Negative Positive
Title: Very Fine
Review: John Cheever's fine, woven prose is the perfect fit for this novel about an eccentric family living in along the coast of Massachusetts. St. Boltophs is a fictional town, where the Wapshots, a declining though still respected east-coast family reside. At its heart, this novel is about a contrasting pair of brothers, Moses and Coverly as they live under the fading light of their father Leander. Moses is the ambitious brother who marries into money, and Coverly is the sensitive, if a bit timid brother who also falls into a tragic marriage. There are fine moments of writing in this novel-Cheever's attention to voice and detail is among the strongest of American writers. Though this is far from a great book, it is clearly a fine achievement and well worth reading.
Is the review positive or negative? 