The Stories of John Cheever

What it's about

Sixty-one stories from the writer known as the Chekhov of the suburbs, published over three decades in The New Yorker. Cheever's world is the commuter towns and city apartments of postwar America, full of cocktail parties, troubled marriages and quiet desperation behind manicured lawns. It includes his most famous stories: "The Swimmer," in which a man decides to swim home through his neighbors' pools, and "The Enormous Radio."

Why it's worth reading

It won the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award and the NBCC Award, and the stories are as funny, sad and surprising as when they were written. It's perfect for dipping into a story at a time.

You'll love it if you liked

The Great Gatsby, Revolutionary Road or Olive Kitteridge

Good to know

It's a collection, so read it in any order and at any pace. The world is very white, upper-middle-class and of its time.