"He lies, in American writing, somewhere between Scott Fitzgerald and John Updike" (Malcolm Bradbury)

"The master of the short story was also the master of the short letter" (Sunday Times)

"I enjoyed The Letters of John Cheever enormously... Cheever shone in his three-paragraph masterpieces about temperamental plumbing, pets, and the loneliness of the short story-writer" (Zoe Heller)

"Cheever's work - a succession of brilliant short stories for the New Yorker and four novels - depends on an edgy eye for detail and a compulsive narrative personality" (Independent)

"John's letters and Benjamin's commentary makes a special kind of dialogue that touches and haunts, both in what is said and what is kept silent" (Los Angeles Times)

WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY JAY MCINERNEY

John Cheever's letters offer a tantalising glimpse into the life of a writer. They include correspondence with his contemporaries, such as Philip Roth, John Updike and Saul Bellow, his days as a young, aspiring writer and his battles with bisexuality and alcoholism. In this collection, edited by his son Benjamin Cheever, we see how his private correspondence was as extraordinary as his published works.