Reunion

“Reunion,” by American author John Cheever, is a short story that details the coming-of-age of the narrator and protagonist, Charlie. The story, first published in 1962 in The New Yorker, utilizes realism and symbolism to develop the themes of Expectation Versus Reality, Taking the High Ground, and The Inability to Communicate. The story details Charlie’s brief lunchtime meeting with his father in New York City and his internal conflict regarding his perceptions of his dad.

Cheever is best known for his short stories, having published over 200 of them in various publications, including The New Yorker, The New Republic, Collier’s, The Atlantic, and more. Additionally, he published several novels, including National Book Award winner The Wapshot Chronicle (1957). His writing largely explores the significance of seemingly mundane life events, which earned him the moniker of “the Chekhov of the suburbs.” In detailing the quotidian, Cheever is sometimes considered a moralist, as his writing often presents a judgment of his characters through a traditional moralist lens. Although some of his most famous stories—such as “The Enormous Radio” and “The Swimmer”—are infused with magical realism, “Reunion” is a markedly realistic portrayal of a meeting between father and son and was later reprinted in his Pulitzer Prize–winning collection The Stories of John Cheever.