From Publishers Weekly
Having failed in a previous effort to publish a much larger collection because of opposition from the Cheever family, the publisher here offers a truncated selection of stories now in the public domain. This is still a book well worth having, showing the earliest work of a writer who went on to greater things but who even in his creative youth showed ample evidence of his gifts. The earliest stories, written when the author was barely out of his teens, are heavily influenced by Hemingway and the dour social realism of the Depression. With "The Autobiography of a Drummer" (1935), however, though the social conscience remains, a real voice, capable of remarkable mimicry, is emerging. This is a short, painful tale with something of the impact of Death of a Salesman . And "In Passing" (1936), a touching parable about a crumbling family and a rootless Communist agitator, has real force. "Bayonne" and "The Princess" are well-observed character sketches of tough-vulnerable women of the time, and "The Man She Loved"--set, like several of these stories, in Saratoga, where Cheever was a resident at the Yaddo writers' colony--shows how cleverly he can build surprising confrontations by indirection. It is always good to see a great writer advancing in his craft, and it is a shame the collection could not have been much more extensive.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
These stories were nearly all published in the 1930s by a very young Cheever. Several are Depression tales, set in dead mill towns or waterfront diners and informed by leftist politics; they could serve as fictional accompaniments to Edward Hopper's paintings. Others are set among the Saratoga horse-racing set and appeared in such commercial magazines as Collier's. Surprisingly, women are at the center of many of the stories--strong women, such as the 52-year-old stripper in "The Teaser," who are at a point of crisis in their lives. We can see Cheever exploring style, beginning most obviously with Hemingway, then moving on to Fitzgerald, with Joycean bits here and there. A fascinating example of one writer's beginning; appropriate for Cheever fans at academic and large public libraries.
- Brian Kenney, Brooklyn P.L.Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
