ARTEMIS, THE HONEST WELL DIGGER by John Cheever A fantastic, wonderful story

 ARTEMIS, THE HONEST WELL DIGGER by John Cheever

A fantastic, wonderful story

Artemis reminds me of my training- I have graduated at the University, in the Geophysics department, albeit I never worked in that field.

Still, the preoccupation with digging wells, trying to find water rings a bell, for about seven years that was what I have been studying.

“ARTEMIS LOVED the healing sound of rain—the sound of all running water—brooks, gutters, spouts, falls, and taps. In the spring he would drive one hundred miles to hear the cataract at the Wakusha Reservoir. This was not so surprising, since he was a well driller and water was his profession, his livelihood as well as his passion. Water, he thought, was at the root of civilizations.”

As I know so well by now, this story, like the other stories of this fantastic writer, has a lot going for it- humor, surprising plot.

The characters are interesting and at times I do not know if I should laugh or feel sorry, but often it has to be both.

                “The pursuit of water accounted for epochal migrations. Man was largely water. Water was man. Water was love. Water was water.”

And how right this assertion is, if we only think of California, which is experiencing such a terrible drought.

In some parts on the West coast of America, people are not allowed to take a bath for the situation is so serious.

And then there are the terrible wild fires, which are getting worse and they also prove that the planet is warming.

What strikes me is the humor, present in so many forms and places-

-          From the fish that Artemis caught and about which his friend says – it has enough DDT in it to put you in the hospital to the next “love story”-

“I can’t marry you, darling,” she said. “Why not? Do you want a younger man?” “Yes, darling, but not one. I want seven, one right after the other.” “Oh,” he said. “I must tell you. I’ve done it. This was before I met you. I asked seven of the best-looking men around to come for dinner. None of them were married. Two of them were divorced. I cooked veal scaloppine. There was a lot to drink and then we all got undressed. It was what I wanted. When they were finished, I didn’t feel dirty or depraved or shameful. I didn’t feel anything bad at all. Does that disgust you?”

Then a more decent woman falls in love with our hero, but the trouble is she is married, which does not prevent her from insisting.

But the list of crazies has another character on it, with a husband who has written a book called –

-          Shit! And which has sold half a million copies!! And has been translated into twelve languages as- merde, kaka and some more...

To escape from the loving married woman, Artemis goes to a local agency to try to travel somewhere far.

Here the suggestions are strange, in fact they are more like anti publicity- with Ireland- raining, Rome and some other place too cold, Egypt would take three days- i wondered, as a former investror in the industry, what on earth was the woman doying- selling or scaring customers.

Finally, a trip to Russia is strongly recommended and then another funny- sad chapter develops, with a surprise welcome at the airport.

As the first worker from the drilling industry, Artemis has the honor to be invited to meet Hruschev, famous for naging his shoe on the table at the UN and some other stupid and horrible acxts, at a special soiree.

There is a performance where the hero will sit in the special loggia with the nomenclature and then shake hands with the big man.

On the way to the event, Artmeis is puzzled by the immense paintings and photos of the supreme leader.

But on the way back from the event where he did not meed the big man, all these portraits have simply vanished, for the big guy has been deposed in the meantime- in the space of a few hours a regime change took place.

Artemis falls in love with a Russian woman and this has again a sorrowful and a funny side, when the CIA or some other agency interferes, speculating on the meaning of some statements like God could be in a submarine

-          What did she mean- we had maoeuvers back then

This is a fabulos story!