60MBC2: The Swimmer, by John Cheever
It's time to dive into our short story for February's edition of the sixty-minute book club.
Happy February, and welcome back to the Sixty-Minute Book Club!
It was so wonderful to meet some of you last week in our first ever live discussion to discuss Shirley Jackson’s ‘The Lottery’ together.
I don’t record these sessions for privacy reasons but I have made a short summary based on our discussion. It include spoilers, so I’ve put this content right at the bottom of today’s post. For now, let’s get into February’s story!
🏊♂️ ‘The Swimmer’, by John Cheever
This month, we’re diving into John Cheever’s The Swimmer, first published by The New Yorker in 1964. It’s a whimsical but poignant exploration into the lives of upper-middle-class America, and a perfect illustration of why Cheever was once called ‘Chekhov of the suburbs’.
I chose this story for February partly because I think we need a palette cleanser after the darkness of our January story. ‘The Swimmer’ tells the tale of Neddy Merril, a wealthy, middle-aged man who decides to swim home across his neighbours’ backyard pools. But what starts as ‘a bit of a lark’ gradually reveals themes of denial and disillusionment as Neddy nears his front door.
What I love about Cheever’s classic is how it’s constructed initially from the sort of silly, fleeting idea you might have in the middle of a sunny afternoon before (usually) discounting forever: ‘I wonder if I could swim home through all the neighbourhood’s swimming pools?’ Whilst the pools are a vehicle of sorts for Neddy Merril, they’re also the vehicle for Cheever to explore ‘affluenza’ and the emptiness and dishonesty of our everyday lives.
The first time I read ‘The Swimmer’ was in Spanish, in a short stories course hosted by Bernado Paz. Despite not reading the text in the story’s native language (nor my own) I could still feel the temperature changing in the mood (and landscape), as the sun sets on the day and Neddy finally reaches his front door. I’m looking forward to discussing it in English with you all this time.
And at just over 4,000 words ‘The Swimmer’, is another quick read, perfect for the Sixty-Minute Book Club. Let’s dive in.
Psst! Don’t forget that for the weekly prompts, chat discussions and access to the live discussion link you’ll need to be a subscriber (free or paid).
💡 The need-to-knows
‘The Swimmer’ by John Cheever
Published: 1964
Average reading time: ~20–25 minutes
Average listening time: ~30-40 minutes
Themes: Time, memory, suburban life, denial, disillusionment, and the passage of time.
You can find ‘The Swimmer’ in Cheever’s collection The Stories of John Cheever, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
In the UK, I believe this version published by Vintage is the same collection, and includes the Swimmer.
The above collections are quite the doorstops, coming in at 900+ pages. If you prefer to read just the story, it’s also widely anthologised and available on its own in various formats online, including The New Yorker where it was originally published. You can find it here.
For audiobook lovers, there are several narrations, including again the fantastic The New Yorker fiction podcast, this time narrated by Anne Enwright.
I also loved this read-aloud version on YouTube. I don’t know who to credit for reading it as I suspect it might be an older recording re-uploaded (hence the sound), but I loved the voices. If you know who to credit, please let me know.
And, finally, there was also a famous Burt Lancaster film made of ‘The Swimmer’ in 1966. I’ve not seen it… but perhaps this is the month!?
What to consider while reading
The Swimmer is a story that reveals itself gradually, so allow yourself to follow the protagonist, Neddy Merrill, on his journey without too much thought. After you’ve read, consider the following:
Structure and Tone: How does Cheever balance the mundane with the surreal? What changes in tone and atmosphere occur as Neddy’s journey progresses?
Symbolism of Water: What might the pools represent? Consider their varying temperatures, colours, and states of upkeep.
Character Development: How does Neddy see himself at the start versus how others see him? What does this say about perception and self-awareness?
Passage of Time: How does Cheever play with time in the narrative? What clues suggest that more time is passing than it seems?
Suburbia and the American Dream: What does the story say about suburban life and the illusion of affluence and happiness?
We’ll discuss some of these prompts, and others, from next week in the chat.
Looking ahead
February may be a shorter month but you still have three weeks to savour this story. Take your time, enjoy its hidden depths (sorry, I had to), then let us know what you thought about it.
Starting next week, I’ll post prompts and tidbits via the subscriber chat. This is only available to subscribers, so make sure you sign up to access.
And please remember that these discussions will likely contain spoilers, so it’s best to have read the story before you head into the threads.
📆 Date for your diaries
A tentative date and time to meet is Tuesday, 25 February, at 6 PM CET (9am PT / 12pm ET / 5pm GMT) for a one-hour discussion about The Swimmer. Last time we had a great turn-out and a really fun and thoughtful conversation.
Another possible date / time to meet is Wednesday 26 February at 7pm CET (10am PT / 1pm ET / 6pm GMT) which is a different day but at the same time as our previous meeting.
Please use this poll to let me know your preference by next Friday 14 February. When I have the final date I will update this post and the subscriber chat to confirm.
Remember, the meeting link is available only to subscribers, so sign up to ensure you can join.
Though the day might change each month, unfortunately I can only do CET evenings, apologies to any subscribers further east where joining may prove too tricky. Discussions will not be recorded but I will transcribe the key points.
📚 Happy reading!
That should be all the info you need to get started on our second short story of 2025.
If you have any questions or anything needs clarification, drop me a message here in comments, in the chat, or via DM.
And if you’re excited to get started with ‘The Swimmer’, please hit the heart so I know!
Thanks,
Emma
In brief: January’s live discussion of ‘The Lottery’
[Spoilers ahead! If you’ve not yet read ‘The Lottery’, come back to this after you have.]
Thank you everyone who joined for a warm, lively and open discussion. I had such a great time poring over this incredible text with you all. There was so much we discussed but for a summary I focused on my top three takeaways. If you want to add anything, please stick them in the comments!
Tradition and ritual: The discussion deepened with a question around why rituals persist even when their origins are forgotten. The village in ‘The Lottery’ continues its annual sacrifice, despite not fully remembering why, which makes it all the more unsettling (but possibly truer to life…?) Olivia made a great point that surely they had bad crop years, so what did they think was happening then!?
Characterisation: The discussion touched on why Tessie Hutchinson was chosen as the victim and how Jackson subverted expectations about gender roles and morality in small-town life. Julie had a poignant insight around how the women in the village may have had a pact to support one another— and potentially make each other’s deaths quicker.
Use of ambiguity as an editorial choice: We were lucky to have a reader who edits short stories, Lisa Hislop. Lisa highlighted how the mix of fear and excitement in the characters is mirrored in the response of readers, given it can be hard to tell the difference emotionally between these two feelings.
What I love about these kinds of meets is you learn so much from the unique knowledge and lens that each reader brings to the story. For ‘The Lottery’, this included tidbits as far-reaching as the ritual of ‘Sati’ (from reader
), to sharing how the story speaks to collective memory.❤️ Thank you for reading Scrambled Eggs. Enjoyed this post? Hit the heart to let me know.
Finally took the time to listen and it's such a powerful story. What a great selection! I'd read another Cheever story in my uni days but not this one.
Looking forward to reading The Swimmer Emma...with visions of the Levi's Swimmer Ad and Dinah Washington crooning 'Mad about the Boy' in my ears...
btw the poll didn't work for me - I cannot do the Wednesday but should be able to make 5pm GMT on the Tuesday - thank you :-)