The Wapshot Chronicle

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Wapshot Chronicle is a 1957 novel by John Cheever about an eccentric family who live in a Massachusetts fishing village. It won a National Book Award in 1958 and was followed by a sequel in 1964, The Wapshot Scandal.

The Wapshot Chronicle follows the stories of Leander Wapshot and his sons, Moses and Coverly, as they deal with life's ups and downs, which Cheever weaves together with touches of humanism and humor. The story is somewhat autobiographical, particularly in the character of Coverly, who, like Cheever, deals with feelings of bisexuality.

The novel was Cheever's first, and its success marked the transition from Cheever's renown as a great short story writer to that of a great author. It was also the first novel selected to the Book of the Month Club to contain the word "fuck."