SOME PEOPLE, PLACES, AND THINGS THAT WILL NOT APPEAR IN MY NEXT NOVEL

A collection of nine episodes, ranging from the stinging to the bleak, and including a Mllany of Characters TWNAIMN, comes from Esquire and The New Yorker and emphasize, once more, Cheever's ability to underline modern chaos, sometimes with terror, sometimes with pity. When zoning laws do not permit dying, how can a burial be arranged? A piece of furniture creates a "fascination" for pain. A promiscuous fellow passenger aboard ship creates visions of carnal anarchy. The Duchess turns down a princely suitor for an unexpected husband. The Scarlet Moving Van is the symbol of a drunk's progress — downhill. A TV writer's program follows him to Italy — and his dismay turns out to be unnecessary. A H in Rome is a hungry traveler for love after his father's death. A commentary on the human condition, this examines those mystified by life whether they fulminate against it or are subjugated by it. As before, Cheever remains — for many — a challenge.