John Cheever Books in Order
28 books are credited to John Cheever, published between 1943 and 2021; 13 of them appeared after John Cheever's death in 1982. The first book is The Way Some People Live (1943) and the newest is A Vision of the World (2021). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 28
- Published
- 1943–2021
- Pages on record
- 6,180 in 19 of 28 books
- Reading time
- 103–155 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 6,180 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 19 of 28 titles with a page count on record.
John Cheever (1912-1982) wrote short stories and novels of American suburban life, and the nickname the Chekhov of the suburbs followed. The settings stay consistent: the Upper East Side of Manhattan, the Westchester suburbs, New England villages modelled on the towns around Quincy, Massachusetts, where Cheever was born, and Italy. The Wapshot Chronicle (1957) and The Wapshot Scandal (1964) make the one series, while The Enormous Radio (1953), The Housebreaker Of Shady Hill (1958) and The Swimmer (1964) sit among the stories. 28 titles are catalogued from 1943 onward.
How many John Cheever books are there?
John Cheever has 28 books, released between 1943 and 2021. 13 of them were published after John Cheever's death in 1982. 2 of them belong to the Wapshot series.
John Cheever Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 28 John Cheever books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.
- 1The Way Some People Live1943 · confirmed 1/41943–1/4
- 2The Enormous Radio1953 · 32 pages · confirmed 1/41953321/4
- 319573521/4
- 4The Housebreaker Of Shady Hill1958 · confirmed 1/41958–1/4
- 5Some People, Places, And Things That Will Not Appear In My Next Novel1961 · 175 pages · confirmed 1/419611751/4
- 619643041/4
- 7The Swimmer1964 · confirmed 1/41964–1/4
- 8The Brigadier and the Golf Widow1964 · confirmed 1/41964–1/4
- 9Bullet Park1967 · 245 pages · confirmed 1/419672451/4
- 10The World of Apples1973 · confirmed 1/41973–1/4
- 11Falconer1977 · 211 pages · confirmed 1/419772111/4
- 12The Stories of John Cheever1978 · 693 pages · confirmed 1/419786931/4
- 13Collected Stories and Other Writings1978 · 1040 pages · confirmed 1/4197810401/4
- 14The Leaves, The Lion Fish, and The Bear1980 · confirmed 1/41980–1/4
- 15Oh What a Paradise It Seems1982 · 99 pages · confirmed 1/41982991/4
- 16The Letters of John Cheever1988 · 397 pages · confirmed 1/419883971/4
- 17Conversations with John Cheever1988 · 259 pages · confirmed 1/419882591/4
- 18The Journals of John Cheever1990 · 399 pages · confirmed 1/419903991/4
- 19The Uncollected Stories Of John Cheever, 1930 19811990 · 534 pages · confirmed 1/419905341/4
- 20Glad Tidings1993 · 357 pages · confirmed 1/419933571/4
- 21Angel of Bridge2001 · confirmed 1/42001–1/4
- 22The John Cheever Audio Collection2003 · confirmed 1/42003–1/4
- 23Vintage Cheever2005 · 197 pages · confirmed 1/420051971/4
- 24Thirteen Uncollected Stories2005 · 227 pages · confirmed 1/420052271/4
- 25Fall River and Other Uncollected Stories2009 · 227 pages · confirmed 1/420092271/4
- 26The Collected Works2012 · confirmed 1/42012–1/4
- 27Drinking2017 · 128 pages · confirmed 1/420171281/4
- 28A Vision of the World2021 · 304 pages · confirmed 1/420213041/4
John Cheever books grouped by series
Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.
Wapshot in order
2 booksStandalone books
26 books26 John Cheever titles here are not listed as part of any series.
Do you have to read John Cheever books in order?
You only need to read John Cheever books in order within the Wapshot series, which holds 2 of the 28 John Cheever books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.
Where to start with John Cheever
Start with The Way Some People Live (1943), the earliest published title.
What is the newest John Cheever book?
A Vision of the World (2021) is the newest John Cheever book released so far.
Is there a new John Cheever book coming?
No next John Cheever book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Awards John Cheever has won
Wikidata records 6 awards for John Cheever. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.
- National Book Award for Fiction1981Won
- Pulitzer Prize for Fiction1979Wonfor The Stories of John Cheever
- National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction1978Won
- William Dean Howells Medal of the American Academy of Arts and Letters1965Won
- National Book Award for Fiction1958Won
- O. Henry Award1956Won
John Cheever at a glance
- Died
- John Cheever died in 1982, according to Wikidata.
- After death
- Books credited to John Cheever are still being published after John Cheever's death in 1982; the newest appeared in 2021.
- Release pace
- John Cheever books have appeared about one every 3 years on average.
- Length
- 6,180 pages across the 19 of 28 books with a recorded length, a median of 259 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most John Cheever books, 5 of 28, were published in the 2000s.
What the John Cheever books are about
20 of the 28 John Cheever books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: cheever, john, 1912-1982 is tagged on 5 of 20. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Cheever, john, 1912-1982 5 of 20 books
- Authors 4 of 20 books
- Family life 4 of 20 books
- Manners and customs 4 of 20 books
- American fiction 3 of 20 books
- Short stories 3 of 20 books
- Social life and customs 3 of 20 books
- Authors, correspondence 2 of 20 books
- Correspondence 2 of 20 books