The novel is set in 1973, the year such a storm struck New Canaan as the author was on the brink of adolescence. The winning bidder was Turtle Bay Books, which promptly shut down just before he signed the contract. The book was resold to Little, Brown, for an advance Mr. Moody would not divulge. Even though the territory was familiar, the writer was warping it in a very exciting way. To spur sales of the book, he emphasized that Cheever-Updike link, an identification Mr. Moody is not exactly crazy about.
People say that stuff because it's set in the suburbs.
It has nothing to do with prose. As a marketing strategy, though, it seems to have done the trick. It's now in a paperback edition, and film rights have been sold. But when a writer like Rick Moody gains an audience, then they can become very profitable. A publisher has to find those audiences, and work with them as hard as you can.