Dear Folks,

 

Have you read most/all of John’s writings?

 

Are you a fan?

 

If you are a fan, then probably you are not a fan of OnlyFans.

 

So, the question is:

 

a. Why are Cheever’s stories so popular?

b. Why do they resonate, so…

c. Why are they so depressing?

d. Do Americans love depressing stories?

e. Will Americans ever get enough of gloom?

 

Also, at your age, the average age of TV members, do you dare re-read Cheever?

 

The last time I lay supine and read a stack of Cheever books, I was age 40.

 

I would never attempt to read Cheever now.

 

Cheever is just the man to turn a sunny day in Thailand to a cold autumn in New York.

 

Will you ever read Cheever again, after emigrating to Thailand?

 

For that matter, have you put The New Yorker behind you?

 

Curious.

 

Regards,

Gamma

 

Note: Cheever loved to write about train stations, maybe in CT, or some place...

Here is a photo of John at his best, for example....

 

So, is this gloomy?

 

 

John Cheese is better

9 minutes ago, Harrisfan said:

John Cheese is better

 

No.

I am referring to the...

 

CHEKHOV of the SUBURBS....

 

 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cheever

 

 

He is dead

5 minutes ago, Harrisfan said:

He is dead

 

His works are very much alive.

 

Can you read?

If so....
Will you read?

 

 

6 minutes ago, GammaGlobulin said:

 

His works are very much alive.

 

Can you read?

If so....
Will you read?

 

 

Reading does what? Just root women

11 minutes ago, Harrisfan said:

Reading does what? Just root women

 

You know, the interesting thing, at least for me, was reading The New Yorker in 1969, many times featuring John Cheever.

 

Why was this interesting to read in 1969?

 

The reason is that his stories seemed so emblematic of the change going down, at the time.

 

For example:

 

On the one hand, you were reading  John Cheever speaking about the angst of suburbia.

 

And, on the other hand, in 1969, you were listening to Arlo.....such as....

 

But, you would have had to have been there to really understand it.

 

Some TV members were there.

You, most likely, were NOT THERE....

 

Are you even here?

 

Read Cheever.

It's not too late for you.....still.....

 

 

 

 

Why depressing?

 

There is this sense of ...."loss"....

 

Loss of a culture, and good culture, that will never return.

 

Of course, Cheever wrote about WHITE  suburbia, only.

 

Therefore, most people here, not being white, and not having lived in the NE of the USA, NY, NJ, PA....CT...

Will not be able to read Cheever's stories with any sense of deep understanding.

 

You might not feel any recognition of what you recalled and knew.

 

So, novels, and stories, just like films, are very much cultural.

 

Bollywood films are disgusting to me, for example.

Still, they deserve their place in this world....

maybe in the Fifth Circle of distastefulness.

 

Feel free to read Cheever.

And, then, watch a few Bollywood films.

 

You deserve a bit of whiplash, today.

 

58 minutes ago, Harrisfan said:

John Cheese is better

John Cleese even better.  

 

45 minutes ago, GammaGlobulin said:

On the one hand, you were reading  John Cheever speaking about the angst of suburbia.

 

Someone should write about modern day angst of farangs in Thailand.  No one seems to care. 

 

20 minutes ago, connda said:

John Cleese even better.  

 

 

Are you saying that Cleese is the perfect anodyne to Cheever, and suburbia angst?

 

9 minutes ago, save the frogs said:

 

Someone should write about modern day angst of farangs in Thailand.  No one seems to care. 

 

 

How can there be angst on a massage table in Pattaya, for that matter?

At least, how can there be angst, given that scenario, at the spur of the moment?

 

 

By the way:

 

In the distant past, when I first began reading Cheever, one needed to borrow from a library or buy, or subscribe.

 

These days, though, nothing could be easier than to download a complete library of ALL of Cheever.

 

He is still worth reading, and he still has something to say about our world....maybe....