John Updike’s twentieth novel, like his first, The Poorhouse Fair (1959), takes place in one day, a day that contains much conversatio...
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Oct 12, 2011
I have heard mixed things about Updike. I know he has written some amazing novels in his time. But, the other thing about Updike is that he is a great art critic.
So, that being said and the fact that I have a degree in Art History I chose "Seek my face" to be the first Updike novel I read. So far so good...
So, that being said and the fact that I have a degree in Art History I chose "Seek my face" to be the first Updike novel I read. So far so good...
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Jan 30, 2012
Edward
rated it: 
I know it's not a good idea to read biographical information into a work of fiction, but I couldn't help but feel that in this novel, John Updike, who died two years ago at the age of 77, was reflecting on his his own career and what it all meant. True, if he was, his reflection is well-disguised. The novel takes the form of a day long interview that a young female journalist has with an old woman, important because she was married to representatives of two major art movements of the 20th cent
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Oct 12, 2011
After reading many of his male-centered books, I was excited at the prospect of reading an Updike book with a female lead character, but after the first 50 pages or so, I have to admit that I'm totally bored and uninspired. Not sure if I'll carry on to the finish.
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Oct 12, 2011
Becca
rated it: 
I've got news for you, John Updike. Women just don't think like that.
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Oct 12, 2011
Barry
rated it: 
3/15
It ended too anticlimactically I guess, not that there was anything like a climax being built to, but... Where the subject/conceit ran aground, the writing never did and I look forward to reading some more Updike.
3/13
The part with the Warhol-ish husband was given too little attention. Bummer... Still good, probly gonna finish today.
3/8
The part I read at lunch she free-associated between all her husbands, this is gonna be such a great book!
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It ended too anticlimactically I guess, not that there was anything like a climax being built to, but... Where the subject/conceit ran aground, the writing never did and I look forward to reading some more Updike.
3/13
The part with the Warhol-ish husband was given too little attention. Bummer... Still good, probly gonna finish today.
3/8
The part I read at lunch she free-associated between all her husbands, this is gonna be such a great book!
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Oct 12, 2011
mark
rated it:
As a post-post-modern artist, and former student of art history, and one who feels guilty about having gotten through this much of my life without reading a John Updike novel, I dove into "Seek My Face" with anticipation. It is a historical fiction account of the New York art scene of the 1950s and 1960s as seen through the eyes of an amalgamated female character -- "Hope" -- who had been married to both Jackson Pollack and Andy Warhol. It takes the form of an extended interv
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Oct 12, 2011
liz
rated it:
This was a book club book that I didn't finish, although I did read three-quarters of it, and feel qualified to jot down at least a few thoughts. It's based heavily on the life of Jackson Pollack's lady love (Lee Krasner?), and takes place over the course of an afternoon when she's being interviewed by a young woman who works at a magazine. Her second husband is kind of a combination of Robert Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol, and another artist whose name I can't remember (Ed Ruscha?). The female i
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Nov 07, 2011
Casie
rated it: 
An older woman being interviewed about her life as an artist recounts her liaisons with thinly veiled fictional men who are in fact recognizably famous artists. A history lesson and an intimate portrait of personal inhibitions and revelations over the latter half of a turbulent century. Most pointedly, I have to say that there exist many good stories, but it's refreshing to delve into genuinely good literature again...voluntarily.
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Oct 12, 2011
Colette
rated it:
Mixed about this one. I enjoyed the 'historical fiction' aspect of it, and the perspective it provided on the 20th century art world. However, I didn't find the main character believable, and was especially annoyed by all of the little personal details that implied she was a rather stereotypical old woman (set in her ways, sticks to a routine, loves peace and quiet, doesn't like skinny modern girls from the city, blah, blah, blah). And maybe there was no other way to tell this story, but I fo
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Oct 12, 2011
Dot
rated it:
This book comprises one day in the life of an aging artist as she is interviewed by a journalist about her role in Postwar American Art. She had been married to 2 major artista as well as being known in her own right. The dialogue moves backwards and forwards over her life and work and htat of her contemporaries and reads less like a linear novel than a work of art it itself as it describes the development of abstract art and the ideas which fuelled it. The book is layered much as an artist
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Oct 12, 2011
miriam
rated it:
Having discovered John Updike with Rabbit Run, stayed with him for several subsequent novels and short story collections, then abandoned him until now, I'm happy to have picked up Seek My Face, one of his last works. The novel evolves around an interview during which a 79-year-old artist is prompted to reminisce about her life and its meaning. What could be a boring structure becomes engaging in the hands of Updike, whose language and knowledge of art and aging create a worthwhile read. Actual a
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Oct 12, 2011
Merilee
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I really liked this book; I'd give it 9/10 if there was that option. This is a novelistic biography of the painters Lee Krassner and her husband, Jackson Pollock, told in the form of a day-long interview with the Krassner character, Hope, when she's close to 80 and had been married two more times (the 2nd time to an Andy Warhol/Rauschenberg cross - Krassner only married once in reality). I would have found it interesting even if I knew nothing about the artists and art critics mentioned (some
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Oct 12, 2011
Diana
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I had a really hard time with this book. IT DRAGGED ON and ON and ON. I really wanted to extract something from it. I suppose I did in terms of learning about post WWII artist culture. I found Hope annoying- she was angry with the interviewer one minute and then adoring and then vulgar- it was just too much and to sum it up in one word- pretentious. Nobody talks that way or that much about them self. Not that easily. I had to force myself to finish. I did give it a 2 start b/c I did feel like
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Oct 12, 2011
Sherry (sethurner)
rated it:
I really enjoy reading art history, and for that reason I enjoyed Seek My Face. Even though this is a novel, a work of fiction, the characters closely resemble Helen Frankenthaler, Jackson Pollock Andy Warhol and others. There is much talk about the art scene of the 50s and 60s, much discussion of art thory and individual artists. Some people will be bored by this detail, but I was interested. An Amazon reviewer commented on the last ten pages, how they are almost a separate short story. I
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Oct 12, 2011
Brendan
rated it:
An aged widow of a famous artist discusses her life and art with a younger interviewer. Partly based on Jackson Pollock and his wife.
I liked it but not tremendously so. The formatting annoyed me - no chapters or even page breaks; and there are a lot of long paragraphs, some as many as three pages long. And a lot of long sentences too. I thought he could have made the interviewer more a part of the story. As is, she's just there really; not developed as a character. But I liked the a More...
I liked it but not tremendously so. The formatting annoyed me - no chapters or even page breaks; and there are a lot of long paragraphs, some as many as three pages long. And a lot of long sentences too. I thought he could have made the interviewer more a part of the story. As is, she's just there really; not developed as a character. But I liked the a More...
Oct 21, 2011
Cyndie
rated it:
C'est un livre qui se lit mais qui n'est pas fabuleux. Long discours sur ce qu'a été l'art contemporain, il faut aimer le sujet pour pouvoir finir le livre.
Oct 12, 2011
Catherine
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A fantastic exploration in the depths of age, the realms of memory, and the time/space/social gap between two women who meet for an extended interview. Learn a thing or two about art, appreciate Updike's intuitive writing style, and fall in love with a few imperfect (but very realistic!) love tales. A bit repetitive at times, but on the grand scale, quite a solid read.
Oct 12, 2011
what we are saying here is, "art is beyond hope, although she often falls victim to it" and hope as beauty is a metaphor for god, in the religion of art. here is an excellent literary review of this fictitious work. i don't like updike, i find him rather uppity... like abstract art he fabricates fiction..
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2003/apr...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2003/apr...
Oct 12, 2011
Paul
rated it:
The book takes the form of an interview with a painter who was married to a Jackson Pollack type character. Talks about the main characters experiences with other artists, her love life, and her take on the significance of the art and artists/lovers in her life. The book seems to draw upon too many New England/Artist stereotypes to give it a higher rating.
Oct 12, 2011
Marvin
rated it: 
I skimmed this, because it's the first Updike novel that I've ever found boring. The story consists entirely of a journalist's interview over the course of a single day with an elderly female artist who was married to two influential, popular 20th-century American artists. There was way too much talk of art theory & practice for my taste.
Oct 12, 2011
Nathan
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This book lets the reader 'hear' an interview that recaps an interesting life, with the bonus of Updike's insightful revelation of Hope's inner monologue during the long exchange. I especially relished the sharp sense of place, of an old place that has grown and then stagnated or decayed along with its occupant.
Oct 12, 2011
mary
rated it:
This is another treatment of old age by Updike. It reminds me of his "Toward the End of Time" but this time it is from a female perspective. Hope is a seventy-nine-year old artist and she tells the story of her life in response to questions from a young interviewer, Kathryn, who is just starting out on hers.
Oct 12, 2011
Anne
rated it:
An interesting novel......a very lightly fictionalized Lee Krasner, wife of Jackson Pollack, spends the day with a magazine writer/interviewer reflecting about her life and the times of post WWII American art. The second husband is a funny amalgam of Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns and who know who else.
Oct 12, 2011
John
rated it:
An interview format between a New ork cyberjournalist and an 80 year old artist is hardly the stuff of memorable literature, but in Updike's hands the novel becomes a fascinating study of the modern art community and its subsequent development with emphasis on the struggle of the female artist.
Oct 12, 2011
June
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This portrait of a female artist who subordinated her talents to her self-absorbed, drunken husband is difficult to like. Yet it is keenly observed and creates a world of abstract expressionists and other modern artists that is true to the feeling of the late forties and early fifties.
Oct 12, 2011
Christopher
rated it:
I have always enjoyed Updike and his writing style. He also was an art critic and the blending of both is brilliant in this book. If you have any interest in modern art and its history and a critique of it (at least from a US perspective) this book would be invaluable
Oct 12, 2011
Marguerite
rated it:
Dear Mr. Updike: I'd rather watch a baseball game, and with the Yankees up 15-3 in the bottom of the 8th inning, there's little or no suspense there. I thought a woman artist as protagonist might be engaging. I was wrong. It's back to the library for you. Go, Yankees!
Oct 12, 2011
Ashley
rated it:
I'm a huge John Updike fan, and I know a bit about (and appreciate greatly) modern art. I'm afraid a lot was lost on me with this story, however; I think you <really> need to know your art history to appreciate the work Updike put into this novel.
Oct 12, 2011
Kim
rated it:
First Updike i have read. He is an amazing writer.I like this because its about a woman artist in the 50s- getting old- marriage-etc. His insight into aging is so right on- I guess he was old when he wrote it- 2002.
