The Witches of Eastwick

May 27, 2008

matt rated it

Shelves: america-f-k-yeah, fictions-of-the-big-it

I read this book the way it ought to be read, or at least in the circumstances which are best suited for it.

I was away at a beach house for a weekend in the middle of summer and had pretty much nothing to do but lollygag around, smoke cigarettes, and read this book.

It's perfect for sunny clear skies and long hours drinking lemonade by the ocean.

The writing is crisp, quick and clear. Updike's pretty much encyclopedic when it comes to writing skills and...more

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Mar 28, 2009

Celery rated it

I must confess that I was hoping that this book would be a light/fluffy/fun read. I really loved the movie and was looking forward to some light hearted revenge to ease the aching in my brain. Unfortunately for me and my brain, the only things from this book that made it into the movie were the three witches, the horrible rich man (wasn't Jack Nicholson just perfect in this role...totally disgusting but still Jack...you gotta love him), and the game of tennis. Okay, maybe some other stuff too,...moreI must confess that I was hoping that this book would be a light/fluffy/fun read. I really loved the movie and was looking forward to some light hearted revenge to ease the aching in my brain. Unfortunately for me and my brain, the only things from this book that made it into the movie were the three witches, the horrible rich man (wasn't Jack Nicholson just perfect in this role...totally disgusting but still Jack...you gotta love him), and the game of tennis. Okay, maybe some other stuff too, but not much. This novel is to its movie what Wicked by Gregory Maguire is to its musical. Deep and Dark vs. Warm and Fuzzy.

That being said, it was still a good book. Something darker that takes all our faults (physical or otherwise) and displays them right out in the light. A view from the other side of the fence, you know, the side where the people we all judge live. Here are these people, and they're doing these "bad" things, and look, here are the reasons they do them. Not really good reasons, but still reasons. And then, how they feel afterwards. The way Updike writes (or wrote...we lost a great writer this year) you can put yourself in their shoes...I don't think I have ever heard -or will ever hear again- a better justification for a woman who sleeps with married men. Still not totally justified, but with this explanation, you have to say, "Yeah, I can see that." Reminds me a little of Watchmen...people with powers are still people after all, with all the character flaws, but maybe natural reactions are harder to suppress, like picking up a Faberge egg with super strength. Super powers don't come with super control. Wishing the barking dog across the street would just shut up and die doesn't end with a dead dog, but if it did...would you be able to control yourself at two in the morning during a bout of insomnia and menstrual cramps?

Updike's descriptives were really potent and he seemed to have a pretty good idea of how the female brain operates even if he didn't present us in the best light. So, over all a pretty good read, even though the ending of the book really makes the feminist in me go, "What!?!" But my feminist side is pretty small so I'll have to read The Widows of Eastwick to see what Mr. Updike had in mind for us (I mean the characters...see what I mean about putting yourself in their shoes?) 26 years later.

Favorite quote, "It was nice to have yourself known by a man; it was getting to be known that was embarrassing: all that self-conscious verbalization over too many drinks, and then the bodies revealed with the hidden marks and sags like disappointing presents at Christmastime. But how much of love, when you thought about it, was not of the other but of yourself naked in his eyes: of that rush, that little flight, of shedding your clothes, and being you at last."(less)

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Oct 21, 2009

Lori rated it

Shelves: fiction

High Hopes will almost always set a reader up for a fall. The excitement of chosing a book, THIS book, to begin my month... Witches and spells to celebrate the Halloween spirit of October.
(sigh)

Having never seen the film, or read any Updike novels before, I really did not know what to expect. I only knew that I expected great things. And sadly, this novel did not deliver many great things at all.
(sigh)

A little over two weeks spent trying to get into a novel th...moreHigh Hopes will almost always set a reader up for a fall. The excitement of chosing a book, THIS book, to begin my month... Witches and spells to celebrate the Halloween spirit of October.
(sigh)

Having never seen the film, or read any Updike novels before, I really did not know what to expect. I only knew that I expected great things. And sadly, this novel did not deliver many great things at all.
(sigh)

A little over two weeks spent trying to get into a novel that is only 306 pages long. That's an average of about 150 pages week. That's an average of 21 pages a day. That's an awful average. Wanna know what's even worse than that average? The fact that whole days went by without me even WANTING to pick this book up again when I first started it.

The characters were not really likable. I could not find anyone that I felt connected to, or at least even slightly cared about. Updike has this uncanny way of making them all ugly, even if they are supposedly attractive. Pointing out every flaw - though he went much easier on the woman. The poor men characters in this book never stood a chance. All are balding, bad breathed, hairy knuckled, sweating things. Gross!

His idea of what women want, what women talk about, and how women act around each other was completely off-base. And coarse. And he likened things about a womans body and attitude to things that didn't even make sense. To things that made me cringe and grimace. It was quite painful at times.

Imagine taking one of those eye-clops toys they sell for the kids now, that are like a microscope, and can project images onto the television screen. Updike uses the same format... placing all the knicks and warts and liver spots and hallitosis out there for the whole world to read.

At about the 2/3rds mark, I found myself finally engaged in the novel and reading through the pages much quicker, trying to find out just where Updike was going to leave these three witches and their wacky zany neighbor. 100 pages devoured yesterday. Amazing!

Will I be reading any other novels by Updike, after this slightly disappointing introduction to his work? Sadly, I may just pass. Am I happy to have read it? Eh. Jury is out on that one, at this time. Would I recommend it to someone? Well, I did give it 3 stars, after all. So, I suppose if someone told me they were looking for a book that involved horribly flawed witches and wasn't so much focused on the witchyness of those witches, then, ok, I could recommend this to them. But I would have to be certain that they weren't looking for anything great. Because then I would setting them up for a fall.

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Nov 11, 2008

Ellen rated it

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I'm suprised by all the reviews of this book that speak of Updike's ability to "get" and fully understand women ... because that seemed to me to be the most blatantly lacking part of this novel. There is not one redeemable female character in this novel. All of the women are vapid, vacuous and more often than not cruel, indifferent and self-absorbed.

I am not being prudish, I'm not suggesting that every female character should be a paradigm of female virtue - but what is Up...more

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May 10, 2009

Greg of A2 rated it

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Shelves: fiction-general, read-before-1990

This is "fun" Updike. It's hard to compare this novel to many other Updike works because even though it focuses on suburbanites and their relationships (mostly infidelities), they are indeed witches. Real hex wielding witches. The supernatural isn't overplayed but it's there and used to mostly fun effect (but not always fun for the recipient).

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Feb 05, 2008

portia rated it

Shelves: recentlyread

Characteristically Updike--bitter, poignant, and incisive. Three women find that their failed marriages have brought them not only freedom but also magic powers. They need each other for friendship and support but also can't help but put each other, and the other women in their small town, down from time to time. I think I would find this kind of misogyny trite and offensive if the characters didn't have the depth that they do, and if he wasn't even worse about men. The promiscuity had even ...more

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Mar 16, 2009

Jocardo rated it

I always wanted to read this book and when I saw that a sequel had been written, I decided that it was time. This book was a hard read at times. It takes a lot of concentration to read Updike. Many times his sentences seem to go on for paragraphs, but he is one of the most prolific American writers of late. I am going to attempt to read the sequel and at least one of the Rabbit books. I do have to say that this book was nothing like the movie (which I loved) and the three main characters are ...more

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Mar 18, 2008

Kylin Larsson rated it

The Witches of Eastwick feels like John Updike's reaction to the phenomenon of feminism. The classic witchy features of the three divorced women felt familiar from other stories and films. The three witches unstick themselves from small town drudgery when a warlock (or demon) in the guise of Daryl Van Horne buys an old residence on the outskirts of town. I was sometimes conscious of a forced feeling to the writing, a sense of trying too hard and stumbling. That writing possesses a haunting rhyth...more

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Dec 11, 2007

Rebecca rated it

I love this book. Not only does John Updike write heavenly prose, but this book is quite the feminist manifesto. Jane, Sukie, and Alexandra are created by Updike with care and attention, and they are fun, well-drawn personalities to spend a little time with. Updike uses the natural setting of Eastwick, Rhode Island to great advantage. If you feel like getting away to one of those small hamlets on the eastern seaboard, watching a storm come in from the sea, this is the book that will take you ...more

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Jan 25, 2012

Eric Chappell rated it

Read Summer 2010; Re-read January 2011

Summary: Wickedly entertaining. The Witches of Eastwick is about three divorced women in the New England town of Eastwick who discover that after being abandoned or divorced from their husbands, they have supernatural powers. Alexandra Spoffard, the sculptress, is the leader of the three. She makes little clay figurines (called "bubbies"), stores too much tomato sauce, and is carrying on an affair with Joe Marino, the town plumber. Jane S...more

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Jan 03, 2012

Delilah rated it

I just finished this as part of an online book club. The idea was to read something spooky heading into Halloween but I got a late start and finished by Christmas. I barely recognized the movie with Jack Nicholson, but he was a good choice for the part. I had never read an Updike novel before and have decided I'm not a fan. The first half of the book he definitely works too hard at being clever with his descriptions. The second half was more relaxed, not trying to impress the reader as much with...more

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Dec 23, 2011

Stephen rated it

Shelves: my-aborted-50-states-in-50-weeks-pr

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. So far on this trip around New England we have had two appearances of the supernatural (most prominently in Carrie, and with the brief appearance of the real-life executed “witch” Ann Hibbins in The Scarlet Letter), two cases of adultery (Constance Mackenzie and Hester Prynne’s illegitimate daughters in Peyton Place and The Scarlet Letter respectively), and small-town gossiping has been rife (nowhere more so than in Peyton Place). Now with John Updike’s The Witches of Eastwick we have all three ...moreSo far on this trip around New England we have had two appearances of the supernatural (most prominently in Carrie, and with the brief appearance of the real-life executed “witch” Ann Hibbins in The Scarlet Letter), two cases of adultery (Constance Mackenzie and Hester Prynne’s illegitimate daughters in Peyton Place and The Scarlet Letter respectively), and small-town gossiping has been rife (nowhere more so than in Peyton Place). Now with John Updike’s The Witches of Eastwick we have all three – a novel about gossiping adulterous witches. It makes sense that we have reached this point – the themes of fear of the supernatural and suspicion of one’s own neighbours are embedded into the roots of New England. The first known person to have been executed as a witch in the region was Alice Young at Hartford, Connecticut in 1647, just 19 years after the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. A further 11 are recorded as having been executed from 1648 to 1688 (including Ann Hibbins) and from 1692 to 1693 the Salem Witch Trials led to the hanging of fourteen women and five men (more of the accused died from torture and in prison) famously dramatised in Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible. The episode is one of the darkest in America’s history and understandably the shadow it cast has long resonated in the literature of the region.

“Puritanism had landed smack on that rock and after regaining its strength at the expense of the soft-hearted Indians had thrown its steeples and stone walls all across Connecticut, leaving Rhode Island to the Quakers and Jews and antinomians and women.”

As with Peyton Place any work that features in its title the name of the town or city where the action occurs you would expect the said place to feature as prominently as any character, and in the Witches of Eastwick Updike includes some wonderfully biting passages describing both the fictional town and the state of Rhode Island, especially in the opening chapters. However, I'm disappointed to say the story did not bewitch me at all. Aside from a few key set-pieces (the tennis match, the hot-tub orgy, and a murder/suicide scene that is the main turning point) most of what happens over the course of the novel is related from one character to another after the fact during a series of extended gossip-sessions between the three witches, in a manner that I personally founded extremely tiresome. Even the Darryl Van Horne character appears mostly in the conversations of others, like a mysterious Gatsby-type figure. In the 1987 film Darryl Van Horne, played by Jack Nicholson, turns out to be the devil (cue some quite ridiculous and rather dated 1980s stop-motion). In the book there is barely even the implication, other than that his skin and, erm, bodily fluids are cold to the touch. He is devilish, Machiavellian even, but a man all the same. It is no wonder that fans of the book AND the film are so hard to pin down. I think it's safe to say I'm neither.

Text taken from my aborted project to read 50 books set in 50 states in 50 weeks.(less)

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Nov 15, 2011

Stephanie rated it

John Updike’s “The Witches of Eastwick” was disappointing for me. I’m going to be completely honest: I read this book because I absolutely loved the movie. I know that there is a lot of risk in doing that but I thought with all of the good things I have heard of Updike that I would have enjoyed it. I put it down after the first page and had to force myself to pick it back up. In this case I am extremely glad I watched the film first, I doubt I would have given it a real shot had I read it first....more

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Nov 15, 2011

Alex rated it

The Witches of Eastwick is a John Updike novel published in 1984 by Ballantine Books. Updike was a Harvard school graduate, and also attended the Ruskin school of Drawing and Fine Art. He was a member of the staff of The New Yorker for two years, and he has achieved the Pulitzer Prize for his novels. He died in 2009 at the age of 76.
Many have said that this novel by John Updike is “bewitching,” a play on words because the novel is about 3 witches. I think the word is clever, but perhaps mi...moreThe Witches of Eastwick is a John Updike novel published in 1984 by Ballantine Books. Updike was a Harvard school graduate, and also attended the Ruskin school of Drawing and Fine Art. He was a member of the staff of The New Yorker for two years, and he has achieved the Pulitzer Prize for his novels. He died in 2009 at the age of 76.
Many have said that this novel by John Updike is “bewitching,” a play on words because the novel is about 3 witches. I think the word is clever, but perhaps misused. I think The Witches of Eastwick was as enjoyable as Rotten Tomatoes thought the movie Bewitched was. That's not very enjoyable at all, by the way.
This is the first novel I have read by John Updike, and I sincerely doubt I will ever pick another one up. When I first started reading, Updike had striked me as a sort of feminist. He referenced a lot to women's menstrual cycles (although he did this in such an awkward way by comparing tomato sauce to period blood.) An example of this would be in the beginning, when our main narrator Alexandra attends a concert. “Alexandra couldn't stop seeing auras, it went with the menstrual cramps,” Updike writes. For this reason, I had started to assume that Updike revered the female body as empowering. That heightened senses during menstruation was his way of bringing notice to powerful womanly things.
Unfortunately, as I read on, I was mistaken.
Updike writes the witches (Alexandra, Sukie, and Jane) as promiscuous, vindictive, jealous hags. They sleep around with married men, even share the men between themselves, but when Darryl Van Horne arrives in town, the three women flock to him.
At first, it's a strange orgy between them, where they pass him from woman to woman and once share him all together, but then it turns into something more sinister.
The women start feeling possessive and jealous, and Darryl is able to manipulate them to distances themselves from one another. Not only that, but Darryl convinces them to use their powers to get revenge on the wives of the men they are sleeping with. Sukie starts sleeping with her boss, and inflicts his wife some sort of disease where she coughs up feathers and smells like a chicken coop.
Towards the end, Darryl ends up caring for two college-age kids that belonged to Sukie's boss and his wife, who end up dying in a horrible murder/suicide (but the energy was placed there by Sukie and Darryl's magic).
The daughter, Jenny, ends up the object of Darryl's affections, and he marries her. This prompts our witches to bond once more- but in the spirit of revenge, as they plot to kill her by giving her cancer. Updike makes us dislike our “protagonists” even more at this point.
Add John Updike's misogyny to the fact that he is very wordy and spends pages describing an event that is at the same time uncomfortable and boring (like the description of Clyde murdering his wife that just drags on), and I'd give this book a 2 out of 5 stars.(less)

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Nov 15, 2011

Julie Fishpaugh rated it

When I set out to read “The Witches of Eastwick” by John Updike, I was highly excited due to my interest in the former ABC TV show Eastwick. However, my enthusiasm was abruptly killed by Mr. Updike’s writing style. This had to be one of the longest 300-some page novels I have ever read.

The novel is set in the small, fictional town of Eastwick, Rhode Island. The story centers on a coven of three witches, Alexandra Spofford, Jane Smart, and Sukie Rougemont. Each of them find interest...moreWhen I set out to read “The Witches of Eastwick” by John Updike, I was highly excited due to my interest in the former ABC TV show Eastwick. However, my enthusiasm was abruptly killed by Mr. Updike’s writing style. This had to be one of the longest 300-some page novels I have ever read.

The novel is set in the small, fictional town of Eastwick, Rhode Island. The story centers on a coven of three witches, Alexandra Spofford, Jane Smart, and Sukie Rougemont. Each of them find interest in the new man in town, Darryl Van Horne. Darryl is a devilish character who entices the coven to develop and use their powers. When Darryl suddenly heads in another direction, the witches get extremely jealous and take revenge.

The main cause of disappointment in this novel is the author’s over use, and sometimes poor use, of metaphors and similes. They are used to the point of reader getting lost several times throughout the piece. Several paragraphs were read and reread before understanding, or sometimes skipping, what the author is trying to describe.

However, there were some similes and metaphors that were effectively used within the writing, such as:
“The crooked little tomato branches, pulpy and pale as if made of cheap green paper, broke under weight of so much fruit; there was something frantic in such fertility, a crying-out like that of a child eager to please. Of plants tomatoes seemed the most human, eager and fragile and prone to rot.”
At first, one might question why Updike used so much description for some vegetables. Though, when you read through the novel and see what unfolds, it kind of makes sense.

The second thing that was found negative about “The Witches of Eastwick” was the author’s sense of organization. For example, in the beginning of the novel Updike has the reader in a kitchen with all three women talking, and the next moment the reader is following one of the women in her car to the beach and wondering, “How in the heck did I get here?” Basically, the author lacks smooth transitions from scene to scene.

Also, the book is divided into three sections of 120 pages or less. This could have been chosen to reflect the coven of three. However, it has a negative effect on the novel. This format actually causes the book to feel like a longer read.

Even though “The Witches of Eastwick” by John Updike is not the best of reads, it has a lot of lessons to teach a writer. For instance, it shows you how the over use of similes and metaphors can lose the attention of your readers. When read as a writer, you can see the importance of smooth transitions and the negative correlation to the lack thereof. Also, the novel shows you how the format and division of your writing can affect how it is read and perceived.

Though this reader did not find “The Witches of Eastwick” to be particularly engaging, she recognizes this novel as a cult classic. It has inspired several movies, television shows, and plays. So, there might just be something about this novel that will interest other readers.
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Nov 15, 2011

Jade rated it

Overall, while reading John Updike’s book The Witches of Eastwick, I found myself disgusted and appalled. I expected a witty, entertaining story about a coven of witches, but was greatly disappointed. I’m not a prude or anti-feminist by any standards, but I felt like Updike was just trying to cover up any real writing style by including explicit sexual content. I found no purpose or deeper meaning in this book.

Now I’ve read that many have seen this work as an example of Updike as a...moreOverall, while reading John Updike’s book The Witches of Eastwick, I found myself disgusted and appalled. I expected a witty, entertaining story about a coven of witches, but was greatly disappointed. I’m not a prude or anti-feminist by any standards, but I felt like Updike was just trying to cover up any real writing style by including explicit sexual content. I found no purpose or deeper meaning in this book.

Now I’ve read that many have seen this work as an example of Updike as a feminist, but I must say I don’t see any or superficial feminism ideals. Alexandra, Jane and Sukie are unfeeling, unoriginal, and cruel. I didn’t notice how they were independent in any way unless you include that they did away with their husbands, but they’re numerous frivolous affairs prove that these women cannot live without a man in their lives. I don’t recall ever picking up any feminist ideals from these women. From what I read, these three witches are not concerned with anything other than guiltlessly neglecting their children, pursuing sexual relationships, and being vindictive—I thought their development was weak and they weren’t well rounded characters.

What I also noticed while reading this book is that instead of being a feminist, it seems as if Updike might even be anti-woman. Alexandra, Jane, and Sukie have no redeeming qualities. Updike only gives these women jealous, vindictive, and shallow characteristics—the stereotypical characteristics given to all females that aren’t meant to be pure. Women are either meant to be pure or petty and Updike follows this formula; the witches have primitive goals and basic thoughts.

Returning back to feminism, I did find evidence where feminism can be found. Alexandra, Jane, and Sukie deviate from ordinary convention of a typical female character—women often portrayed as the happy housemother with no intense ambition or desires. Also, this novel being written in the 1960s, the midst of the feminist movement, would support their actions and provide a reason for why Updike chose a small Rhode Island town in the 1960s for the backdrop of the story. For example, each woman having children was minor inclusion; they’re briefly mentioned, their names mentioned once or twice, and the mothers even admit to neglecting them. Before, children were portrayed to be a center of the house-mom’s world, but in this story they are more of an imposition than a joy, “At Sukie’s end of the line a crying female child came up to her…Sukie wanted to slap the repulsive child’s dirty face and knock a little sense into those TV-glazed eyes,” (77). Another example I thought of was that birth control was invented in the 1960s which broke out a new sexual movement and freedom. This sexuality was definitely present in the numerous affairs each woman has throughout the book. If feminism ideals were included in this story, I find them to be circumstantial and act as an excuse for the witch’s behavior.

While many found The Witches of Eastwick a fantastic story of sexuality and feminism, I thought it was disgusting and lacked any depth or meaning. I didn’t find any entrancing qualities, but I encourage anyone to read and try to find any kind of meaning in the story.
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Oct 09, 2011

C_ rated it

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Drei Freundinnen - Alexandra, Sukie und Jane - erfahren nach ihrer (mehr oder weniger realen) Scheidung neue hexerische Fähigkeiten, die sie anfangs auf eine charmante Art und Weise einsetzen und die die drei noch enger zusammenschweißt. So wird das Wetter einem Hundespaziergang angepasst oder ein Tennisball in einen Vogel verwandelt...als jedoch ein neuer Mann in die Kleinstadt kommt, fängt ihr Band an, aufzubrechen, werden ihre Fähigkeiten für dunklere Zwecke missbraucht...

Mein ers...more

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Oct 04, 2011

Sierra Chescheir-vemeyer rated it

Something Witchy

The Witches of Eastwick by John Updike. Ballantine Books, New York, 2008.

John Updike’s The Witches of Eastwick is a sexually charged novel that delves into the world of witchcraft found in a small Rhode Island town. While it is suggested in the title that the novel will encompass the fantastical idea of the magical powers of witches, this is not the central focus. Sex plays a pivotal part in the construction of the story and the downfall of its characters..
...moreSomething Witchy

The Witches of Eastwick by John Updike. Ballantine Books, New York, 2008.

John Updike’s The Witches of Eastwick is a sexually charged novel that delves into the world of witchcraft found in a small Rhode Island town. While it is suggested in the title that the novel will encompass the fantastical idea of the magical powers of witches, this is not the central focus. Sex plays a pivotal part in the construction of the story and the downfall of its characters..

The “witches” are three women by the names of Alexandra, Jane, and Sukie. All three have been married before and possess magical powers- creating a covenant of their own. They are sexually driven women, having had intimate relations with the majority of the men who live there. The mysterious appearance of a man by the name of Darryl Van Horne, who moves into the luxurious old Lenox mansion, upsets the established order of their lives in Eastwick. A fascination with this man takes hold of them and they find themselves sexually involved with the “devil” in a sense.

The three female protagonists are far from being heroic and sympathetic leading characters. In fact, the women are for the most part depicted in a negative light and are easily distinguished from each other. Updike touches on the jealousy and vindictive nature that comes with competing for the attention of one man whom all have slept with. Sex in this situation adds fuel to the fire in the worst possible way to the relationship between these witchy “sisters”. Alexandra, Jane, and Sukie are hardly the kindhearted characters one might expect them to be. They are selfish and vain, looking out for themselves only.

John Updike’s writing style is quite beautiful in my opinion. He is detail oriented as opposed to focusing too heavily on the plot. This is a more character driven piece. He spends his time seriously developing each of his characters, especially that of our three witches here. He really wants to give his audience a feel for each of their individual psyche. He paints each and every scene so that the reader can actually envision the world he is attempting to create. He writes for the senses here. It’s as if you can smell, feel, touch, see, and hear everything he depicts about this town and these situations.

For anyone who is a fan of the film version and who is seeking to read a story that focuses more heavily on witchcraft, this book is not quite what you would expect. The witchcraft takes a back seat to the characters and their sexuality in the story and the film is hardly recognizable by the book. I enjoyed reading John Updike’s novel for I prefer character driven pieces that really explore the psychology of the characters. Because it is not plot driven, the story has a slow pace to it, as many character driven pieces do. Despite the witches here being “bad”, the novel is satirical and at the same time quite charming. It entrances you in one way or another.
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Oct 04, 2011

Christine rated it

John Updike. The Witches of Eastwick. Ballantine Books: New York, 1984.
Capturing the images of mystery embodied, John Updike's descriptive imagery and character specificity bring the seaside setting of his Rhode Island Eastwick to life. Experienced through the (often-maternal) instincts and feelings of Alexandra Spofford and her best friends, Sukie Rougemont and Jane Smart, the story centers on the “freedom” and “dark[ness]” in the witches' lives. Alexandra, admired like a mother by...moreJohn Updike. The Witches of Eastwick. Ballantine Books: New York, 1984.
Capturing the images of mystery embodied, John Updike's descriptive imagery and character specificity bring the seaside setting of his Rhode Island Eastwick to life. Experienced through the (often-maternal) instincts and feelings of Alexandra Spofford and her best friends, Sukie Rougemont and Jane Smart, the story centers on the “freedom” and “dark[ness]” in the witches' lives. Alexandra, admired like a mother by her coven sisters, displays a slight stubbornness in submerging herself in the magical mode of inhibition that Darryl Van Horne stirs, an effort to get them to “Think bigger.” However, as with Sukie and Jane, Alexandra's passionate desire (and even desire for desire) is felt through the impeccable displays of cognition in Updike's prose. As the motivations of each witch are shifted by Darryl's mysteriousness, so to the atmosphere of the novel nudges readers into greater uncertainty and intrigue.
Specifically, the use of unique techniques, such as describing Jane's “Massachusetts style” pronunciation of “r['s]” and “s's,” the “telepathic” connection among the witches, and the numerous dualistic tensions the characters face, enveloped me in the story's reality and exemplified interesting distinctions between fantastic and “supernatural.” His attentiveness to the, sometimes awkward, intimate and sexual details of the witches allows readers to step into the character circumstances, and even motivations, through a nearly universal doorway—an exquisite balancing act between the preternaturally uncertain or mysterious and the concreteness of reality.
Whether focusing on the struggle between power and helplessness, between masculinity and femininity, or between righteousness and wickedness, the duality in The Witches of Eastwick pulls at the air of the story and fosters a growing (as well as charming) uneasiness that remains “delicious.” As Updike writes, “Wickedness was like food: once you got started it was hard to stop; the gut expanded to take in more and more.” (less)

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Oct 04, 2011

Kelly Gravedoni rated it

The Witches of Eastwick by John Updike. Ballantine Books, New York, 1984.

Alexandra, Jane, and Sukie aren’t your normal divorced women. They are witches. Not the nature loving kind but something completely different. They do not use their powers for the good of others but for their own good. The Witches of Eastwick focuses on the lives of these three women living in a fictional Northeastern town. After their divorces, each woman discovers that she has magical abilities. Each Thurs...moreThe Witches of Eastwick by John Updike. Ballantine Books, New York, 1984.

Alexandra, Jane, and Sukie aren’t your normal divorced women. They are witches. Not the nature loving kind but something completely different. They do not use their powers for the good of others but for their own good. The Witches of Eastwick focuses on the lives of these three women living in a fictional Northeastern town. After their divorces, each woman discovers that she has magical abilities. Each Thursday, they get together to use their powers to spy on their neighbors. They know who is ill, who is in debt, and many other secrets about their fellow townsmen.

However, they have secrets of their own. All three women have had numerous affairs with the majority of the married men in town. They are each attracted to their new neighbor, Darryl Van Horne. He seduces them and takes each woman as his lover, causing a rift between the friends as they each compete for his attention. However, they have opposition from Felecia Gabriel and use their magic to pull all sorts of pranks on her which lead to further complications.

Updike very rarely portrays women sympathetically and The Witches of Eastwick is no exception. As a matter of fact, all of Updike’s characters in Eastwick are terribly flawed. While this may upset some readers, it was a bit refreshing for me. No person on Earth is perfect and our flaws are what make us who we are. Updike is a master at creating characters that are not only believable but also relatable. While we may not agree with the actions the witches take, most of us can understand the motivation behind those actions.

Eastwick is not terribly long, roughly 300 pages, but it may take some time to get through due to Updike’s use of details. He will sometimes stop in the middle of a conversation and explain the character’s thoughts or surroundings in great detail, usually in multiple paragraphs. One conversation can take multiple pages to finish, thereby losing a reader who is not paying strict attention. However, these same details make the scenes of the novel feel so real. Any reader of Updike is able to vividly describe his fictional town as if they had visited it themselves.

The Witches of Eastwick is not so much a novel about the magic of three women but a novel of how scandal can affect an entire town and the relationships between people. Magic plays an important part in Eastwick, not in how it is performed, but how it affects the relationships between the three friends and everyone they know. Updike easily conveys how fragile the bonds between people are and how little it takes to break them. Truly an excellent read for those who love vivid descriptions and true to life characters.

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Oct 04, 2011

S rated it

Some things are not what they seem to be...

Witches of Eastwick by John Updike. Puffin Classics, Kindle Edition.

The setting of the story is a town called Eastwick. There are three women: Alexandra Spofford, Jane Smart, and Sukie Rougemont. These are no ordinary women. They are actually witches who gained their powers after their husbands mistreated them by leaving or making them leave. They can change the weather or physical objects. The witches make the men of the tow...moreSome things are not what they seem to be...

Witches of Eastwick by John Updike. Puffin Classics, Kindle Edition.

The setting of the story is a town called Eastwick. There are three women: Alexandra Spofford, Jane Smart, and Sukie Rougemont. These are no ordinary women. They are actually witches who gained their powers after their husbands mistreated them by leaving or making them leave. They can change the weather or physical objects. The witches make the men of the town their own sexual conquest. They cycle through them. Soon a new character is introduced. Darryl Van Horne moves into town cause a stir with the three witches. He definitely sparks a curiosity or perhaps an unconscious suspicion within the three witches. Darryl seduces all of the women at the same time and they all begin their “relationship” with him. However, girls will be girls. They all become jealous and want Darryl to pay more attention to them individually. The story plays out their “love” quarrels.
I decided to read this novel because I saw the movie when I was a child and I remembered John Updike from a short story called A&P. The book was well written, but I had my problems with it. From what I have read by John Updike I am getting the hint that he is a bit of a misogynist. A&P had the whole segments devoted to the girls in the bikinis. However, this book was more severe. These women were “witches”. They did not seem to have any redeeming qualities. All of them were sexually promiscuous, jealous and vindictive. They use their abilities for their own gain and interests. They end up hating Darryl’s new-younger girl and become very jealous. They use their magic on frivolous things like changing the weather so they could be the only one on the beach. They also want to have a more difficult game of tennis so they turn the balls into frogs. None of these characters garner any sympathy from the reader. Also, Updike cripples the women in this story by making them dependent on a man or men in general. They could be using magic to make their life better in some other way. However, all of their focus and abilities are concentrated on keeping Darryl for themselves or getting a different ideal man. I wonder if this is Updike’s real view of women.
The more that I think about it the more I start to dislike this book. Who wants to spend three hundred pages reading a book with worthless characters who completely downplay my gender. I hate watching movies or reading books were the character can’t seem to help themselves or be strong individuals. There is nothing more frustrating than observing spineless individuals. I should have remembered this from the movie and spared myself the pain. However, if I remember correctly, the movie was very different from the novel.
I don’t want to completely trash the book. I really like the way that Updike writes. He does tell a story. I just did not enjoy the subject matter of the novel.
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Oct 04, 2011

Ryan Healy rated it

THESE WICKED WITCHES OF THE NORTHEAST COULD MAKE GLINDA CRY
The Witches of Eastwick by John Updike
Ballantine Books, 1984

The Witches of Eastwick is a great departure from John Updike’s usual work, what with its supernatural storyline. However, the novel still fits within his established canon due to its exploration of human sexuality and the ways that it affects various relationships within a suburban setting. With a keen eye for highly detailed descriptions and a fascinati...moreTHESE WICKED WITCHES OF THE NORTHEAST COULD MAKE GLINDA CRY
The Witches of Eastwick by John Updike
Ballantine Books, 1984

The Witches of Eastwick is a great departure from John Updike’s usual work, what with its supernatural storyline. However, the novel still fits within his established canon due to its exploration of human sexuality and the ways that it affects various relationships within a suburban setting. With a keen eye for highly detailed descriptions and a fascination with opening the doors to his characters’ minds, Updike’s writing is a great example for aspiring authors to look at when they need a little inspiration while exploring their own characters to their very cores.

On the very first page we meet our titular witches: Alexandra Spoffard, Jane Smart, and Sukie Rougemont. Living in a small town in Rhode Island in the 1960s, these three ex-wives spend much of their time gossiping, working (as a sculptress, cellist, and gossip columnist, respectively), sleeping with the local men – and the more unavailable they are, the better – and practicing their witchcraft. When the devilishly handsome Darryl Van Horne, a seductive man from Manhattan, moves into a local mansion, the three women find themselves competing for his love and doing whatever they can – including magically terrorizing the townspeople – to secure it. What ensues is a series of sexual encounters – namely in Darryl’s monstrous hot tub – and witchy in-fighting that could permanently drive a wedge between these long-time friends.

Updike excels when it comes to his descriptions throughout the novel. They are so precise that any and every reader can easily visualize the rooms that the characters are in, the clothes that they are clad in, and the expressions that cross their beautiful faces at any given point in the story. One of the best examples of this is in the first third of the book when Alexandra tests the water in Van Horne’s hot tub and likens it to the witch trials when “they would pull piece of flesh from a witch’s flesh with red-hot tongs” – a surprisingly poignant example of symbolism in the novel. Updike also succeeds in keeping the novel lighthearted at different moments when it could easily have just been a macabre piece of erotica – most notably when the witches cast a hex using items that they find in their houses, which is a concept that seems so ludicrous that you can’t help but laugh, or any of the times that they use their powers to get revenge against the irritating wives of their lovers.

However, his exploration of his characters sometimes leaves something to be desired. Yes, Alexandra, Jane, and Sukie are believable women that readers could encounter on a daily basis, but they sometimes come across as people that are best avoided by any means necessary. They are selfish and narcissistic, basking in their beauty and sexuality more than anything else. While they ultimately succumb to their guilty consciences near the end of the novel, they sometimes come across more like stereotypical witches than like human beings. This and the often unnecessary sexual encounters end up making the novel tread a thin line between satire and serious commentary to the point where I had to stop looking at it through a feminist lens and just accept it as a fun read.

A really interesting strategy that Updike uses throughout the novel is breaking up a conversation with large chunks of prose. This allows him to dive into the minds of the characters at the given moment and to question their motivations and emotions. However, this can sometimes get a bit confusing because the actual conversation can easily get lost during the intermissions. If I were to employ this in my own writing, I would try to use it only during simple, easy-to-follow conversations that the readers don’t have to flip back and forth between pages to understand.

The Witches of Eastwick isn’t for everyone. If you are a self-proclaimed feminist, it might be difficult to take the characters seriously. If you don’t enjoy multiple sex scenes throughout the books you read, then you should probably pick up Twilight instead. But if you want a highly descriptive, fun-to-the-point-of-being-vapid read, then Updike’s (arguably) most famous novel is for you.(less)

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Oct 04, 2011

Janine added it

The Witches of Eastwick by John Updike, Knopf, 1984
When I first chose to read this book, it was because I had seen the title on a Netflix menu and wanted to read the book before seeing the film. I had no idea how racy it would be! Updike describes the lives of three recently divorced Rhode Island women who have simultaneously been gifted “powers.” The women are also endowed with the “freedom” of being single and often are found in fantasies or real-life sexual encounters. In doing so, the ...moreThe Witches of Eastwick by John Updike, Knopf, 1984
When I first chose to read this book, it was because I had seen the title on a Netflix menu and wanted to read the book before seeing the film. I had no idea how racy it would be! Updike describes the lives of three recently divorced Rhode Island women who have simultaneously been gifted “powers.” The women are also endowed with the “freedom” of being single and often are found in fantasies or real-life sexual encounters. In doing so, the women (Jane, Alexandra, and Sukie) gain more than a few enemies in the small town of Eastwick, where gossip travels fast.
With so much negativity being spread about them, the women spare no vindictiveness. They have absolutely no problem resorting to spells and curses being cast upon their “friends.” This past-time only becomes more inherent after Mr. Daryl Van Horne moves in to an old mansion on the outskirts of town. Each woman is abruptly taken aback by the man, despite each having their own qualms about him, as well (Alexandra “hates” him). Van Horne is devilishly charming, and soon leads all three women into some crazy sex scenes. He also begins to bend the women to his will, suggesting to Alexandra, a sculptor that she try creating bigger masterpieces, after which she becomes depressed about her work.
However, despite their knack for “sharing” each woman soon vies for more independent attention, and the friendship begins to waver. That is, until the daughter of one of their victimized enemies comes to town. Jenny grabs hold of all of Van Horne’s attentions, and the women soon erupt into a jealous frenzy. The end result, as ironic as it is, is quite abrupt and shocking.
This novel definitely parodies the feminist movement of the sixties (the time period in which it is based), but I believe it also parodies the ideas of sexuality, both straight and gay. Updike may be a mysoginist, as many other reviewers have stated, but I believe that he is more or less a critic of human sexuality, a theme quite common throughout the novel.
Characterization is vital to the plot. None of the characters are very likeable, but each one has a knack for pulling you deeper into the storyline. Each character is portrayed as ugly, both inside and out, which furthers the dark tones of the story. The powers held by each woman is hardly as much of a trait as their desires- first to be promiscuous and then to be back in a stable relationship. The powers are a little weak in effect, the most powerful being Alexandra’s ability to control the weather. The others are much more watered-down, Jane can fly (an overused power in literature) and for some strange reason Sukie can turn milk to cream.
All in all, if you’re not a prude or are not offended by murderous plots, this book is quite fun to read. Updike uses many similes and metaphors, often taking more than a few paragraphs to describe a character or setting. So, if you’re not opposed to reading a long, well-written novel that offers much explanatory language and racy sex scenes, I’d recommend this novel to anyone.
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Sep 11, 2011

Matthew Garcia rated it

I once read a summary of Updike's oeuvre that went: "Old people fucking," and hey, lookit that, that's what happens in this book.

Actually, apart from a few funny scenes (assembling a curse with household utensils), this book was incredibly disappointing. On one end, it reads like a parody of a lot of those female empowerment books from the 60s and 70s, where women are doing it for themselves, but they still need to the jumping board of men to accomplish what they want (and D...more

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Aug 09, 2011

Stewart rated it

I came into possession of a paperback copy of John Updike's 1984 novel "The Witches of Eastwick" at a Borders store in Burleson, Texas, on March 30 of this year, the bookstore closing its doors at the end of business that very day. There were a few half-filled bookshelves left in an otherwise empty interior. The books were 90% off, and I bought this $15 paperback for $1.50. Updike is worth full price; a bargain is even better.
The novel looks at the lives of three women with ...more I came into possession of a paperback copy of John Updike's 1984 novel "The Witches of Eastwick" at a Borders store in Burleson, Texas, on March 30 of this year, the bookstore closing its doors at the end of business that very day. There were a few half-filled bookshelves left in an otherwise empty interior. The books were 90% off, and I bought this $15 paperback for $1.50. Updike is worth full price; a bargain is even better.
The novel looks at the lives of three women with witch-like powers in a coastal Rhode Island town in the late 1960s and the arrival of a mysterious man from New York City. The book has Updike's amazing prose, his extraordinary power of observation and detailed description, and a healthy dose of humor. Take this description of Rhode Island: "There is a kind of metallic green stain, bitten deep into Depression-era shingles, that exists nowhere else. Once you cross the state line, whether at Pawtucket or Westerly, a subtle change occurs, a cheerful dishevelment, a contempt for appearances, a chimerical uncaring. Beyond the clapboard slums yawn lunar stretches where only an abandoned roadside stand offering the ghost of last summer's CUKES betrays the yearning, disruptive presence of man."
Updike, who died in 2009, does a believable job, I think, in creating the three central female characters and inhabiting their minds. His wife must have helped in his descriptions of hairstyles, clothing, and accessories. This is a description of one of the women, Sukie, the reporter, mentioning the other two women: "Sukie had nothing of what she would call an artistic talent but she loved social existence and had been driven by the reduced circumstances that attend divorce to write for the local weekly, the Eastwick Word. As she marched with her bright lithe stride up and down Dock Street listening for gossip and speculating upon the fortunes of the shops, Alexandra's gaudy figurines in the window of the Yapping Fox, or a poster in the window of the Armenians' hardware store advertising a chamber-music concert to be held in the Unitarian Church and including Jane Smart, cello thrilled her like a glint of beach glass in the sand or a quarter found shining on the dirty sidewalk – a bit of code buried in the garble of daily experience, a stab of communication between the inner and outer world."
Having lived in New England for 10 years, I enjoyed Updike's topographical and psychological portrayal of that region and its residents and the play of ocean and land. Updike lived in Massachusetts for five decades.
"Witches" is not quite on the same level as the "Rabbit" quartet, which won Updike two Pulitzer Prizes, but it is a fun and rewarding read.

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Jun 08, 2011

Carolina Dean rated it

The Witches of Eastwick is another example of a great book being turned into a less than stellar movie. If you’re familiar with the movie, there’s a lot in this book that you’ll find familiar as well. Unlike the movie which was set in the late 1980’s, the book takes place in the fictional town of Eastwick, Rhode Island at the time of the Vietnam War. The story mainly concerns Alexandra, an artist; Jane, a cellist; and Sukie, a columnist. They are in the primes of their lives, each having either...more The Witches of Eastwick is another example of a great book being turned into a less than stellar movie. If you’re familiar with the movie, there’s a lot in this book that you’ll find familiar as well. Unlike the movie which was set in the late 1980’s, the book takes place in the fictional town of Eastwick, Rhode Island at the time of the Vietnam War. The story mainly concerns Alexandra, an artist; Jane, a cellist; and Sukie, a columnist. They are in the primes of their lives, each having either left, or been left by, their respective husbands.

Following the void left by their husbands, the women find an inner power they each posses…the power of witchcraft. These witches, however, are a far cry from the an it harm none variety with which many modern readers in the know are familiar. No, these witches are promiscuous, spiteful, vindictive, and they’re not above putting a hex on their enemies.
Enter Daryl Van Horn. Summoned to town not by the witches magic, by rather by a desire to escape a past life and possibly numerous creditors; Daryl promptly takes possession of and begins remodeling Lenox Manor. One by one, the witches are seduced by Daryl who each takes him as their lover. In the mean time, the witches have conjured a cookie jar in such as way as to cause their enemy (and most outspoken opponent) Felecia Gabriel to vomit all manner of feathers, dirt, pins, etc…which ultimately leads to her murder by Felecia’s husband, who goes on to commit suicide.

Following the death of Felecia and Clyde Gabriel, their children Chris and Jenny return to Eastwick to settle their parent’s affairs. Finding the girl to be sweet, innocent, and accommodating and perhaps even out of a sense of guilt, the witches invite Jenny to participate in their activities with Daryl. However, Jenny proves to be too accommodating and accepts Daryl’s proposal for marriage. It is then that the witches conspire to punish the girl they believe stole their shared lover for herself.

The remainder of the story examines the lives of all those involved as the witch’s curse takes its toll and we are able to also see the consequences of the magic they invoked. In the end, it seems that everyone’s relationship suffers. Will the witches be able to undo the damage they have done? Will they be able to heal the rift that has come between them? Will anything ever be the same?

Prudish types may find the frank and sometimes descriptive depictions of the witches sexual encounters unsavory. I personally did not like the slurs the witches use when referring to men they suspect to be gay. However, as a gay man myself I am not unaccustomed to such prejudice and I chalked it up to the women’s generation.

I really enjoyed the depictions of the witches flavor of witchcraft and found their use of common household items in their spells an excellent example of Kitchen Witchery. At roughly 300 pages Witches isn’t a quick read, as it is filled with a great deal of detail that the author is famous for. Some may feel that the story branches off from it’s self in a few places but it only adds to the overall story, as Witches isn’t just about three women, it’s a story about an entire town and the effects of gossip, scandal, and magic run wild.(less)

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Apr 06, 2011

Kaylee Hix rated it

· review of another edition

Witches of Eastwick

John Uptike Published April 12th 1984 by Alfred A. Knopf

The Witches of Eastwick is a novel about three witches who all enter in a relationship with Darryl Van Horne, a mysterious man from New York. He encourages them to use their powers in devious ways that often cause trouble in the town. They get along pretty well for women sharing the same man though it puts a heavy strain on their bond. It continues until he then goes and marries their younger frien...moreWitches of Eastwick

John Uptike Published April 12th 1984 by Alfred A. Knopf

The Witches of Eastwick is a novel about three witches who all enter in a relationship with Darryl Van Horne, a mysterious man from New York. He encourages them to use their powers in devious ways that often cause trouble in the town. They get along pretty well for women sharing the same man though it puts a heavy strain on their bond. It continues until he then goes and marries their younger friend Jenny. They become very vengeful and do something more terrible than any other thing they did throughout the novel.

The story itself did not engage me, however. Plot was easy to predict and kind of one dimensional to me. I kind of saw the end coming half way through and was pretty much waiting for the end to come.

I am not sure if his ambiguous point of view on the women is conscious or not. I cannot decide if Uptike is praising or parodying women’s attempts at being equal to men. These women are powerful and free, yet spiteful and out revenge. They seem flippant and then easily manipulated by Van Horne. They are magically and sexually free but then that sexuality traps them. The women are a bit larger than life and often very masculine in their speech. But then again it was the 60s with the free love and hippies. Though they are divorced they are always looking for men to keep them company. Their free to love but they also seemed trapped in it. Thus I do not know if it supports women’s rights or says they are better off where they were. I could not tell if I should be offended or impressed.

His language is interesting. The language is flowery at time and then basic at others but the magical and realistic aspects flow seemly together in the narrative. It gives off a kind of Joyce feel in that regard. He develops the town’s people as a whole rather well. The language is precise, each word picked exactly for what he means. Such things as “wide splaying gestures” and “incandescent purple of Siberian iris” were some of my favorite descriptions. I really enjoy the style. I like how he used- what I believe to be- Italian, but I could have used some footnotes to know exactly what they were talking about.

Overall I like the book but not enough to read it again. I am not interested in the sequel at all. Uptike is not my cup of tea.

I recommend this for anyone who likes a unique style and dark but humorous story line.
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Apr 06, 2011

Augusta Jahrsdoerfer rated it

Updike, John. The Witches of Eastwick
New York: Random House, Inc., 1984

Although a New York Times Bestseller, John Updike’s The Witches of Eastwick leaves a lot to be desired. Unaware of Updike’s misogynistic nature, I went forward reading the book that inspired one of my favorite movies. It is with a very heavy heart that I report that I still love the movie…much more so than the book; granted, the only real parallel points were character’s names. I went into this situation...moreUpdike, John. The Witches of Eastwick
New York: Random House, Inc., 1984

Although a New York Times Bestseller, John Updike’s The Witches of Eastwick leaves a lot to be desired. Unaware of Updike’s misogynistic nature, I went forward reading the book that inspired one of my favorite movies. It is with a very heavy heart that I report that I still love the movie…much more so than the book; granted, the only real parallel points were character’s names. I went into this situation assuming I would love the result, but was disappointed when it took me longer than a few days to really get into the story (it usually takes about ten seconds) and even more so disappointed when I didn’t even like the characters I was reading about.

The Witches of Eastwick revolves around the lives of three, well, witches living divorced in the sea-side Eastwick, Rhode Island. There’s Alexandra, mother of four and artiste extraordinaire; Sukie, the gossip queen and columnist; and Jane, the flying cellist. Soon enough all three are vying for the attention of Darryl Van Horne, Eastwick’s new mansion-dweller. After a steamy two on two rendezvous, the witches find themselves in a quad of love that is interrupted by the young, beautiful and fertile Jenny. When Darryl decides to marry Jenny, the witches cast a spell that they fear gives her cancer; however, their sick, main goal was for Jenny to die. Mission accomplished. The novel ends with the women creating their own lives. A simple spell requiring them to visualize their lives gives them exactly what they want, and sets the scene for the sequel, The Widows of Eastwick.

Although not much can be said for the plot, I was amazed by Updike’s prose; something that genuinely left me able to see Eastwick. One of my favorite scenes is in the beginning when Alexandra decides to clear the beach so her dog and familiar, Coal, can run around off his leash. Her distaste towards the young beach-dwellers is more than evident, but the storm that follows is visualized perfectly in the minds eyes; something I’ve heard Updike is a master at. I knew what everything looked like, almost to the point of annoyance. I found Witches to be more a description than a story, albeit, a beautiful description.

From a non-feminine perspective I find Updike’s revulsion for women to be almost comical. His female characters are petty and selfish, with none of them seeming to have any maternal instinct. Their kids “yammer” for food and animals attempt to eat wax out of hunger; if I didn’t see child and animal neglect as serious issues, I would have laughed. The women are jealous and insecure with their age and try sleeping with every man in town to ease their egos. They’re distasteful, a point I think Updike would like to prove for every woman if he could.

What bothered me the most was the fact that Updike didn’t seem to do much research on witchcraft; it seems like he skimmed some spell books and text on the Salem Witch Trials and went on to create a story that juxtaposes women and witches. It’s an interesting subject and if more details on witchcraft history had been incorporated, I might have been able to get into the book easier. All in all I wouldn’t say that The witches of Eastwick is necessarily a bad book; I know there are many people who liked it enough to make it a best seller. It’s just kind of boring and “he-man woman-hating.”
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Feb 16, 2011

Laura rated it

A Spellbinding Read!

Reviewed by: Laura Arocho
Published in 1984 by Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House.

“Things fall in threes. And magic occurs all around [us] as nature seeks and finds the inevitable forms…the equilateral triangle being the mother of structure.” This quote from John Updike’s The Witches of Eastwick could not be more true for its three protagonists, Jane Smart, Sukie Rougemont and Alexandra Spoffard. The three divorcees, who form a strong frien...moreA Spellbinding Read!

Reviewed by: Laura Arocho
Published in 1984 by Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House.

“Things fall in threes. And magic occurs all around [us] as nature seeks and finds the inevitable forms…the equilateral triangle being the mother of structure.” This quote from John Updike’s The Witches of Eastwick could not be more true for its three protagonists, Jane Smart, Sukie Rougemont and Alexandra Spoffard. The three divorcees, who form a strong friendship and sisterhood in the small town of Eastwick, Rhode Island, are far from ordinary women. These women are witches, whose powers manifested and grew when they divorced their husbands. More often than not, these witchy women use their powers in mischievous and devious ways, such as creating a thunderstorm to vacate the beach or turning tennis balls into bats.

In addition to being magically free, the three witches are very much in touch with their sexuality, and often take on lovers (who are married with children, more often than not) that have on more than one occasion overlapped. After all, being divorced in Eastwick as Alexandra says, “…is like playing Monopoly. Eventually, you land on everyone’s property.” Perhaps this is why the arrival of Darryl Van Horne, a mysterious man from New York attracts such attention. Although he isn’t their typical definition of attractive, the three women find themselves drawn to him and soon, their strong sisterhood is put to the test when they each begin vying for more of his individual attention. Tensions only mount when a death in Eastwick brings in a new and younger witch, Jenny, who subsequently moves in with Darryl.

Mr. Updike does a masterful job of writing The Witches of Eastwick. The three women, although sometimes a bit too extreme in certain aspects, such as vindictiveness or selfishness (such as all three of them vying for Van Horne, despite the fact that Alexandra says that she hates him), are characters that women can relate to in terms of emotion and the conflicts they confront in their divorced state. Also, Updike uses them to confront issues such as female independence (or lack thereof when it comes to men) in a very engaging, humorous, and at times dark way.

Also, Updike’s long and flowing prose leaves no detail unattended to. Eastwick and its inhabitants are painted very realistically and the magic realism of Eastwick is blended into it almost seamlessly. While this attention to detail is a very good quality that fleshes out the setting, characters, and back-story of the novel, at times it can be far too much. His extensive descriptions or his pages-long dialogue often slow down the pace of the work, causing the reader to have to go back and re-read to make sure that they are following the work and not losing their place with the plot. Overall, however, Updike’s Eastwick is a humorous, dark, and enchanting read that is well worth the time and effort.
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Feb 16, 2011

Cassandra Barboza rated it

The Witches of Eastwick
by John Updike

Review by: Cassandra Barboza
Published: August 27, 1996
Published by:Ballantine Books

The novel in itself I find to be superbly written. Every moment is more descriptive then you can imagine it to be. Any scene that you can imagine in a couple of words is described in great detail by Mr. Updike. No bit of knowledge is imparted without backstory. When Alexandra is bottling tomato sauce we are not told in simple word...moreThe Witches of Eastwick
by John Updike

Review by: Cassandra Barboza
Published: August 27, 1996
Published by:Ballantine Books

The novel in itself I find to be superbly written. Every moment is more descriptive then you can imagine it to be. Any scene that you can imagine in a couple of words is described in great detail by Mr. Updike. No bit of knowledge is imparted without backstory. When Alexandra is bottling tomato sauce we are not told in simple words that she is just bottling the sauce, we are given the details that there is more sauce than could ever possibly be eaten by her household and that it is sauce like from an Italian fairy tale that can never be finished off. Another comment on the writing is the air it gives of Rhode Island and the fact that is a beach town. The descriptions of the setting are filled with sensory images to transport the reader to this seaside town. You are caused to fell the constant beach breeze and sand under your toes.
When it comes to the characters I find them slightly repulsive, be it the simple fact that they have their deceased husband’s remains lying around as if it was nothing or that they used their witchcraft for selfish and cruel reasons. These are not characters with elementally good hearts, these are characters that sacrifice innocent crabs to cause a storm so that their dog can run free while at the same time removing everyone from the beach because she feels like it (Alexandra specifically). They are women who curse a young girl to die of cancer even though she had been their friend. They do not seem to have completely rationale consciences and are all far from anything near wholesome. The fact that they had affairs intrigued me greatly. They seem to have no consideration to their unkind and adulterous ways. It is as if they have a right to take other women’s husbands for fun. I don’t completely know what John Updike was trying to do by making the women so unfeeling to the lives of other. I might conjecture that he might have tried to impart the harm the witch’s magic caused on their souls but that might be too simple of an answer and more of my hope into why these women act like they do (because I hope to never encounter women of this caliber). I do not know how to go about finding strength in these women because I do not see them as women that help others. They seem to be focused only on themselves. And their children are almost completely ignored because the mentions of them are brief and almost inconsequential. Usually when there is a book about women you find the protagonists to have an inner strength that keeps them going and the reader rooting for them but with these characters I’m not quite sure I want to keep them in the existence of my mind. I find Alexandra Spoffard, Jane Smart, and Sukie Rougemont to be characters that highlight the bad light of real life witches.
As a writer I have learned how to make scenes much more interesting and how to portray the little moments of lives that are generally touched by hardship but actually only involved in themselves like the witches of Eastwick. It has shown me what characters I don’t not want to have in my writing.
I find the book to be a great tool on how to write and character development but I do not find it useful in building long lasting loved characters that people want to remember. Characters that I would like to write.
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