From Publishers Weekly
This remarkable treat for lovers of audio books is as tastefully and elegantly packaged as it is performed by a first-class lineup of narrators. The tone is set by Benjamin Cheever, who reads his father's preface to The Stories of John Cheever. The 12 selections here are culled from that landmark volume, and, while there is bound to be disappointment that one story or another was not selected, there is nothing disappointing about any of the readings offered here. In fact, they are exceptional, from Streep's perfect portrayal of marital tension and denial in "The Enormous Radio" to Peter Gallagher's zestful take on "O Youth and Beauty!" and Blythe Danner's spot-on tone for the pathetically sad ending of "The Chaste Clarissa." And while it may seem that no one's voice is better suited to read these tales of upper-class strivings and failings than that of Plimpton, it is really Cheever's archived readings that steal the show. His performance of "The Swimmer," in particular, boldly displays his contempt for the country-club set, while still evoking readers' sympathy for the hapless main character. The inclusion of Cheever's readings makes for a deeply personal, resonant finale to a truly superb production. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From AudioFile
If you've ever wished the characters in an Edward Hopper painting would come alive and tell their stories, then don't miss this luminous recording. In his celebrated stories, John Cheever' captures a burgeoning New York City in the '40s and '50s and makes mythic the suburban world of Westchester County in the '60s and '70s with such characters as "The Swimmer," a man whose answer to a hangover is to swim across the county--swimming pool by swimming pool. An incomparable set of narrators delivers the stories with perfection. The production is elegantly bracketed by Cheevers: son Ben narrates the introduction, and John Cheever himself delivers the final two stories--at a breakneck clip but with the intelligence and vitality that shine throughout his work. E.K.D. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine
Book Description
Here are twelve magnificent stories in which John Cheever celebrates -- with unequaled grace and tenderness -- the deepest feelings we have.
As Cheever writes in his preface, 'These stories seem at times to be stories of a long-lost world when the city of New York was still filled with a river light, when you heard the Benny Goodman quartets from a radio in the corner stationery store, and when almost everybody wore a hat.'
John Cheever was born in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 1912. He is the author of seven collections of stories and five novels. His first novel, The Wapshot Chronicle, won the 1958 National Book Award. In 1965 he received the Howells Medal for Fiction from the National Academy of Arts and Letters, and in 1978 The Stories of John Cheever won the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize. Shortly before his death, in 1982, he was awarded the National Medal for Literature from the Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters.
Benjamin Cheever is the author of The Plagiarist, The Parisian and Famous after Death.
The Enormous Radio read by Meryl Streep
The Five-Forty-Eight read by Edward Herrmann
O City of Broken Dreams read by Blythe Danner
Christmas is a Sad Season for the Poor read by George Plimpton
The Season of Divorce read by Edward Herrmann
The Brigadier and the Golf Widow read by Peter Gallagher
The Sorrows of Gin read by Meryl Streep
O Youth and Beauty! read by Peter Gallagher
The Chaste Clarissa read by Blythe Danner
The Jewels of the Cabots read by George Plimpton
The Death of Justina read by John Cheever
The Swimmer read by John Cheever
About the Author
John Cheever, best known for his short stories dealing with upper-middle-class suburban life, was born in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 1912. Cheever published his first short story at the age of seventeen. He was the recipient of a 1951 Guggenheim Fellowship and winner of a National Book Award for The Wapshot Chronicle in 1958, the 1979 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for The Stories of John Cheever, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and an American Book Award. He died in 1982, at the age of seventy.
The John Cheever Audio Collection FROM THE PUBLISHER
Here are twelve magnificent stories in which John Cheever celebrates -- with unequaled grace and tenderness -- the deepest feelings we have.
As Cheever writes in his preface, 'These stories seem at times to be stories of a long-lost world when the city of New York was still filled with a river light, when you heard the Benny Goodman quartets from a radio in the corner stationery store, and when almost everybody wore a hat.'
John Cheever was born in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 1912. He is the author of seven collections of stories and five novels. His first novel, The Wapshot Chronicle, won the 1958 National Book Award. In 1965 he received the Howells Medal for Fiction from the National Academy of Arts and Letters, and in 1978 The Stories of John Cheever won the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize. Shortly before his death, in 1982, he was awarded the National Medal for Literature from the Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters.
Benjamin Cheever is the author of The Plagiarist, The Parisian and Famous after Death.
The Enormous Radio read by Meryl Streep
The Five-Forty-Eight read by Edward Herrmann
O City of Broken Dreams read by Blythe Danner
Christmas is a Sad Season for the Poor read by George Plimpton
The Season of Divorce read by Edward Herrmann
The Brigadier and the Golf Widow read by Peter Gallagher
The Sorrows of Gin read by Meryl Streep
O Youth and Beauty! read by Peter Gallagher
The Chaste Clarissa read by Blythe Danner
TheJewels of the Cabots read by George Plimpton
The Death of Justina read by John Cheever
The Swimmer read by John Cheever
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
This remarkable treat for lovers of audio books is as tastefully and elegantly packaged as it is performed by a first-class lineup of narrators. The tone is set by Benjamin Cheever, who reads his father's preface to The Stories of John Cheever. The 12 selections here are culled from that landmark volume, and, while there is bound to be disappointment that one story or another was not selected, there is nothing disappointing about any of the readings offered here. In fact, they are exceptional, from Streep's perfect portrayal of marital tension and denial in "The Enormous Radio" to Peter Gallagher's zestful take on "O Youth and Beauty!" and Blythe Danner's spot-on tone for the pathetically sad ending of "The Chaste Clarissa." And while it may seem that no one's voice is better suited to read these tales of upper-class strivings and failings than that of Plimpton, it is really Cheever's archived readings that steal the show. His performance of "The Swimmer," in particular, boldly displays his contempt for the country-club set, while still evoking readers' sympathy for the hapless main character. The inclusion of Cheever's readings makes for a deeply personal, resonant finale to a truly superb production. (June) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
AudioFile
If you've ever wished the characters in an Edward Hopper painting would come alive and tell their stories, then don't miss this luminous recording. In his celebrated stories, John Cheever' captures a burgeoning New York City in the '40s and '50s and makes mythic the suburban world of Westchester County in the '60s and '70s with such characters as "The Swimmer," a man whose answer to a hangover is to swim across the county—swimming pool by swimming pool. An incomparable set of narrators delivers the stories with perfection. The production is elegantly bracketed by Cheevers: son Ben narrates the introduction, and John Cheever himself delivers the final two stories—at a breakneck clip but with the intelligence and vitality that shine throughout his work. E.K.D. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine
Art & Photography
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