign of sexual ambiguity.” Cheever was a stranger to those closest to him and presented to the world what he thought it wanted to see. These letters display the stark contrast between his ambitions and weaknesses, while tracing his evolution as an artist. .

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

John Cheever's letters aren't great literaturethey weren't meant to bebut his unmistakable voice comes through on every page. Bristling with his sardonic wit and "rock-bottom irritability," they reveal a man of dark contradictions: an ardent heterosexual in public, Cheever despised his own secret bisexuality; he scorned the upper-middle class but desperately needed its approval. Letters track a romantic affair with actress Hope Lange, a competitive friendship with John Updike and dialogues with Saul Bellow, Josephine Herbst, Malcolm Cowley, Frederick Exley and Philip Roth. In the late 1960s, Cheever's merry, heavy-drinking attitude swiftly turned into family tragedy. Benjamin Cheever, the novelist's son, interweaves affectionate commentaries with the letters, telling what it was like to be reared by a famous writer who was an alcoholic. In the most affecting letters, every word is in place as Cheever paints a real-life character, comments on contemporary fiction or lays bare his frustrations. We follow the writer from a $3-a-week Greenwich Village room to the wilds of Westchester, N.Y.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

This breezy, fast-paced correspondence will delight Cheever's fans. Dashed off in a tipsy or rhapsodic haze, without dates or any other thoughts for posterity, these letters focus not on Cheever's work but on "the common minutiae of lifethe raw materials of most good letters." Though occasionally savage toward other writers, the Cheever revealed here is generally light-hearted, warm, and confident. But middle age finds him "stuck in a morass of alcohol and melancholy," and the letters take on a grim undertone; the chief pleasures of his last decade seem to be his open indulgence of his homosexuality and the achievements of his children. On the whole, a splendid, lively book for anyone who likes to read others' mail. Michael Edmonds, State Historical Soc. of Wisconsin, Madison
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (July 21, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439164649
• ISBN-13: 978-1439164648
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,436,202 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Earthly Delights, August 1, 2009

By 

D. Bateman (Carlsbad, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Letters of John Cheever (Paperback)

The first industry review listed here starts with: "John Cheever's letters aren't great literature" ... and this would only be true if you think "great literature" has to be weighty, ponderous and dull. Not an unpopular belief. The fatter the volume and more stupefying the complexity, the more likely a piece of work is going to be called Great Literature. It's true that Cheever's letters are modest in scope and intent -- they might look pretty anemic next to some polysyllabic freak like Henry James' correspondence -- but what they DON'T lack is Charm. In my world, charm beats blithering intensity every time.

Cheever delighted in the world -- even the shadowy, dark night of the soul bits of it -- like (I'd wager) most of us, he needed a steady supply of love to keep that delight going. These letters seem to have been one way he kept the affection pumping along, with friends, family, lovers, both men and women. They are love letters in the broadest, least treacly sense.

And who wants to read a heavy, profound, sweaty, overintellectualized Love Letter?

Nobody.

Brevity may not ALWAYS be the soul of wit, but in Cheever's case, it absolutely is. Great literature should be great enough to make room for charming, one-of-a-kind miniaturists like Cheever the letter writer.