She is troubled that many of her recent customers from the city bring their metropolitan habits to the country hotel—in particular, consuming alcohol freely—rather than finding comfort in the restful surroundings without imbibing.
One of the residents is a Russian woman, who declares upon the beauty of the Swiss countryside, though her knowledge of the region is likely based on color images of milk chocolate commercials.
"[5] According to critic John E. O'Hara, "Late Gathering" is "astonishing in [its] formlessness" and falls far short of Cheever's first published work "Expelled".
[6] In a monologue delivered by a Russian woman describing the beauty of the Swiss countryside, O'Hara discerns Cheever's "preoccupation with rhetorical flourish at the expense of credibility.
Naive (to dots over i), provincial in my case, sometimes drunk, sometimes obtuse…even a selected display of one's early work will be a naked history of one's struggle to receive an education in economics and love.