I simply can’t imagine a better literary biography than this one. Cheever’s family, including his long-suffering widow, have made it possible, but they have not modified it in any way. It is richly sympathetic, hugely well-informed, and, best of all, clearly sees what a very funny writer Cheever was, even at his most crapulous. Though long and detailed, it is completely absorbing, and it convinces one that the humiliating details of Cheever’s worst years are worth retelling, since he thought them so. I would be sorry if the terrible origins of some of the stories and the novels were found, by future generations, to disqualify them from serious consideration. For me, Cheever is unmatched in a crowded field; it is wonderful that he has been given a biography of this lasting quality.

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