Almost every contributor to the anthology “Brothers” is already an accomplished writer, many of them from the realm of fiction.
An obvious exception is Fred Cheever, University of Denver law professor. So why is a lawyer who directs the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Program at the university included in such a writerly collection? Because he and his older brother, Benjamin Cheever — separated by eight years — collaborated on a fascinating essay for an endlessly fascinating book about male siblings.
If the name “Cheever” sounds familiar, it should. The father of Fred and Benjamin is John Cheever, the author recognized around the world for the quality of his fiction. The draw of the brothers’ essay is partly dependent on what it is like growing up as sons of a famous father with high expectations for his children. But the allure goes far beyond the connection to celebrity. The allure is also linked to the give and take about such topics as which brother received favored treatment, birth order, how to measure the concept of “smart” and so much more.
Throughout the 13-page essay, the passages of Benjamin, himself a successful fiction writer, show up in regular book type, while Fred’s passages are set in italic. Here are snippets:
Fred: My brother is a coward because he chose to spend his life with people to whom his parents meant something. My brother is brave because he chose to live with people who read books, some by his parents. I was brave because I went places where my father’s name could do me no good. I am a coward because I seek out places where my father’s books aren’t often read.
Benjamin: Mostly, strangers feel that I grew up in a magic kingdom. It was a magic kingdom all right. Watching from the stands, as readers do, we appeared to be in an enviable position. We looked like actors, but we were often props. (Our father) would shake the carpet and we’d all fall to earth. Which was a long way down.
Fred: Aw, it wasn’t really so bad. But then brothers don’t have to agree on everything.
Besides the Cheever brothers, the four McCourt brothers are featured in the foreword, written by Frank McCourt, who immortalized his family in the memoir “Angela’s Ashes.” Other contributors are David Kaczynski, brother of the convicted Unabomber; novelist Richard Ford; humorist David Sedaris; and journalist/biographer David Maraniss.
The anthology will quite likely appeal to readers in their parental roles, to women with brothers, and just about everybody else in one manner or another.
Even more likely, it seems that men with brothers who read the essays in the book will dredge up stories about their male siblings, some of the stories pleasant, some unpleasant.
Given that self-referential tendency, I suppose disclosure is in order: I am the oldest of three brothers. We have always gotten along well. Yes, always. Honest.
As a result of the amity, I am guessing any manuscript we would have provided for this anthology would have been judged too placid for publication.
Steve Weinberg is a freelance writer in Columbia, Mo.
Brothers: Twenty-Six Stories of Love and Rivalry, edited by Andrew Blauner, $24.95
