Because of its prison setting, Falconer allowed Cheever the opportunity to experiment with different characters than in his previous fiction. The novel assembles a realistic cast of inmates, prison officials, and extenuating personnel, many wearing adopted names and personalities: Bumpo, Tiny, Tennis, Chicken Number Two, and the Cuckold. In his treatment of the inmate population, however, Cheever is careful to sympathetically portray the human, often tender and compassionate dimension of men imprisoned for crimes against society.

The protagonist of Falconer is Ezekiel Farragut, husband, father, brother, and murderer. Characteristic of other Cheever protagonists, Farragut is a displaced innocent in a hostile, foreign environment. However, having suffered marital stress and brotherly rivalry, Farragut is generously uncharacteristic in his drug addiction, sexual deviance, and propensity for self-destruction.

Soundly beaten down by the complexities of his existence, Farragut is searching for a sense of renewal, a rebirth of self-esteem. The journey...