Reunion by John Cheever

“The short story “Reunion” by John Cheever is about a young boy named Charles who goes to visit his father in New York City. The story revolves around Charles’s impression of his father and the harsh reality of his father being an alcoholic. The story starts off with Charles on a train going to New York City to meet with his father. His initial reaction upon seeing him is one of joy and happiness as he is finally reunited with the father he had not seen for 3 years and the hopes he can rekindle the lost father-son relationship. The father explains that he wants to take Charles to his bar but since it so far away, he thinks its better that they just go to a close place. As they go from one bar after another, his father becomes more loud and obnoxious, which forces Charles to change his whole view…” text taken from essay examples

listen to story here : The New Yorker

^ visuals that goes along with story – I just listened to “Reunion” and thought it was entertaining and thought provoking.  It certainly painted a vivid picture of the characters in my mind.  Richard Ford, another writer for The New Yorker, commented on Cheever’s ability to say a novels worth in less than 600 words.  Anyways, get the story and see if you agree.

Words of the day…

I started re-listening to my old GRE vocab podcasts on itunes – thought I would share a few definitions for the fun of it… definitions from dictionary.com

Sanguine – adjective  - 1. Cheerfully optimistic, hopeful, or confident: a sanguine disposition; sanguine expectations – 2. Reddish; Ruddy; a sanguine complexion ( gorgeous sanguine color!)

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Insubordinate – adjective - not submitting to authority; disobedient: an insubordinate soldier.

Synonyms:  refractory, defiant, insolent

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Maladroit – adjective - Lacking in adroitness; unskillful; awkward; bungling; tactless: to handle a diplomatic crisis in a very maladroit way

Synonyms: clumsy, inept; gauche.