The Shorter Short Stories of John Cheever

Last Tuesday, Octavia Fellin Library in Gallup, New Mexico had its Pulitzer Discussion Group on "The Stories of John Cheever" and while there was some considerable disagreement about the content of the book, there was definitely one unifying belief between our readers: This book is too long.  And I can't really dispute that.  700 pages of short stories is a lot for the casual reader.  It's a lot for the advanced reader!

So after our discussion, I decided to "shorten" the collection a tad.  Largely based on the favorites (or occasional least favorites) of our readers, I've put together a list of 15 Must Read Short Stories from "The Stories of John Cheever."  If you are looking for a great book for your book club or discussion group, but this collection seems too daunting, try this, more manageable, selection...

1. Goodbye, My Brother
2. The Enormous Radio
3. O City of Broken Dreams
4. Christmas is a Sad Season for the Poor
5. The Sorrows of Gin
6. The Day the Pig Fell into the Well
7. The Five-Forty-Eight
8. The Duchess
9. The Lowboy
10. The Death of Justina
11. Clementina
12. The Brigadier and the Golf Widow
13. An Educated American Woman
14. The Swimmer
15. The Fourth Alarm

The real benefit of trimming down the book is in the primary complaints I heard about the book from our readers: "It's too long," "All the stories started to blend together," and "I started to forget some of the stories."  These are the kind of statements that I dread hearing, and I know that our readers would have gotten more from less.  

To really appreciate Cheever, or any short story author, one needs to take their time and enjoy each story individually, like eating a nice desert.  I loved "The Stories of John Cheever," and I really wanted others to share that love.  But it got to be too much for our readers, like eating way too much of a nice desert.  It became hard to really enjoy the flavor.  A shorter list like the one above would be easier and more pleasant to digest for anyone interested in reading Cheever for their discussion group or book club.

Bon Appétit!