Updike deserves his ranking as one of the nations top novelist.
Sad to read a book about a man who has finally reached a point in his life where things are pretty good only to see it all taken away within the course of a few months. In the first two books, Rabbit, Run and Rabbit Redux, Rabbit is a pretty unsympathetic character. But in this book, Rabbit has mellowed somewhat and now it seems as if the deck is stacked against him this time. Still, Rabbit is a pretty selfish guy but he has settled down now, ready to moulder away into comfortable old age, but it is not to be. Technically, Rabbit has heart disease but it seemed like that last heart attack was really his own heart breaking from seeing his world fall apart and dealing with it all on his own, having estranged himself from his wife and family. In the end, jerk though he was, I was sorry to see Rabbit go.
I really enjoyed Updike's descriptions of Florida, of Rabbit's last drive south, and of Rabbit's experience with heart disease. It just felt like the real deal, almost as good as being there. Updike really has an amazing eye for descriptive detail, he really captures it. Excellent novel.
I really enjoyed Updike's descriptions of Florida, of Rabbit's last drive south, and of Rabbit's experience with heart disease. It just felt like the real deal, almost as good as being there. Updike really has an amazing eye for descriptive detail, he really captures it. Excellent novel.
I love Updike and I've loved all the Rabbit books. This one is slower-paced but still has the characterization that makes them worth reading.
The quality of the narrative was very good in this book, but I ultimately hated the book because I hated the main character.
