Author and Poet John Updike

Many readers will be familiar with the late John Updike whose body of work over the last half of the twentieth century has merited boat loads of recognition from both publishers and critics. Unanimously praised for his articulate exposition and fine prose, it's ironic how much of his fiction is restricted to the small towns and rural portions of the American northeast. The winner of two Pulitzers, Updike was also a frequent contributor to The New Yorker magazine where his keen eye for satire and sentimentality entertained devoted fans for years.

Rabbit, Run (1960)
When 26-year-old Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom was in high school, he ruled the roost as a star on the basketball team. In those days, Harry imagined life as promising and adventurous, his wistful ambitions fully within reach as he faced an anticipated future. But now, after having married his then sweetheart Janice, he feels the fullness of personal disillusionment as a husband and father to his two-year-old son and in his job as a door-to-door salesman of kitchen gadgets. Knowing only that he must get out from under his situation, Harry embarks on a series of loosely planned alternatives to the life he now lives. Updike's first widely-recognized novel was revered upon its first publication for its dramatic interpretation of suburban angst in America, a condition ironically meshing well with the period and individuals in similar circumstances on a widespread scale. Rabbit, Run was followed by four sequels over the next several years--Rabbit Redux, Rabbit is Rich & Rabbit At Rest. (FIC UPDIKE)

The Centaur (1963)
George Caldwell is a man going through the motions. A schoolteacher in rural Pennsylvania, he's essentially tuned out to the world around him. It's a world which includes his distant wife Cassie, his artistically-minded son Peter and classes of his students who seem wholly obtuse to George or anything he might have to say. What little comfort he derives from his humdrum existence is only through nostalgic memories of his once eventful and somewhat glamourized youth. Updike's most autobiographical novel and a book with the revolving themes of mental escape and grand ambition, 'Centaur' figuratively identifies the novel's characters with names from Greek Mythology, specifically the gods and goddesses associated with the myth of the Centaur Chiron whose immortality was sacrificed to free Prometheus. (FIC UPDIKE)

The Witches of Eastwick (1984)
Their lives ruined by former husbands and male counterparts, three women--Alexandra Spofford, Jane Smart and Sukie Rougemont--bond together as single ex-wives in the small New England town of Eastwick. Their ameliorative union manifests more than just a solid friendship, however, as a each's newfound "gifts" in the realm of the black arts suddenly unveils an entirely new world. Enthralled by their exciting new powers, the threesome seeks to gain the upper-hand over the male sex (and with life in Eastwick in general) only to have their plans interrupted by the devilish Darryl Van Horne who, as it turns out, has plans of his own. Van Horne's charm is soon able to seduce all three women, after which he subsequently enters into a mutually 'loose' relationship with each inciting scandal in the town and ultimate dissension inside the love quadrangle. The situation becomes further embroiled when Van Horne starts courting the young (and innocent) Jenny Gabriel, a longtime friend and associate of Sukie's, whose subsequent move into Van Horne's extravagant home sparks an uproar among his former lovers. Embittered over Van Horne's abrubt dismissal of them in place of a monogamous relationship with Jenny, Alex, Jane and Sukie ultimately decide that revenge is only too necessary. (FIC UPDIKE)

Terrorist (2006)

Updike’s most recent novel centers on the modern age of terrorism and its implications on domestic life in America. A New Jersey resident and son of an absent Muslim father, Ahmad Ashmawy Mulloy is a lonely American teenager currently questioning the contradictions of his firm Islamic convictions with the blatantly secularized world around him. Under constant harassment at school and publicly scrutinized around his hometown of New Prospect, Ahmad’s only solace is found in the passages of his daily Qu’ran readings at his mosque where his mentor, Shaikh, furthers Ahmad’s beliefs towards radical fundamentalism. As time passes, Ahmad moves on from his school days and takes a job as a truck driver, an occupation presenting the opportunity for what he feels may be his ultimate destiny. (FIC UPDIKE)