John Updike

John Hoyer Updike (1932-2009) was an author, poet, and critic. Updike is best known for his novels featuring Rabbit Angstrom.

Life[]

Born in March of 1932 in city of Reading in Pennsylvania, Updike was the only child of educator Wesley Updike and writer Linda Grace Hoyer. For most of his childhood, Updike lived in the small town of Shillington and the village of Plowville. Throughout his childhood, Updike's mother tried to have her writings published - something which impressed the young Updike and possibly inspired his career as a writer.

In 1950, Updike graduated from Shillington High School and received a scholarship at Harvard. While there, Updike was roommates with future historian and critic Christopher Lasch and frequently wrote for the school's humour magazine The Harvard Lampoon (which Updike eventually became president of). One of Updike's teachers was the playwright Robert Chapman.

rest to be added

Writing style[]

Updike's works are somewhat infamous for their sexual candour - with David Foster Wallace somewhat infamously calling the author "a penis with a thesaurus" and Updike frequently shortlisting (though never winning) the "Bad Sex in Fiction Award". Updike frequently explored adultery in his works - most notably with his Rabbit Angstrom novels.

Another notable theme in Updike's works is the American small town and an examination of the people living within it and the Christian theology surrounding it.

rest to be added

Notable works[]

Novels[]

The Poorhouse Fair - Updike's debut novel, on an old person's home
The Centaur - a novel about a school teacher likely based on Updike's father
Of the Farm - a novel set on a rural farm
Couples - a novel about promiscuous couples
Marry Me - a novel about marriage
The Coup - a novel about a coup in a Sub-Saharan country
The Witches of Eastwick - a novel about three witches
Memories of the Ford Administration - a novel in which an old literature professor recounts the life of Presidents Buchanan and Ford
Brazil - a magical realist novel
In the Beauty of the Lillies - a novel about the Wilmot family, a family somewhat based on Updike's family
Toward the End of Time - a novel set in a post-nuclear war world
Gertrude and Claudius - a novel based on the sources Shakespeare used for Hamlet
Seek My Face - a novel made of conversations with an artist
Villages - a bilundunsroman
Terrorist - a novel about a young man swayed towards Muslim extremism
The Widows of Eastwick - a sequel to Witches

Rabbit Angstrom[]

Rabbit, Run - shows Rabbit trying to run away from his life
Rabbit Redux - shows Rabbit working a dead-end job
Rabbit is Rich - shows Rabbit after becoming rich
Rabbit at Rest - shows Rabbit's twilight years
Rabbit Remembered - shows Rabbit's illegitimate daughter remembering his life (not to be confused with Rabbit Resurrected, a short story by David Foster Wallace meant as a "sequel" to Rabbit at Rest)

Henry Bech[]

The Bulgarian Poetess - the short story that introduces Henry Bech
Bech, a Book - shows Bech narrating his life while stuck with writer's block
Bech is Back - shows Bech's life on a farm
Bech at Bay - shows Bech at age seventy

Scarlet Letter[]

A Month of Sundays - a modern reworking based on Arthur Dimmesdale
Roger's Version - a modern reworking based on Roger Chillingworth
S. - a modern reworking set in an ashwam

Short story collections[]

The Same Door
Pigeon Feathers and Other Stories
Olinger Stories
The Music School
Museums and Women and Other Stories
Problems and Other Stories
Too Far to Go
Your Lover Just Called
Trust Me
The Afterlife and Other Stories
Licks of Love
The Early Stories: 1953-1975
Three Trips
My Father's Tears and Other Stories
The Maples Stories

Poetry[]

The Carpented Hen
Telephone Poles
A Child's Calendar
Midpoint
Dance of the Solids
Tossing and Turning
Facing Nature
Collected Poems: 1953-1993
Americana and Other Poems
Endpoint and Other Poems

Non-fiction[]

Assorted Prose
Picked-Up Pieces
Hugging the Shore
Self-Consciousness
Just Looking
Odd Jobs
Golf Dreams
More Matter
Still Looking
In Love with a Wanton
Due Considerations
Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu
Higher Gossip
Always Looking

Sources[]

Wikipedia

Works of John Updike
Rabbit Angstrom novels Rabbit, Run, Rabbit Redux, Rabbit is Rich, Rabbit at Rest, Rabbit Redux Bech trilogy Bech, a Book, Bech is Back, Bech at Bay Novels The Poorhouse Fair, The Centaur, Of the Farm, Couples, A Month of Sundays, Marry Me, The Coup, The Witches of Eastwick, Roger's Version, S., Memories of the Ford Administration, Brazil, In the Beauty of the Lillies, Toward the End of Time, Gertrude and Claudius, Seek My Face, Villages, Terrorist, The Widows of Eastwick Short story collections The Same Door, Pigeon Feathers, Olinger Stories, Music School, Museums and Women and Other Stories, Problems and Other Stories, Too Far to Go, Your Lover Just Called, Trust Me, The Afterlife and Other Stories, Licks of Love: Short Stories and a Sequel, The Early Stories: 1953-1973, Three Trips, My Father's Tears and Other Stories Major and recurring characters Rabbit Angstrom, Henry Bech, Alf Clayton, Alexandra Spofford, Jane Smart, Sukie Rougemont, Darryl Van Horne, Roger Lambert, George Caldwell, Joey Robinson, Hakim Felix Ellellou, Ben Turnbull, Ahmad Ashmawy Mulloy