"The Swimmer" is widely regarded as one of Cheever's "genuine masterpieces" and perhaps the finest piece of short fiction in his oeuvre.[19][20] The work is frequently found in anthologies.[21][22][23] Biographer Scott Donaldson writes that "The Swimmer" has received "as much critical attention as anything Cheever wrote, and deservedly so, since it is beautifully crafted and carries a powerful emotional charge."[24][25]
W. B. Gooderham of The New York Times writes: "Cheever's greatest short story transcends its influences and any autobiographical frisson to emerge as a quietly devastating journey into one man's heart of darkness. And as a piece of prose it is as near-miraculous as the journey it describes…"[26]
