text: This town feels so typical at first -- the suburban couple, husband with misc. job and wife who's good at parties.  The gem in Cheever's writing is to render these people and their neighbors with the true unique humanity and quirks we all possess.  Sometimes Cheever's work can seem stereotypical, everyone drinking gin and having weird suicidal urges.  This book, though, is a masterful blend of truly normal people and the creepy backstory that lives next door
  