Oh What a Paradise It Seems (Masterplots II: American Fiction Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: John Cheever
- First Published: 1982
- Type of Plot: Comic realism
- Time of Work: Twentieth century
- Setting: New York City and Janice, a small suburban town
- Principal Characters: Lemuel Sears, Renee Herndon, Betsy Logan, Horace Chisholm
- Genres: Long fiction, Realism
- Subjects: New York, North America or North Americans, Northeast, U.S., United States or Americans, New York City, 1980’s, Suburban life, Environment or environmental health, Pollution, Ponds
- Locales: New York, NY
The Novel
This novel comprises two interconnected narratives that center on saving a pond in a small suburban town, Janice. The mayor of Janice, who has connections with some form of organized crime, allows Beasley’s Pond to become a dump for the ostensible purpose of filling it to provide the site for a war memorial. As Cheever moves from one plot to the other, regaining the purity of the pond becomes a personal and moral issue for three of the main characters.
Lemuel Sears is somewhat fearful of growing old. Having left the city to skate at Beasley’s Pond one fine...
[The entire page is 2185 words long]
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