John Updike’s twenty-first novel, a bildungsroman, follows its hero, Owen Mackenzie, from his birth in the semi-rural Pennsylvania town of Wi...
read full description
reviews
Dec 01, 2008
Kim
rated it: 
This is about as useless a book as there ever was, and the only reason I didn't give it no stars is because occasionally he'd do a fancy trick and win, but it was all in his imagery and had little to do with the plot. I've put it down with less than 100 pages to go. This is pretty deep dislike, I'm sure you understand.
I guess: if I want to read a novel about the history of 20th century programming, I'll screw a nerd instead. Which I don't want to do, because then I'd be bored. The en
I guess: if I want to read a novel about the history of 20th century programming, I'll screw a nerd instead. Which I don't want to do, because then I'd be bored. The en
Mar 18, 2009
Brenna
rated it:
I've never read any Updike except for his reviews and essays in the New Yorker, which I really liked. So I thought I'd give his novels a whirl, especially since everyone loooooooves him. But I just could not stand anything about this book. Here's an excerpt from the inner thoughts of the main character (I just can't call him a "hero"), to give you an idea why:
"Why do women go along with men? Perhaps it was a simple question of electrical engineering: in a world full of More...
"Why do women go along with men? Perhaps it was a simple question of electrical engineering: in a world full of More...
Dec 12, 2008
Kris
rated it: 
Updike writes:
It was a celibate villager who wrote, 'We know not where we are. Beside, we are sound asleep nearly half our time. Yet we esteem ourselves wise, and have an established order on the surface.' Such a surface order makes possible human combinations and moments of tender regards. It is a mad thing, to be alive. Villages exist to moderate this madness--to hide it from children, to bottle it for private use, to smooth its imperatives into habits, to protect us from the darkness wi More...
It was a celibate villager who wrote, 'We know not where we are. Beside, we are sound asleep nearly half our time. Yet we esteem ourselves wise, and have an established order on the surface.' Such a surface order makes possible human combinations and moments of tender regards. It is a mad thing, to be alive. Villages exist to moderate this madness--to hide it from children, to bottle it for private use, to smooth its imperatives into habits, to protect us from the darkness wi More...
Aug 06, 2009
Marvin
rated it:
This novel, read magnificently in its audio version by Edward Herrmann, is vintage Updike. A man in his 70s remembers & celebrates the women in his life--mother, grandmother, girlfriends, 2 wives, lovers--their beauty, their sexuality, their contributions to his developing selfhood. Typically, there's lots of vividly described sex. The central question seems to be: Why do women fuck, when it comes with such tremendous costs for them, costs that men such as the book's subject mostly ignore? He se
More...
Feb 05, 2009
Updike treads over familiar territory with Villages, his 21st novel. For those who crave more of his famed investigations into suburban sex and the male mind, this novel will prove a welcome addition to the canon. To some critics, however, Villages seemed a rehash of old material, with little to recommend it to modern audiences. Detractors found Owen's sexual antics empty, his life devoid of emotional growth. Still, Updike remains one of the premier stylists of the English language, and he handl
More...
Oct 01, 2009
Lawrence
rated it:
Ho hum! I felt as if I had read this story before in previous Updike books. I came across as a mix of Couples and Roger's Version. Computers, the tedious and endless affairs of suburbanites who indulge in extramarital affairs out of nothing but boredom . . . downright uninteresting, lacking in insight, and comparatively uninspired prose. But I do have to give Updike a bit of applause for including in this one the following sentence:
Former President Reagan hangs heavily over the i More...
Former President Reagan hangs heavily over the i More...
Nov 20, 2010
Dot
rated it:
I found this a very disappointing read from one of America's best known novelists. Basically an account of the life of a man, the villages he has lived in Connecticut/New York, his career in the post war fledgling IT industry, and the women he was drawn to. The book jacket described the work as "witty and passionate" but I found the descriptions of his many sexual encounters, narrated in a detached voice, with almost clinical anatomical details, became very tedious. The history of h
More...
Jul 26, 2009
Mike
rated it:
On the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) anytime a movie is totally preposterous, some wag on the forums starts a "100 things I learned from _____" thread.
I'm a little reluctant to do so with "Villages", because it's possible, given the author's fame, that I totally missed the point of the book. (I didn't learn how to evaluate literature in high school, and failed the only literature class I took in college.) On the other hand, probably all the good things about thi More...
I'm a little reluctant to do so with "Villages", because it's possible, given the author's fame, that I totally missed the point of the book. (I didn't learn how to evaluate literature in high school, and failed the only literature class I took in college.) On the other hand, probably all the good things about thi More...
Dec 03, 2008
Steve
rated it:
This book should probably be called Village Sex instead of Villages as that is the literal title of half of the chanpers ("Village Sex I," "Village Sex II," etc.) and even the other chapters seem largely about the main character (Owen) and his sexual proclivities. There are also ruminations about the computer industry, death, and other subjects--but sex--physical desire and what we due in its pursuit--is the main concern. That's not a bad thing. It's not a boring book. It jus
More...
Mar 17, 2011
Christopher
rated it: 
Typical Updike. His prose always reminds me of paintings, this story is no exception, though this time his protagonist is framing the world though a single mathematical inquiry, and approaching life as a computer programmer.
The story rating is a 2-3, but the audio presentation is what truly pleased me: Edward Herrmann’s (of ubiquitous History Channel narrations/Mr. Richard Gilmore in Gilmore Girls) reading is simply wonderful. I find that Updike is the perfect writer to have read a More...
The story rating is a 2-3, but the audio presentation is what truly pleased me: Edward Herrmann’s (of ubiquitous History Channel narrations/Mr. Richard Gilmore in Gilmore Girls) reading is simply wonderful. I find that Updike is the perfect writer to have read a More...
Aug 25, 2011
Terry
rated it:
Okay, I'm weird, but thought I'd read this, Updike's second to last novel, because I had just read his 2nd novel, "Rabbit, Run." Thought it would be interesting to compare his writing style from 1959 to 2004. I actually liked the earlier novel, "Rabbit, Run" better. On the plus side, it was nice to see that an older man was still writing about sex. On the other, the adultery got pretty old -- and they say gay men are frisky! Updike's character development is there, he can
More...
Jan 30, 2009
Christine
rated it:
I tried hard to get into this book. I love Updike and really wanted to get into this story. Problem was that 4 chapters in I still wasn't sure where the story was going and I didn't like any characters enough to care. I actually sold this one to the used bookstore unfinished - something very unlike me.
Jul 14, 2011
Joann
rated it: 
Oh well, since Updike is not one of my favorites what did I expect? His fixation on sex is ultimately boring and his protagonist (himself?) is, at the end of all the philandering and marital changes about in the same spot he was in the beginning.
Oct 08, 2009
Just finished..lots of sex, ruminations on aging and comfort in old age...[sigh:]. Not my favorite by Updike, but his magic is evident here, and of course I always latch onto references to Shillington and Reading PA, which are here in goodly number.
Apr 20, 2009
Holly
rated it:
I found this to be an overindulgent work of Updike's age. It reminded me of an old man looking back on what he wishes his life had been but wasn't. It has some fantastic Updike literary moments but then some very disturbing passages into the male psyche - things that might best be left unsaid!
Mar 02, 2009
That I shouldn't have gotten cable.. I don't kow, I'm not a big fan. He died, so I thought I'd check out an Updkie novel, but they seem very malecentric and I don't enjoy this book. But I'm not too far into it yet,
Jun 27, 2008
I have this among a hundred others that are on my 'to-read' list. I think I'm among other book 'junkies' and I buy books like crazy at discount stores, flea-markets, garage sales and also at the library when they are selling their 'discarded' books. I had a chilling thought after bringing home the last dozen or so. . . "what if I'm to be bed-ridden and home-bound? What if I've gotten all these books subconciously because I'll need something to occuply myeself while I'm recovering from a lon
More...
Jan 02, 2009
Martinxo
rated it:
Well it started in an interesting way but by the 2nd chapter I could feel my attention wain...then I began yawning...and then I went to sleep.
Read 3 Updike books now and have only liked 1 so far.
Read 3 Updike books now and have only liked 1 so far.
Oct 01, 2009
Cissy
rated it:
I ended up really liking this book once I got to the part where Owen realizes that leaving his wife is the first adult decision he's made in his life. This struck a resounding chord with me. From that point on, I found Villages to be quite profound and touching.
Sep 01, 2009
It's a slow read, and I don't know if it's just me, but John Updike is looking mighty misogynistic to me. And he does write (unintentionally) funny sex scenes. Har.
Mar 21, 2009
Lindsay
rated it:
This is my first Updike book; I picked it up after all the obituating after his recent death. I'd heard that he was quite fixated on sex, and this novel bore that out. The constant sex scenes, complete with descriptions of fluids and noises, was enough to make this grown woman cringe.
I do not enjoy books or movies about adultery, so this was not the book for me.
I do not enjoy books or movies about adultery, so this was not the book for me.
Dec 21, 2008
Deborah
rated it:
This was an enjoyable read. It is the first Updike I've read, the only one in our library. I hope to get some more of his work.
Feb 03, 2010
Bcoghill
rated it:
I read my way a thru a third of the books but did not really care so much about the sex life of the lead character - which is pretty much the book. Updike does write great observations on our society.
Feb 12, 2009
Dona
rated it:
Cover almost turned me away but did read it; very and often too descriptive.
Aug 22, 2007
Danika
rated it:
perhaps i'm not a big updike fan in general, but this book was pretty disappointing for me. the characters were snobbish and spoiled and i felt no love for any of them. plus, why should i read about boring, past-their-prime, middle aged suburbanites cheating on their spouses when i can read about hot, young celebrities in crappy magazines doing the same things? granted, the writing in "in touch" does not compare to updike's fluid, beautiful style but the subject matter is much more
More...
Feb 11, 2009
Jerome
rated it:
I found this book a bit of a disappointment. Too dismembered and jumbled.
