- Hardcover: 304 pages
- Publisher: Hamish Hamilton; First Edition edition (2 July 2009)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0241144590
- ISBN-13: 978-0241144596
- Product Dimensions: 23.8 x 15.2 x 2.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 357,496 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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'Updike remains a literary phenomenon ... no contemporary prose writer handles language as beautifully' Irish Times 'Updike is the master' - Sunday Telegraph 'The earth becomes heavenly when Updike writes about it' Observer
Product Description
A beautiful, moving collection of short stories, in many of which Updike revisits the haunts of his childhood from the vantage point of old age. In 'Fiftieth' old friends reconnect at a class reunion, and one of them is left wondering, 'What does it mean: the enormity of having been children and now being old, living next to death.' In the story 'The Full Glass' the protagonist describes somewhat ruefully the rituals of old age. Before going to bed, he raises his nightly water glass 'drinking a toast to the visible world, his impending disappearance from it be damned.' In 'Varieties of Religious Experiences' a grandfather, visiting his daughter in Brooklyn Heights, watches the tower of the World Trade Centre fall, and his view of a God is forever altered.
Again and again in these memorable stories, Updike strikes to the heart, giving words to what is so often left unsaid. He is at once witty, devastatingly observant, touching – and, of course, a consummate storyteller. This is a collection that will be admired and cherished.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Although these stories allow Updike to show all his strengths - he has no match when it comes to fashioning an original take on the most routine of domestic exchanges or describing with candour the less routine - they do expose how far his imagination had shrunk in his latter years.
Every time we encounter a different male lead in these eighteen tales an uncannily familiar profile emerges: only child, brought up by newly-poor parents and live-in grandparents, and source of hope for the adults. To assist those yet to spot Updike himself in these various creations - Toby, Craig, David et al - they all tend to lie on the floor drawing as kids while not outside watching grandfather smoking. Fritz even has psoriasis.
So, be under no misapprehension: this is more autobiographical than fiction. While all are definitely rewarding reading it might be best to read them individually over time rather than back to back as I did. The similarities should recede then as well as spinning out this last collection from one of the greatest literary voices of the last fifty years.
Every time we encounter a different male lead in these eighteen tales an uncannily familiar profile emerges: only child, brought up by newly-poor parents and live-in grandparents, and source of hope for the adults. To assist those yet to spot Updike himself in these various creations - Toby, Craig, David et al - they all tend to lie on the floor drawing as kids while not outside watching grandfather smoking. Fritz even has psoriasis.
So, be under no misapprehension: this is more autobiographical than fiction. While all are definitely rewarding reading it might be best to read them individually over time rather than back to back as I did. The similarities should recede then as well as spinning out this last collection from one of the greatest literary voices of the last fifty years.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is John Updike's final work of fiction - a gallery of short stories, most with his usual insight of human frailties and foibles - but pitched at the more elderly American male. His final story - The Full Glass - is incredibly moving, as if he knew that the end was near. For a 74 year old Updike groupie like myself the similarity to my own experiences was uncanny. M J BARROW
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
A fabulous collection of short stories that read like a masterclass in writing short stories. Updike immediately grabs you, sketching characters and scenes with deftness and assurance. Within a few lines you are absolutely there.
Highly recommended
Highly recommended
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