The John Cheever Audio Collection

by John Cheever Narrated by Meryl Streep, Benjamin Cheever, Peter Gallagher, George Plimpton

Overview

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.

The preface is read by Benjamin Cheever, author of The Plagiarist, The Parisian and Famous after Death. The stories include:

• 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

This audio collection is a must-have for any fan of American literary fiction, featuring award-winning short stories read by a star-studded cast including Meryl Streep and Edward Herrmann.

HarperCollins 2024

Editorial Reviews

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.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170384907
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	01/13/2004
Edition description:	Unabridged

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