A few stories by John Cheever

 A few stories by John Cheever

Boy in Rome is very good

The short stories of John Cheever are mesmerizing.

The author has received the Pulitzer Prize for them and for good reason.

Boy in Rome

I have just finished Boy in Rome with the same pleasure that I have experienced with all the other about twenty I have finished so far.

Humor is mixed with complex feelings like sadness, empathy, regret, longing.

The boy in Rome is recounting experiences that include at one point his grandfather who had a cruel habit at meals.

He gave the children meals they did not like and it was so much of a hateful event that our hero asked –

-          Grandfather, why do you cook these if you do not like it

-          And the old man cursed and used bad language in response

The reason why some Americans stay in Rome is to avoid taxes, but the father of the boy is buried in the cemetery.

This is why they live in the eternal city, that some consider the most beautiful in the world- cita eterna.

We learn about parties, with champagne and guests that sing Silent Night and the boy has goose flesh.

There is a dog called Zimba that belongs to a woman- Tavola Colda who is the owner of a palace nearby

And then there is Tibi, who expects something hanging around near the palace where the boy lives with his mother.

But for some reason, when there is a conversation between Tibi and mother, something goes wrong and she cries.

Up to now, nothing much or dramatic seems to happen, but then again- this is grand literature, that keeps you enchanted and interested, even when there is no explosion of events to motivate the reader.

Life is complicated for the boy on account of a shortage of money, that his mother lacks and he needs to work for himself.

He wants to meet some American industrialists that would take him to the States and teach him about the steel industry.

But that does not happen

….

In another story, I was impressed with the way fate can change in so unexpected ways.

The husband wakes up in the morning to travel away from the city and he has to ask his wife to drive her car.

His automobile would not start and so she takes a bathrobe on and gets in the car, for it is late and the spouse would lose the train.

On the way back, she is trapped in the car without gasoline and not one of her woman friends would stop.

She only waves at women, because she is only half dressed or less and she is embarrassed to be seen by anyone except women friends.

In the end, a male neighbor stops, takes her home but forces himself upon the woman right near the door.

And the husband stumbles upon them, because he had to come back for something he had forgotten earlier on.

And life is changed for the couple, in an unfortunate series of events.